Data usage per app: from Google Maps to TikTok

Video apps use by far the most data. Google Maps and text messages are relatively economical. Allow about 5 to 20 MB per hour for navigation, 40 to 150 MB for music, 0.5 to 1.5 GB for TikTok, and roughly 1 to 2 GB per hour for HD video calling.

HolySim advice: use these figures to plan a data allowance, not to predict a bill down to the megabyte. Your phone and provider show the actual usage afterward.

Guidelines by activity

The ranges below are HolySim estimates for mobile use. The lower end suits low quality and little media; the upper end applies to high quality, automatic preloading, and lots of visual content.

• Text messages through WhatsApp, Signal, or iMessage: usually less than 5 MB per hour of active chatting without photos, stickers, or voice messages.
• Email: about 5 to 50 MB per hour without large attachments. Presentations and photo attachments can exceed that in one go.
• Browsing: about 50 to 200 MB per hour. News websites with autoplay video use more than simple text pages.
• Music streaming: about 40 to 150 MB per hour, depending on the selected audio quality.
• Google Maps navigation: about 5 to 20 MB per hour after map tiles and the route have loaded.
• Instagram and Facebook: roughly 100 to 600 MB per hour, with spikes caused by Reels and autoplay.
• TikTok: often 0.5 to 1.5 GB per hour.
• YouTube: about 0.3 to 3 GB per hour at 360p to 1080p; 4K can use far more.
• Netflix: officially up to 0.3 GB per hour on Low, 0.7 GB on Medium, 3 GB in HD, and 7 GB in 4K.
• Video calling: about 0.3 to 2 GB per hour; HD group calls may use more.

An hour is easier to reach in feeds than you may think. Ten minutes of TikTok in the morning and ten minutes in the evening add up to almost five hours of video during a two-week trip.

Messaging apps are economical until you send media

Text itself uses little data. Photos, GIFs, voice messages, and videos determine the usage. A photo may be a few hundred kilobytes or several megabytes. A video may take tens or hundreds of megabytes, depending on its duration and compression.

WhatsApp calls use more than chat. During a video call, both the picture you receive and the camera and audio you upload count against your plan. Set automatic media downloads to Wi-Fi if you belong to group chats that receive many photos.

Do not reserve a separate number of GB for text messages. Do reserve data for media and calls.

Music and podcasts

Audio streaming is more predictable than video. At approximately 96 kbps, you use around 43 MB per hour; at 160 kbps, about 72 MB; and at 320 kbps, about 144 MB. This follows from the bitrate and remains an estimate because of app traffic and variable compression.

Ten hours of music at normal quality therefore uses roughly 0.5 to 1 GB. Download playlists and podcasts at home if you listen for a long time every day. Check that the app does not automatically update downloads over mobile data.

Live radio can continue playing when the screen is off. Stop the stream manually when you get out or go to sleep.

Social media: the feed determines the bill

Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok combine photos, video, advertisements, and preloading. There is therefore no fixed amount per post. A feed containing mainly photos may use a few hundred MB per hour; Reels and short video move toward 1 GB per hour or more.

Uploading counts too. A series of original holiday videos may use more than viewing your feed. Set photo backups and original-quality uploads to Wi-Fi.

Read the separate calculation for TikTok. For other social apps, use the same measurement method: note the app's usage, use it normally for fifteen minutes, and multiply the measured difference by four.

Streaming: quality is the main control

Netflix publishes clear maximum amounts. Netflix lists up to 0.3 GB per hour for Low, 0.7 GB for Medium, 1 GB for SD on High, 3 GB for HD, and 7 GB for 4K.

YouTube automatically adjusts quality to the connection, screen, and source video. Consequently, the same hour may use little one day and a lot the next. Deliberately set video quality for mobile networks to Data Saver or a fixed resolution.

Use the detailed guides for Netflix and YouTube to convert viewing hours to GB.

Navigation and travel apps

GPS positioning itself is not the major data consumer. Map tiles, route calculations, traffic information, search results, and photos of places require data.

Active Google Maps navigation often stays within 5 to 20 MB per hour if the area has already loaded. Frequent searching, satellite view, Street View, and photos can make a session use tens or hundreds of MB.

Download an area over Wi-Fi. Google confirms that offline maps can provide driving directions as long as the entire route is within the download. Traffic, alternative routes, and directions for public transport, cycling, or walking are limited or unavailable offline.

Video calling and working

Video calling uses both download and upload. A low-resolution call may remain around 0.3 to 0.7 GB per hour. HD often reaches roughly 1 to 2 GB. Group view and Full HD can use more.

Zoom lists 2.6 Mbps upload and 1.8 Mbps download for a 720p group call. If that capacity is used in full for one hour, it theoretically amounts to almost 2 GB of traffic. Actual usage varies because video services adjust their quality.

Screen sharing without moving video is usually more economical than camera footage. Turn your camera off if reception or your data allowance is limited. Read more about data usage during video calls.

Background usage you do not see

Cloud backups, system updates, app updates, and photo libraries can use gigabytes in the background. A laptop connected through a hotspot increases this risk because desktop apps synchronize larger files.

Set automatic updates and backups to Wi-Fi. Also check Wi-Fi Assist on iPhone; Apple warns that it may automatically use mobile data when Wi-Fi is weak. A hotel Wi-Fi icon therefore does not always mean your eSIM is using no data.

Measure each app on your own phone

On iPhone, Settings > Cellular shows usage by app for the current period. Apple allows you to reset the statistics, so you can start a clean measurement period.

On Pixel, this is under Settings > Network & internet > Internet > carrier settings > App data usage. Other Android phones use similar menus. Your provider's measurement remains authoritative for your plan balance.

Measure for at least a few days. One hour of home use over Wi-Fi says nothing about automatic downloads that start later on mobile data.

From app usage to a data plan

Write down how many minutes you expect to spend on an activity each day. Multiply that by usage per hour and then by the number of travel days. Add a 20% reserve.

Example: thirty minutes of TikTok every day at 1 GB per hour is 0.5 GB per day. Fourteen days then uses 7 GB. Maps, messages, and a reserve quickly bring the choice to 10 or 20 GB.

Use the guide-based GB calculator for a complete travel estimate.

Sources and editorial review

Netflix maximum amounts come from Netflix, map features from Google, and measurement paths from Apple and Google. All other MB and GB ranges are HolySim guidelines. Codecs, quality, screen, autoplay, advertisements, cache, and app version change actual usage. Last substantively reviewed on July 15, 2026.