How do I choose how much GB of data I need?

Before you buy your eSIM plan, think about what you do most — watch videos, listen to music, scroll social media, or navigate with maps.
Streaming movies or making video calls will use much more data than checking emails or browsing the web.

Generally speaking, we divide our users into 3 groups:

• Light users: we recommend 1-3 GB (basic online activities: checking emails, browsing news, usings maps from time to time)
• Moderate users: we recommend 5-10 GB (regular daily use: actively scrolling social media, streaming music, and watching standard-quality video)
• Heavy users: we recommend +10GB (intensive data consumption: streaming HD movies and series, online gaming, and frequent mobile hotspot us)

Don't want to count GB? In selected countries you can also pick an Unlimited plan, one price for your whole trip with a daily full-speed allowance. It's a good fit for heavy users who would rather not track gigabytes day to day.

How much data do everyday activities use?

Each activity uses a different amount of GB, and finding the right balance helps you stay connected without running out or paying for data you won’t use. Mobile data is measured in kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), and gigabytes (GB).
1 GB equals 1,024 MB, and 1 MB equals 1,024 KB.

Messaging and video calls

Messaging apps like WhatsApp or Messenger use very little data — about 50 MB per hour.
Video calls use more, around 200–300 MB per hour, depending on quality.

Navigation apps

Navigation apps use very little data — around 3–5 MB per hour for standard maps. If you use live traffic updates or rerouting, it can rise to about 10–20 MB per hour. Satellite and Street View modes use the most.

You can save data by downloading offline maps before your trip. A city map usually takes 100–300 MB, and once it’s downloaded, turn-by-turn navigation works even without a connection. Real-time traffic still needs a small amount of data.

Browsing the web

Browsing the internet uses very little data. Most web pages take about 1–3 MB to load. An hour of light browsing usually adds up to 50 MB or less.

Pages with many images, ads, or videos use more. News sites and social media feeds often consume the most data per visit.

Streaming music

Streaming music doesn’t use much data, but it adds up over time. At standard quality (160 kbps), one hour of listening uses about 70 MB. At high quality (320 kbps), it’s roughly 115 MB per hour — around 1 GB for eight hours of playback.

To save data, download your playlists on Wi-Fi and listen offline. Most apps like Spotify, Apple Music, or TIDAL let you store songs for later.

Social media

Social media apps vary a lot in how much data they use. Text-based platforms like Twitter or Threads use around 300–400 MB per hour. Image-heavy apps such as Instagram or Facebook use about 500–600 MB per hour. Video-based platforms like TikTok or Snapchat can reach 700–900 MB per hour.

The more videos and stories you watch, the faster your data runs out. Uploading photos and reels also increases consumption.

Watching videos

Video streaming uses more data than any other activity. At standard definition (SD), one hour takes about 700 MB. In high definition (HD), it jumps to around 3 GB per hour. Streaming in 4K can use over 7 GB in the same time.

A two-hour movie in HD can easily consume 6 GB of data. If you plan to stream while traveling, it’s smart to lower video quality or download shows in advance using Wi-Fi.

Some streaming platforms, like Netflix, let you control how much data you use. Netflix offers four settings for data usage per device:

• Low: Basic video quality, up to 0.3 GB per hour
• Medium: Standard quality, up to 0.7 GB per hour
• High: Best quality
   • up to 1 GB in SD
   • up to 3 GB in HD
   • up to 7 GB in Ultra HD (4K)

Never run out of data with Ohayu

It's hard to predict exactly how much data a trip will take. One day you're streaming maps, the next you're watching videos offline. With Ohayu, you don't have to get it perfect from the start.

Pick any plan that fits your trip, and if you ever need more, you can top up most plans in seconds. You can add extra data directly in the Ohayu app without changing your eSIM or losing connection.

You can also turn on Auto top-up at checkout, so we refill your data automatically when you reach 90% of your plan (cancel any time in eSIM settings).

Stay flexible, stay online, and forget about running out of data halfway through your trip.