How many GB do I need for India? Travel profile guide

If you've already decided you're taking data to India and the only thing left is choosing the package size, this guide is exactly about that: how many GB you need for India based on how you travel and how many days you're staying. No theory: the number first, the why after, and if you have time left over, the tricks to make it stretch. Because the expensive mistake isn't running out, it's overbuying.

The short answer: the GB you actually need in India

For 15 days in India with maps, WhatsApp, a translator and lots of photos, most people are fine with 15 GB, a bit over 1 GB a day. If you plan to watch video on long train rides, go up to 25-30 GB. And if you only use maps and messages, 8 GB will do you.

That's my default recommendation for the classic trip: the Golden Triangle, a jump to Rajasthan or Varanasi, and back. It's based on average usage of between 700 MB and 1.2 GB per day for a normal traveler who navigates with Google Maps, sends voice notes and photos on WhatsApp, posts stories, uses the translator and orders the occasional Uber. With 15 GB you have a buffer for the two or three days you go over without noticing.

If your trip is longer (three weeks or a month covering Kerala, Goa and the north), don't just multiply blindly: daily usage drops once you've been away a week, because you've downloaded maps, planned your routes and feel less urgency to share. For 30 days I'd go with 25-30 GB, not 45.

If you want the general rule before looking at the India case, I've broken it down in the main guide on how much data you need for travel. Here I'm focusing on what's specific to India, which is quite a lot.

Why India burns through more data than you think

India isn't a low-data destination. Four things push your data usage up, and it's worth knowing them before you pick a package.

• The translator is with you all day. Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, different scripts depending on the state, handwritten restaurant menus and station signs that aren't always in English. You use the camera translator way more than you'd expect.
• Maps and transport, on a loop. Uber works in the big cities and Ola is the local rival; between booking a ride, tracking the driver on the map and checking they're not taking the long way, your screen is on constantly.
• Photos and video by the bucketload. India is probably the country where you take more shots than anywhere else you've traveled. If you have Google Photos or iCloud auto-backup on over mobile data, there goes your whole plan.
• Huge amounts of travel time. Twelve- and eighteen-hour trains, five-hour drives between Rajasthan cities. Your phone becomes your entertainment, and that's exactly what drives up usage.

On the flip side, something works in your favor: 4G coverage in cities and on main roads is surprisingly good and India doesn't require a VPN, unlike China. If you choose to use a VPN out of habit for banking, factor in an extra 5-15% usage from the encryption. For the details on how to connect (your carrier's roaming, a local SIM or an eSIM), I compare them in internet in India.

What each app really uses

Before picking your GB, it's worth looking at real numbers, because almost everyone overestimates what maps use and wildly underestimates what video eats. These are the orders of magnitude I work with:

The takeaway is simple: anything that isn't video is pocket change. Maps, messaging and transport combined will hardly pass 150-200 MB a day. I have more figures per activity in the mobile data usage statistics by activity. Your package comes down to one question: how much video will you watch.

Indian trains: where half your package goes

This is what makes a trip through India different. Delhi-Varanasi is about twelve hours by train. Delhi-Jaisalmer, close to eighteen. A north-to-south Kerala route can eat up a whole night. And on those journeys your phone stops being a tool and becomes the TV.

Do the math with me. If on a twelve-hour train you stream six hours of series at 720p, that's between 6.6 and 7.8 GB in one sitting. A single trip. If you take three or four overnight trains on your trip, you've turned a 15 GB package into a 40 GB one without doing anything unusual.

My rule for India: if you're taking more than two long trains, either bump your package up 50% or get used to downloading at the hotel the night before. There's no third option.

And there's a practical reason beyond the cost: coverage in rural stretches comes and goes. The train crosses areas where 4G disappears for twenty minutes, so your stream cuts out right at the best scene. Downloading episodes, music and a few podcasts before boarding saves you both data and frustration. Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube Premium and Spotify all support offline downloads; make the most of it the night before, when you're somewhere with decent Wi-Fi.

How many GB based on your profile and your days

This is the table that really matters. Find the row that looks most like you, cross it with the days you're going and buy that package. The figures already include a reasonable buffer, so no need to round up again.

Two notes on reading it right. First: if you're sharing a connection with another phone, the second device usually uses more than the first, because whoever isn't paying for the data doesn't watch it. If there are two of you and you're both into social media, two separate packages beat one big shared one.

Second: the remote work profile assumes work video calls, and that's where numbers climb fast. A one-hour Zoom or Meet meeting is around 1 GB. Five meetings a week is 5 GB just on calls. If your trip is half work, half tourism, count your video call hours separately and add them to the tourist profile that fits you.

Wi-Fi in Indian hotels: don't count on it

This is where many data calculators fail, because they assume you'll sleep somewhere with good Wi-Fi and download everything for free. In India that depends a lot on the category of accommodation, much more than in Europe.

• 4- and 5-star hotels and restored havelis: Wi-Fi is usually fine, good enough for uploading photos and video calls. These are the ones where you can count on downloading your series at night.
• Mid-range hotels and guesthouses: the Wi-Fi exists, but it's one line shared across all the rooms. It works decently at 7 in the morning and crawls at 10 PM. Fine for messaging; not for uploading video.
• Hostels, rural homestays and Kerala houseboats: assume there's no usable Wi-Fi. Many run off a router connected to the same mobile network you'd be using.

My practical advice is to never plan an important download around the hotel Wi-Fi unless you know you're staying somewhere upscale. If the Wi-Fi works that night, great, you've saved some data; but the package you buy has to last the whole trip even if the Wi-Fi doesn't work a single day.

There's one comfortable exception: the big Indian airports (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore) and many chain coffee shops have reasonable Wi-Fi, though the login usually asks for an Indian mobile number to receive a code. If you don't have one, you won't be able to connect. Another reason not to rely on public Wi-Fi in this country.

Himalayas, Ladakh & Kashmir: Where You Won't Use Data

Good news for your wallet and bad news for your stories: if your route goes up to Ladakh, Spiti, or Himalayan treks, those days you'll use practically zero data. Outside of Leh and the main towns, coverage disappears for hours or entire days, and where it does exist, it's usually slow.

This means that a week in the mountains should not count as a normal week when calculating your package. If six of your 20 travel days involve trekking or road travel through the Himalayas, calculate your package for 14 days, not 20.

And here's the important warning, which is purely Indian and catches a lot of people off guard:

Indian prepaid SIMs purchased in another state are deactivated when you enter Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, for security regulations. In other words: you buy a SIM in Delhi, go up to Leh, and you're left without service. Only Indian postpaid lines or a prepaid SIM bought locally in Leh, with its own separate paperwork, will work there.

If you're going to that area, have a plan B: download maps for the whole route, let people at home know you'll be out of reach for a few days, and don't leave your return hotel booking pending online confirmation. And don't buy a huge data package thinking you'll need it for those days — you won't.

India has the cheapest data in the world: let's be clear

Time to be honest, because if I don't say it, you'll find out at the airport. India has some of the cheapest mobile data on the planet: a prepaid plan from Jio or Airtel for around 300-500 rupees (about 3-6 €) gives you roughly 1.5-2 GB per day for 28 days. That's tens of gigs for the price of a meal. In terms of raw price per gig, no travel eSIM in the world can compete with that, not mine or anyone else's.

That said, price per gigabyte isn't the only factor. Here is what you buy and what you pay for in each option:

My position is clear: the eSIM wins on convenience and avoiding paperwork, not on price per gigabyte. If you travel for three months and don't mind spending a morning on KYC, the local SIM will cost you less. If you're going for two weeks and want to step off the plane with Google Maps working, it's worth it. If you're not sure how the technology works, I explain it in what is an eSIM, and the specific options for the country are in the eSIM guide for India.

Calculate your actual usage before you fly

All of the above are averages. Your actual usage is in your pocket, and it costs nothing to check: it is the most reliable data you will find about yourself.

On Android, go to Settings, Network & internet, SIM, App data usage, and change the period to the last full month. On iPhone, go to Settings, Mobile data and scroll down to the total; note, that counter is cumulative since the last time you reset it, so if you've never zeroed it out, divide by the number of months that have passed.

With that monthly figure, do this:

1. Divide by 30 to get your actual daily usage at home.
2. Multiply by 1.5. You use more when traveling: maps, translator, photos, and less trusted Wi-Fi.
3. Multiply by the number of travel days, subtracting days in the mountains without coverage.
4. Add a 20% buffer and round up to the nearest commercial package.

A real example: if you use 12 GB per month at home with Wi-Fi and at the office, that's 400 MB per day. Times 1.5 is 600 MB. For 15 days in India that is 9 GB, plus a buffer, 11-12 GB. There is your number, and it matches the profile table pretty closely. If the calculation and the table give you very different results, check if you have photo backup over mobile data turned on: that's usually the culprit.

How to stretch your data (and what to do if you run low)

With four tweaks made at the hotel on the first night, a 10 GB plan stretches like a 20 GB one. These are the ones that make the biggest difference in India:

I have the full list, with step-by-step instructions for each setting, in data-saving tips for travel.

And if you run low halfway through your trip? No big deal, and I'd much rather you run out than overbuy. Topping up takes minutes from your phone and you only pay for what you actually need; extra data you buy "just in case" expires and is wasted. Buying 30 GB "to be safe" for a two-week trip is almost certainly throwing money away. Start with the plan the table suggests, check your counter on day four, and decide based on facts, not fear.

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

My recommendation, plain and simple: 15 GB for two weeks in India if you're a traveler who takes photos, uses maps, and checks social media; 8 GB if you're the type who only glances at the map and messages family; 25-30 GB if you plan to turn overnight trains into a series marathon. If your route includes the Himalayas or Ladakh, subtract those days from your calculation, because you won't be using data there.

And remember the golden rule: start small and top up if you need to, never the other way around. If you want to arrive in Delhi with internet working from the moment you turn on your phone at baggage claim, with no queues or KYC forms, check out the eSIM for India plans and pick the size I just told you. Not a gig more.

Written byMarc González Sáez Founder of PuraSIM. He oversees the blog guides, which are built from our wholesale provider's network data, official carrier and manufacturer documentation, and real questions from travelers. If you spot something wrong, write to him and he'll correct it.