How Much Mobile Data Do I Need on Holiday? Usage Calculator Guide
Not sure how much data to buy for your trip? Our practical guide breaks down exactly how much data common travel activities use.
Published 2025-01-15 · Updated 2025-01-28 · TripSIM Team
One of the most common questions travellers ask is: 'How much data do I actually need?' Buy too little and you'll run out mid-trip. Buy too much and you're wasting money. This practical guide breaks down exactly how much data your favourite apps and activities use, so you can choose the perfect plan for your holiday.
Data Usage by Activity
Navigation and Maps
- Google Maps navigation: 5–10MB per hour of active use
- Searching for places and restaurants: 2–5MB per search
- Street View: 5–10MB per location viewed
- Tip: Download offline maps to reduce this to nearly zero
Social Media
- Instagram browsing: 100–200MB per hour of scrolling
- Posting a photo to Instagram: 5–15MB per post
- TikTok scrolling: 300–500MB per hour
- Facebook browsing: 80–150MB per hour
- Twitter/X: 50–100MB per hour
Messaging and Calls
- WhatsApp text messages: less than 1KB each
- WhatsApp photo: 50–200KB each
- WhatsApp voice call: 30MB per hour
- WhatsApp video call: 300MB per hour
- FaceTime video: 200–400MB per hour
Streaming and Entertainment
- Spotify music streaming (normal quality): 40MB per hour
- Spotify (high quality): 150MB per hour
- YouTube (480p): 500MB per hour
- YouTube (1080p): 1.5GB per hour
- Netflix (standard quality): 1GB per hour
Data Plans by Traveller Type
- Light user (maps + messaging only): 1–2GB per week
- Average tourist (social media + maps + messaging): 3–5GB per week
- Heavy user (streaming + video calls + social media): 7–10GB per week
- Content creator (uploading videos + live streaming): 15GB+ per week
Money-Saving Data Tips
- Download Spotify playlists and Netflix shows on WiFi before you go
- Set Instagram and Facebook to not auto-play videos on mobile data
- Use WhatsApp voice notes instead of calls to save data
- Upload photos to cloud storage when you're on WiFi at your hotel
- Download offline maps — it's the single biggest data saver
Is 5GB enough for a week's holiday?
For most travellers, yes. 5GB covers daily map use, regular messaging, social media browsing, and occasional video calls. Avoid streaming video over mobile data and you'll have plenty.
What happens if I run out of data on my eSIM?
Your data connection stops, but you can still connect to WiFi. With TripSIM, you can purchase an additional eSIM plan which activates alongside your existing one.