How much data for a trip abroad: 0.3 to 3 GB a day

Where are you travelling?

Number of days: 7

How you use the internet

— GB

your estimate margin

— — — —

Charged US$2.99 by card. Your bank converts the US$ charge at its own rate and may add a foreign-transaction fee — how card payment works.

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How many GB for a week, 10 days and a month

How you use it	Week	10 days	2 weeks	Month
Maps and messaging GPS, cab apps, WhatsApp chats, a few photos	3 GB	3 GB	5 GB	10 GB
Social media and photos Instagram feed and stories, photos backed up to the cloud	10 GB	10 GB	20 GB	50 GB
Videos and video calls Reels and YouTube on the go, video calls home	20 GB	20 GB	50 GB	More than 50 GB
Working on a laptop Hotspot to a laptop, meetings, file uploads	50 GB	50 GB	50 GB	More than 50 GB

Rounded up to the most common plan size: data runs out before the paid days do, and adding a second plan in the middle of the trip is more hassle than taking a bigger size from the start. More than 50 GB does not fit in one plan with a data allowance: then you need two plans or an unlimited one, which has its own fair-use limit. The calculator above is more precise, because it also takes the country into account.

How much data maps, messaging and video use

Use per hour, in gigabytes. Logarithmic axis

Voice call 27–72 MB

Series, low quality up to 0.3 GB

Video call 0.54 GB

Series, medium quality up to 0.7 GB

Series in HD up to 3 GB

Series in 4K up to 7 GB

Maps, messaging, YouTube no official figure

Use per hour. The figures for series are Netflix’s own; voice and video calls are our own calculation from Zoom’s bandwidth requirements, which is why those bars are lighter. For maps, messaging and YouTube none of these services publishes an official figure, and we do not make one up: the hatching instead of a bar means exactly that, not zero use. Each mark on the axis is about three times the previous one; without that, a voice call and an hour of 4K would not fit on the same chart.

How not to overpay

Compare the price per day, not just the total. The calculator shows what a day costs on the suggested plan; on the country page you can compare it with the other plans.

Turn off background downloads before you travel. Automatic photo backup to the cloud can use up a week’s plan in a few days without you noticing, with the phone in your pocket.

Don’t buy exactly what you need. When the data runs out, the paid days keep running, and you will have to buy another plan in the middle of the trip.

Frequently asked questions

Is 1 GB enough for 5 days in Thailand?

Only for light use with hotel Wi-Fi. Maps and messaging take about 0.3 GB a day, 1.5 GB over 5 days, so 1 GB runs short unless Wi-Fi covers part of it. With social media and photos you need about 4 GB, so take the 5 GB plan.

How much data do I need for an eSIM on a 10-day trip?

About 8 GB if you use social media and photos (0.8 GB a day), so a 10 GB plan. Maps and messaging alone need about 3 GB. Reels, YouTube and video calls need about 17 GB, which rounds up to 20 GB.

Does an unlimited plan really have no daily cap?

No. Our unlimited plans for Thailand and Europe give 5 GB a day at full speed, then slow to 1 Mbps.

Can one eSIM serve the whole family?

No. An eSIM installs on one phone, so each phone needs its own plan. Sharing one plan through a phone’s hotspot draws on that plan’s data, and our plan details do not state a hotspot rule, so ask us before you rely on it.

How many GB are enough for a week abroad?

With maps, ride-hailing apps and messaging, about 2 GB a week. With social media and sending photos, 5 to 6 GB. Video and video calls take it to about 12 GB in the same week. These are averages: real use depends on video quality and how much time you spend on Wi-Fi.

What if the data runs out before the plan ends?

The plan stops working for data and the paid days keep running. You can buy another plan for the same destination at any time, but it is better to take some margin than to buy exactly what you need.

Does my phone use data when it is just in my pocket?

Yes. Background app updates, photo sync and backups use data without you touching anything, sometimes a noticeable share of the plan. Before you travel, turn off automatic photo upload to the cloud and app updates over mobile data.

Does hotel Wi-Fi save much data?

Yes, and it is the main way to manage with a small plan. If you are back at the hotel every night and it has Wi-Fi, mobile data during the day goes mostly on maps and messaging, the first row of the table. With Wi-Fi included where you stay, you often do not need a big plan.

In detail

Plan on 0.3 GB a day for maps and messaging, 0.8 GB for social media and photos, 1.7 GB for reels, YouTube and video calls home, and 3 GB for working on a laptop through your phone’s hotspot. Multiply by the days you will be away, round up to the next plan size and keep a margin.

If you use social media and send photos, plan on about 0.8 GB a day: 4 GB for 5 days and 11.2 GB for 14 days. That is the default profile of our calculator, which assumes four profiles from 0.3 to 3.0 GB a day and rounds up to the next plan size. Hotel Wi-Fi lowers the real figure.

Profile	GB per day	5 days	14 days	Plan size, 5 days	Plan size, 14 days
Maps and messaging	0.3	1.5 GB	4.2 GB	2 GB	5 GB
Social media and photos	0.8	4 GB	11.2 GB	5 GB	20 GB
Videos and video calls	1.7	8.5 GB	23.8 GB	10 GB	50 GB
Working on a laptop	3.0	15 GB	42 GB	20 GB	50 GB

Source: the daily figures are our calculator’s assumptions, not measurements. Plan sizes are the steps the calculator rounds up to (1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20 and 50 GB); which sizes and how many days a country offers is shown on its page. Checked 12 Oct 2026.

Maps, WhatsApp calls, reels and hotspot: what uses what

Video decides how much data you use. Netflix lists up to 3 GB an hour for HD video on one device. Our calculation from Zoom’s bandwidth requirements puts a video call at about 0.54 GB an hour, against 27 to 72 MB for an hour of voice call. The Netflix figure is a maximum and the call figures are estimates, both checked 12 Oct 2026.

A 20-minute voice call home uses roughly 9 to 24 MB, a video call about 0.18 GB. We found no official MB-per-hour figure from Google Maps, WhatsApp, Instagram or YouTube, so we give none: the 1.7 GB profile for reels and YouTube is a planning number.

Hotspot is not an app. It pushes a laptop’s traffic through your phone, which is why the laptop profile is 3 GB a day. Hotspot use draws on the same data allowance. Our plan details for Thailand and Europe do not state a hotspot rule, so if you depend on it, ask us on WhatsApp before you buy.

Rule of thumb: switch off automatic photo upload and app updates over mobile data before you fly.

A 5-day Thailand trip vs a 2-week family trip to Europe

For 5 days in Thailand with social media and photos you need 4 GB, so the 5 GB plan at ≈ ₹628 (9 Oct rate) fits, charged US$6.49 by card. For 14 days in Europe the same use needs 11.2 GB per phone, so take 20 GB. A 10 GB plan fits only if hotel Wi-Fi carries your evenings.

Thailand, 5 days, one phone. Maps and messaging only (1.5 GB): the 2 GB plan at ≈ ₹531 (9 Oct rate). Social media and photos (4 GB): the 5 GB plan at ≈ ₹628 (9 Oct rate). Videos and video calls (8.5 GB): the 10 GB plan at ≈ ₹870 (9 Oct rate).

Europe, 14 days, per phone. Social media and photos without reliable Wi-Fi (11.2 GB): the 20 GB, 30-day plan at ≈ ₹2,901 (9 Oct rate). The 10 GB, 15-day plan at ≈ ₹2,707 (9 Oct rate) covers 14 days only at about 0.7 GB a day, so it needs hotel Wi-Fi every night. Compare the two prices before you take the smaller plan: the saving may be small for half the data. Each phone in the family needs its own eSIM, so multiply by the number of phones.

Your card is charged in US dollars. Your bank converts the amount at its own rate and may add a foreign-transaction (forex markup) fee. The rupee figures are therefore estimates; the charge is US$27.99 for Europe 10 GB and US$29.99 for Europe 20 GB. Read how card payments work, then see Thailand, Europe or the full country list.

When “unlimited” is worth it: 5 GB a day at full speed

Unlimited plans for Thailand and Europe slow to 1 Mbps once you pass 5 GB in a day, under the fair-use terms in our catalogue. They pay off when your use is hard to predict or you work on a laptop for several days. When you know your total, compare the sized plan and the unlimited one by price.

Take the laptop profile on 5 days in Thailand: 15 GB, so the 20 GB plan at ≈ ₹1,547 (9 Oct rate), against the 5-day unlimited plan (5 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps) at ≈ ₹1,450 (9 Oct rate). The unlimited plan gives up to 25 GB at full speed over the 5 days. If the sized plan is cheaper and covers your total, take it. Laptop work also depends on hotspot, so check that with us before you choose either plan. The glossary entry on FUP explains how a fair-use limit works.