URL: https://esimgo.in/how-much-data-do-i-need/ Source: eSIM Go (esimgo.in) Author: Nadezhda Semenova, entrepreneur, co-founder of the Trippy travel service, https://esimgo.in/author/ Updated: 12 Oct 2026 # How much data do I need for my trip abroad? 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. ## Short answer: GB per day for a typical Indian traveller 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](/go/in) 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](/international-sim/thailand/) with social media and photos you need 4 GB, so the 5 GB plan at ≈ ₹622 (12 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 ≈ ₹526 (12 Oct rate). Social media and photos (4 GB): the 5 GB plan at ≈ ₹622 (12 Oct rate). Videos and video calls (8.5 GB): the 10 GB plan at ≈ ₹861 (12 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 ≈ ₹2,872 (12 Oct rate). The 10 GB, 15-day plan at ≈ ₹2,681 (12 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](/how-to-pay/), then see [Thailand](/esim-thailand/), [Europe](/esim-europe/) or the full [country list](/countries/). ## 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](/esim-unlimited/) by price. Take the laptop profile on 5 days in Thailand: 15 GB, so the 20 GB plan at ≈ ₹1,532 (12 Oct rate), against the 5-day unlimited plan (5 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps) at ≈ ₹1,436 (12 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](/glossary/#fup) explains how a fair-use limit works. ## FAQ ### 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. ## Sources Checked on 12 Oct 2026 (IST). 1. Daily profiles (0.3, 0.8, 1.7 and 3.0 GB a day) and plan-size steps: the data calculator on this page. 2. [Netflix Help Center: How to control how much data Netflix uses](https://help.netflix.com/en/node/87) — HD video up to 3 GB an hour per device. 3. [Zoom: bandwidth requirements](https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0060748) — 600 kbps up and down for a high-quality one-to-one video call, 60 to 80 kbps for audio; the per-hour figures are our calculation. 4. Plan sizes, validity and fair-use limits: the eSIM Go catalogue on the [Thailand](/esim-thailand/) and [Europe](/esim-europe/) pages.