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How much data do I need for my mobile plan?

Last Updated: Friday 5 May 2023

No one wants to pay more money for data they don’t end up using, and hitting that sweet spot when choosing the amount of data for your mobile plan can be unnecessarily difficult.

But we are here to help! Here’s a few things you should consider when selecting the data allowance on your plan:

Access to Wi-Fi

Having access to Wi-Fi once you leave the realm of your home Wi-Fi (work, university or school), will impact the amount of data required.

Phone use

Do you even use your phone while out of Wi-Fi range? Do you read on the train everyday, listen to downloaded music, use your work phone, use your phone’s GPS for directions or completely ignore your phone during business hours? Understanding how you use or don’t use your phone will help with your data allowance selection.

What apps you use and how data intensive they are?

For a guide of how data intensive apps can be, we’ve provided some estimates below.

YouTube

Quality10 minutes1 hour
4K (UHD)450 MB2.7 GB
1080p (HD)275 MB1.65 GB
720p (SD)145 MB870 MB
480p (SD)44 MB264 MB

Netflix

Quality1 hour
4K (UHD)7 GB
1080p (HD)3 GB
720p (SD)1 GB
480p (SD)500 MB

Audio Streaming – Spotify, Apple Music

PlatformPer SecondPer MinutePer Hour
Spotify Free160 kbps1.2 MB72 MB
Spotify Premium320 kbps2.4 MB144 MB
Apple Music256 kbps 1.9 MB115 MB
Google Music320 kbps2.4 MB144 MB

Social Media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

If you’re just scrolling through your social media and having a gander at the content on offer, expect to use roughly 1.5MB per minute. When you start interacting with the content, for instance watching videos, clicking on a bunch of photos, commenting on posts and messaging friends, your internet usage will increase to 2.5-3MB per minute. An average user will likely use roughly 3GB per month on social media, but a heavy user can use 3GB in a single day.

Once you have figured out how much data you need, you can order an Aussie Broadband mobile service here.

Just remember that you can change your mobile plan at anytime if your data needs change.

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