How Much Cell Phone Data Do You Really Need?

We live in a world where data has become a highly integral part of our lives, especially on mobile devices. Data usage can very quickly and easily add up without us even noticing. That’s why it’s absolutely crucial to understand how much data you really need in order to avoid overpaying for it and keep your costs within control. In this comprehensive article, we’ll cover different types of data usage, as well as how to save on data costs without holding yourself back on what you’d like to on your smartphone.

How Much Data Does The Average Person Use Per Month?

The average person in the United States uses about 12GB of cellular data per month. However, this number can vary greatly depending on how you use your phone. If you stream a lot of music or video, or if you play online games, you’ll likely use more data than someone who only uses their phone for basic tasks like texting and calling.

Here are some examples of how much data different activities use:

• Streaming music: 0.5-1GB per hour
• Streaming video: 1-3GB per hour
• Playing online games: 0.5-2GB per hour
• Browsing the web: 0.5-1GB per hour
• Sending text messages: 0.01MB per message
• Making calls: 0.01MB per minute

If you’re not sure how much data you use, you can check your phone’s settings to see how much data you’ve used in the past month. You can also use a data usage calculator to estimate how much data you’ll use in the future.

Once you know how much data you use, you can choose a cell phone plan that meets your needs. If you use a lot of data, you’ll want to choose a plan with a high data allowance. If you don’t use a lot of data, you can save money by choosing a plan with a lower data allowance.

Here are some tips for reducing your cell phone data usage:

• Use Wi-Fi whenever possible.
• Turn off data when you’re not using it.
• Set your phone to download apps and updates over Wi-Fi only.
• Stream music and video at a lower quality.
• Limit your use of data-heavy apps like games and social media.

By following these tips, you can reduce your cell phone data usage and save money on your cell phone bill.

And while this might sound rather obvious to some, others may not be aware of the fact that different internet platforms require different amounts of data.  For this reason, you’re best off knowing where you’re using it most to adjust yourself accordingly.  We’ve covered some of the most popular platforms used on smartphones to help you get a better idea of how much data you’ll really need on your device, ranking them from highest data usage to lowest for your reference.

Video Streaming

This is also known by most, but to confirm it, video streaming does in fact use the most data.  In fact, HD quality video streaming uses up to 3GB per hour. Even with standard quality streaming, up to 1GB of data per hour is used. On a limited data plan, this can take up most of it up very quickly, not leaving data for other usages that you’re highly likely to need for the month.  Chances are you won’t be happier to see your data run out so quickly, or to see such a hefty bill at the end of the month that you weren’t expecting.

Social Media

Popular Social Media apps such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter use as much as 350MB per hour just for scrolling through your feed! And if you stream videos on one of these Social Media apps? They can end up taking as much as 750MB each hour, again taking up a hefty chunk of your monthly data usage.  Most of us scroll through social media platforms far more than we even realize.

Music Streaming

Music streaming is also a major data sucker, using as much as 150MB for every hour if listening with standard quality. If you opt for high quality music streaming, it will take up to 450 MB of data per hour.  Some people like to listen to music all day long, especially with long commutes to work, or to focus while working, which can also quickly add up.

Web Browsing

Another highly popular platform we use data on our smartphones is web browsing.  Even if you never stream videos, music and don’t use social media, you surely browse the web daily to look up just about anything and everything – especially when you’re on the go and not able to be in front of your computer. Web browsing uses up to 60MB an hour for general browsing, and for more media-heavy websites, it can use as much as 250MB an hour. This is also something to take account when trying to understand how much data you’ll need per data.

Email & Messaging

Last but not least is email and messaging that most of you very likely use on a regular basis as well, especially when you’re out and about and are not in front of your computer.  Both email and messaging take up around 10MB per hour, but this can vary greatly and can be much larger if it includes hefty attachments that need to be downloaded, such as videos and images (you can refer back to the numbers from streaming data).

It’s vital to keep track of your data usage to prevent exceeding the limit of your plan as it will bring additional charges.  One way to make sure you’re not overdoing it is to check your data on a regular basis, and it can easily be done on any of your devices.

Android

On an Android device, go to “Settings” and select “Network & internet.” From there, select “Data usage” to see your data usage over a certain period.

iPhone

On an iPhone, go to “Settings,” select “Cellular,” and then select “Cellular Data Usage.” From there, you can see your usage and set up alerts when you reach a certain limit.

Windows Phone

On a Windows Phone, go to “Settings,” select “Network & wireless,” and then select “Data usage.” From there, you can see your usage and set up a limit.

What Data Packages Do Cell Phone Providers Offer?

Different cell phone providers offer different data plans and pricing, and you’ll want to choose the one that best fits both your needs and your budget.  For those that don’t want to overspend or commit to a long-term, binding contract, a prepaid cell phone can make a good option.  Providers that offer an eSIM option are also worthwhile to consider, since they give you the ability to add multiple phone numbers on the same mobile device.

At top5-cellphoneproviders.com, we offer the ability to easily compare different phone plans so you can choose the right cell phone plan for your needs.  We’ve ranked and compared the top brands, and offer information to help you make an informed decision about which provider to opt for, whether it be for data usage, calling minutes, or text messages.

Saving On Data Usage

There are several easy ways to save on your data usage without holding yourself back on using your smartphone.  For starters, you can connect to Wi-Fi whenever it’s accessible to you. Not only will it save your data, but it also tends to be faster than cellular data.  Another useful way is as we mentioned earlier to monitor your data usage – with certain providers you can even set up special alerts to inform you when you’ve reached a certain amount of data usage.  Lastly, there are also certain data-saving features available on both devices themselves or on apps. Streaming apps for example allow you to reduce the video quality.

In Summary

The best way to save money on data is to understand how much you actually really need.  Like we explained, checking your data usage on your devices and doing regular monitoring can help you prevent getting surprises on your monthly bill. Don’t forget to also take advantage of the data-saving features out there and connect to Wi-Fi where it’s possible to save even more of your data.  By following these simple tips and checking out our top rated providers, you’re bound to find the right plan to fit both your budget and needs.  Use data to save data!