How much data do I need?
Set the trip length and what a normal day looks like. The calculator adds it up, allows a 10% margin and shows which eSIM size fits. A typical traveller uses about 8.8 GB a week.
How long is the trip?
Start from a profile, then adjust
A normal day on the trip
Messages and background app updates add about 40 MB a day, already included.
What uses your data
| Activity | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Maps and navigation | 10 MB per hour |
| Social media scrolling | 600 MB per hour |
| Streaming video | 300 MB (data saver) to 3 GB (HD) per hour |
| Video calls | 5 MB per minute |
| Voice calls over the internet | 0.75 MB per minute |
| Music and podcasts | 60 MB per hour |
| Web and email | 60 MB per hour |
| Sending a photo | 2 MB each |
| Messages and background updates | 40 MB per day |
Typical figures. Real use depends on app settings, screen size and signal. Video figures are Netflix's published per-hour estimates.
Questions
How much data do I need for a week of travel?
About 8.8 GB for typical use (maps, social media, some video and calls). Light users who mostly message and navigate need about 3.0 GB; heavy users who stream video need 20 GB or more.
How much data do I need for 2 weeks?
About 18 GB for typical use, so a 20 GB eSIM covers it. Streaming video in HD is the biggest variable: an hour uses about 3 GB.
How much data do I need for a month?
About 38 GB for typical daily use, so a 50 GB plan. Students arriving for a new term usually need more because of video calls home.
How much data does Google Maps use?
Navigation uses roughly 10 MB per hour. Downloading offline maps on Wi-Fi before you travel cuts this further.
How much data does a WhatsApp call use?
A voice call uses about 0.75 MB per minute and a video call about 5 MB per minute, so a 30 minute video call is roughly 150 MB.
How much data does Netflix or YouTube use?
Per hour: about 0.3 GB on data saver, 0.7 GB at standard quality and up to 3 GB in HD (Netflix's own figures).
Also useful: phone number format checker, is my phone eSIM compatible?