How much data do you need for a trip?
Nobody can give you an exact number, and anyone who gives you one to two decimal places is making it up. What we can do is narrow it down to an honest range: here it is, using the same figures as our own calculator.
Three ways of using your phone, three ranges
These are the ranges our calculator gives, not counting video on your phone, which we treat separately because it changes everything.
| How you use your phone | 4 days | 7 days | 14 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just enough to get around maps, messaging and the odd search | 0.1 – 0.2 GB | 0.1 – 0.4 GB | 0.2 – 0.8 GB |
| Like at home, but travelling all of the above plus social media, music and photo backup | 1.2 – 4.2 GB | 2 – 7.4 GB | 4.1 – 14.7 GB |
| My phone is my life social media almost all day, music, video calls | 3.9 – 10.6 GB | 6.8 – 18.5 GB | 13.5 – 37 GB |
Ranges calculated with the same figures and formula as the data calculator. They're our own estimates, not measurements: that's why the ranges are wide.
Video matters more than everything else put together
The same hour of video can use twelve times more or less data depending on a single setting in the app.
- On “Save Data”: about 167 MB per hour. Netflix puts it as “about 6 hours per GB”.
- On “Automatic”, the default setting: about 250 MB per hour, “about 4 hours per GB”.
- On “Maximum Data”: 3 GB per hour or more, “1 GB every 20 minutes or more”.
To put that in context: a week-long trip with normal use comes to 2 – 7.4 GB; add an hour of video a day on “Automatic” and it goes up to 3.8 – 9.1 GB.
Video figures published by Netflix in its Help Centre, checked on 18 September 2026.
The ones that use data without you noticing
- Automatic photo backup to the cloud: between 150 and 600 MB a day, with the phone in your pocket. This is the one that eats a whole plan without anyone noticing.
- Social media: between 100 and 400 MB per hour. It may not look like it, but it's video: scrolling plays clips automatically.
- Video calls: between 200 and 900 MB per hour. The range is deliberately huge, because the app lowers the quality by itself when the network is struggling.
- Music makes less difference than people think: about 43 MB per hour at normal quality and 144 MB per hour at very high, calculated from the bitrates Spotify publishes.
Apart from music, based on Spotify figures (checked on 18 September 2026), these are our own estimates in wide ranges: there's no reliable source for these activities.
Four settings that really save data
- Lower the video quality in the apps on your phone. Going from “Maximum Data” to “Automatic” takes the same hour from 3 GB or more down to about 250 MB.
- Download the map of the area before you go out, on Wi-Fi. Navigating with the map already downloaded brings map data use down to almost zero.
- Turn off photo backup over mobile data and upload them at night, on the hotel Wi-Fi.
- Make the most of Wi-Fi. Whatever you do on hotel or airport Wi-Fi doesn't use a single megabyte of your eSIM; that's why hardly anyone needs as many GB as they think.
So which plan should I buy?
- If your range fits within a plan, choose that one. There's no need to buy the next one up just in case.
- If it falls between two, the calculator shows you both prices and you decide: the smaller one if you expect to stay at the low end, the bigger one if you want plenty to spare.
- If your use is high or you don't know how the trip will go, see whether the destination offers the unlimited GB plan: you get a daily allowance at full speed and, if you go over it, you stay connected at a lower speed instead of running out.
Frequently asked questions
Why do you give a range and not a number?
Because nobody can know how many GB you'll use, and pretending to be precise would be misleading. We'd rather give a wide, honest range.
Do WhatsApp calls use data?
Yes, they run over data. Voice calls use little; video calls fall under the video call estimate.
What if I run out?
We explain what happens and what your options are in what happens when your data runs out.
How can I see how much I've used?
In My eSIM, with the email address you used to buy. The operator reports usage with a delay, so it's a guide, not an exact counter.
Choose the plan that suits you
Plans from €2.95, delivered instantly by email.