How many GB do I need for travel? Calculate your data plan

For a one-week holiday using WhatsApp, Google Maps, tickets, and some social media, 5 GB is usually a sensible choice. For two weeks of normal use, 10 GB is a better fit. Choose 20 GB or more if you watch video daily, make video calls, upload photos, or use a laptop through a hotspot.

HolySim advice: calculate your expected usage and add a 20% reserve. This margin covers detours, slow hotel Wi-Fi, and unexpected uploads.

Quick choice by traveler type

These guidelines apply to one person and one phone. They are a starting point, not a promise of exact usage.

• For light use, allow 100 to 200 MB per day. You use messages, email, tickets, and occasional navigation. A week will often fit within 1 to 3 GB.
• For normal holiday use, allow 300 to 700 MB per day. You use maps, restaurant apps, social media, and send photos. Five GB will often suit one week; 10 GB suits two weeks.
• An intensive user can quickly reach 1 to 2 GB per day. Think daily TikTok or YouTube, frequent photo uploads, and longer navigation. For one week, 10 to 20 GB is suitable.
• For working and streaming, 2 to 5 GB per day is possible. Video meetings, Netflix, and a laptop hotspot quickly make 20 GB feel small.

Download films, music, and maps at home and you may fit into a category below. If you share the eSIM with several devices, allow more instead.

Calculate your plan in three steps

Start with the number of travel days. Then estimate your daily usage and add a reserve.

The formula is:

number of days × GB per day × 1.2 = recommended plan

Example: you are traveling for twelve days and expect to use 0.5 GB per day. Twelve times 0.5 is 6 GB. With a 20% reserve, the result is 7.2 GB. The next practical plan is therefore 10 GB.

Round up to a plan that is actually available. A theoretical result of 5.3 GB is not a reason to choose 5 GB if you cannot top up without Wi-Fi.

How many GB for one week?

For a seven-day city break or beach holiday, these are useful choices:

• 1 to 3 GB if you avoid video, save maps offline, and mostly use hotel Wi-Fi;
• 5 GB for normal use with navigation, messages, bookings, and some social media every day;
• 10 GB if you upload many photos, watch video regularly, or make a few video calls;
• 20 GB or more if you work, stream, or share data through a hotspot.

According to Netflix, one hour in HD may use up to 3 GB. One film can therefore consume more data than several days of maps and messages combined.

How many GB for two or three weeks?

For fourteen days, 10 GB is the safe middle ground for a typical holidaymaker. Someone who is economical and has plenty of Wi-Fi may manage with 5 GB. Daily video, TikTok, or video calls make 20 GB more logical.

For three weeks, 10 to 20 GB suits normal use. Choose more if you change accommodation, take a road trip, or need to work. Wi-Fi is less predictable while moving around than it is in a single hotel.

Do not simply add every extra week in full if you download plenty of material at home. Offline maps occupy the same space regardless of the length of your trip. Daily feeds, uploads, and calls do continue every day.

The apps that determine your calculation

Text messages, email without attachments, and navigation are relatively economical. Video usually determines the plan.

HolySim uses these broad ranges for travel planning:

• Google Maps during active navigation: about 5 to 20 MB per hour after the map area has loaded;
• music streaming: about 40 to 150 MB per hour, depending on audio quality;
• social media with many photos and short videos: about 100 MB to more than 1 GB per hour;
• YouTube: about 0.3 to 3 GB per hour at 360p to 1080p;
• Netflix: according to Netflix, up to 0.3 GB per hour on Low and up to 3 GB per hour in HD;
• video calling: often 0.3 to 2 GB per hour, depending on resolution and group view.

Compare data usage by app if you want to build a more precise daily estimate.

Video changes everything

A 5 GB plan is generous for routes, chat, and tickets, but small for streaming. Netflix says its mobile Save Data setting provides about six hours of viewing per GB. On the Maximum Data setting, it may instead use 1 GB per twenty minutes or more.

YouTube and TikTok do not have a fixed usage per minute. Resolution, video length, advertisements, preloading, and connection speed change the result. Select a lower video quality on mobile data and measure your own usage if video is part of your holiday.

Use our separate calculations for Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok.

Working through an eSIM

Email and documents are often modest. Video meetings and laptop background traffic are not. An HD meeting may use around 1 to 2 GB per hour. A laptop may also synchronize cloud files, system updates, and photo libraries.

For one hour of video calling per workday, plan at least 1 GB extra per day. For several meetings, screen sharing, and large files, 2 to 4 GB per workday is more realistic. Check whether your eSIM plan allows hotspot use as well.

Pause updates and cloud synchronization before connecting the laptop. Read the calculation for data usage during video calls.

Look at your actual usage at home

Your own phone is a better predictor than an average. Measure a normal week before you leave.

On iPhone, open Settings > Cellular. Apple shows mobile data by app there. Reset the statistics at the start of your measurement week and record the total after seven days.

On Pixel, open Settings > Network & internet > Internet, tap Settings beside the provider, and open App data usage. Google warns that your phone's measurement may differ from your provider's. On other Android brands, this is often called Data usage or Mobile data usage.

Do not simply subtract your home usage over Wi-Fi. While traveling, you use maps, booking apps, and translation more often, while streaming may decrease if you download in advance.

Wi-Fi is not a data plan strategy

Hotel Wi-Fi may be good, but it may also be slow, insecure, or available only in the lobby. Do not choose a plan that works only if every place you stay has perfect Wi-Fi.

Use trusted Wi-Fi for large downloads and backups. Keep enough mobile data for navigation, tickets, transport, messages, and an emergency booking. Those are precisely the moments when you do not want to search for a café password.

Sources and editorial review

Netflix figures come from the official Netflix Help Center. The other app ranges are HolySim planning guidelines because usage varies by setting, device, codec, and behavior. For the best estimate, measure your own usage and check the plan balance with your provider. Last substantively reviewed on July 15, 2026.