Data usage calculator
How much data
do you need?
Set how long you spend on each thing on a typical day, on mobile data. The calculator adds it up for a month.
Calculator
- 30 min
About 900 MB an hour · BT: 10 to 20 MB a minute
- 15 min
About 480 MB an hour · BT: 7 to 9 MB a minute
- None
About 250 MB an hour · Netflix: about 4 hours per GB
- None
About 3,000 MB an hour · Netflix: up to 3 GB an hour in HD
- None
About 540 MB an hour · Zoom: about 540 MB an hour for a 1:1 call
- 1 hour
About 72 MB an hour · Spotify: about 72 MB an hour on High
- 30 min
About 210 MB an hour · BT: 2 to 5 MB a minute
- None
About 10 MB an hour · Google Maps navigation in tests: about 10 MB an hour
Your estimate
22GB a month
About 0.7 GB on a typical day.
You need a large plan. Something around 30 to 50 GB gives you headroom.
An estimate is a starting point. Dataly measures what you actually use each day, on each device, and warns you before you pass your limit. Get Dataly
How the estimate works
Each activity has a typical amount of data per hour. Where a service publishes its own figure, we use it: Netflix for video, Spotify for music and Zoom for calls. Maps comes from measured tests (see How Much Data Does Google Maps Use?). For the rest we use the middle of the ranges BT publishes for its mobile customers. Your hours a day are multiplied by that figure and by 30 days.
Only count time on mobile data. Anything on Wi-Fi at home or work doesn't touch your plan, unless your home internet has a data cap of its own.
To bring the number down
Video is almost always the biggest line. Turn on each app's data saver setting, download shows on Wi-Fi, and stop videos autoplaying. More in How to Save Mobile Data and Which Apps Use the Most Mobile Data?.
Questions
- How much mobile data do I need a month?
- It depends mostly on video. Someone who browses, messages and streams music might use 3 to 5 GB a month. An hour a day of social media on mobile data adds roughly 25 to 30 GB a month on its own.
- How accurate is this calculator?
- It is an estimate. The per-hour figures are typical values from Netflix, Spotify and BT's published guides, and real use varies with video quality, your connection and the app's settings. Measuring your own usage for a few days gives you the real number.
- What uses the most data on a phone?
- Video. Streaming, Reels, Stories and short videos use far more than browsing, messaging or music. Video calls and hotspot use from a laptop are the next biggest.
Stop estimating.
Dataly shows what you really use, every day, on every device you own.