Start with what an hour of each thing costs
The trick to sizing a travel data plan is not adding up every app you own. It is estimating hours per day for the four or five things that genuinely consume data, multiplying by seven, and adding a margin. Everything else is rounding error. Here are the ranges, close enough to plan with:
| Activity | Data per hour |
|---|---|
| Maps and navigation | 5 to 15 MB (tiles cache; far cheaper than people expect) |
| Messaging, including photos | 10 to 30 MB per hour of active use; text alone is negligible |
| Web browsing and searches | 20 to 60 MB |
| Social feeds with autoplaying video | 150 to 300 MB (the one people underestimate) |
| Music streaming | 50 to 150 MB, depending on quality setting |
| Video calls | 300 to 600 MB (audio-only is about a tenth) |
| Video streaming, SD | 700 MB |
| Video streaming, HD | 2 to 3 GB |
Look at the spread. A full week of heavy navigation is under 1GB. One evening of HD Netflix in the hotel is 2 to 3GB. That is the whole story: maps, messaging, and browsing are cheap, and video is the entire budget.
A realistic day-by-day budget
Take a moderate traveler: 2 hours of navigation (about 20 MB), an hour of messaging with photos (30 MB), 30 minutes of browsing (30 MB), an hour of social scrolling (250 MB), and an hour of streamed music on a walking tour (100 MB). That day costs about 430 MB. Over seven days: roughly 3 GB. Add a margin for the odd video call home and you land at 4 to 5 GB for the week.
Now the light traveler: messaging, email, occasional browsing, offline maps downloaded before the flight. That is 1 to 3 GB for the whole week, and honestly the lower end is enough if you lean on hotel Wi-Fi for anything heavy. The heavy traveler who streams an hour of video a night and does daily video calls is at 10 GB or more before the week ends, and should be buying a 20 GB plan or an unlimited one rather than rationing.
| Traveler type | Week abroad | Typical pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Light | 1 to 3 GB | Messaging, email, offline maps, hotel Wi-Fi for the rest |
| Moderate | 3 to 5 GB | Maps, social, photos, music, a video call or two |
| Heavy | 10 GB+ | Nightly video streaming, long video calls, remote work, tethering |
The one habit that blows every estimate
It is not streaming. People who stream know they stream. The budget killer is social feeds with autoplay on mobile data, because it feels like "checking Instagram" and spends like video. An hour of doomscrolling at 300 MB an hour, times seven days, is 2 GB on its own. If you want to stretch a plan, the single highest-leverage move is turning off video autoplay in Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook before you fly. The second is downloading offline maps, which takes the already-cheap navigation line item down to nearly zero.
Frequently asked questions
How much data do I need for a week abroad?
Most travelers use 3 to 5GB for a week of maps, messaging, browsing, and moderate social media. Light users get by on 1 to 3GB. If you stream video, do frequent video calls, or work remotely, budget 10GB or more.
What uses the most data while traveling?
Video streaming, at 700MB per hour in standard definition and 2 to 3GB per hour in HD. Video calls run 300 to 600MB per hour. Social feeds with autoplaying video are the silent budget killer at 150 to 300MB per hour.
Is 5GB enough for Google Maps for a week?
Easily. Navigation uses roughly 5 to 15MB per hour because map tiles cache and turn-by-turn directions are mostly position updates. A week of heavy navigation is well under 1GB. Download offline maps before you fly and it drops close to zero.
Should I buy a bigger eSIM plan or top up later?
Buy close to your estimate rather than far over it, since most eSIM plans cannot be refunded for unused data. Topping up mid-trip is almost always an option, so starting with 5GB and adding more if needed is the cheapest strategy.