In short: video streaming drives data consumption: Netflix can use up to 7 GB/hour in 4K and YouTube up to 3 GB/hour in 1080p, according to the consumption tables published by the platforms themselves. Instagram uses around 720 MB/hour when browsing the feed. Google Maps, however, only uses 3-5 MB/hour when navigating: the app that is least concerning when calculating your travel data plan.
Everyone asks themselves the same question before a trip: how many GB do I need? And the honest answer is that it heavily depends on which apps you open and how often, because some activities consume a hundred times more data than others. Spending an afternoon watching a series in the hotel is not the same as checking the map while walking through a new city. In this article, we review, with real and verifiable figures, how much each common mobile activity consumes, so you can choose the data plan size you actually need and avoid running out of data halfway through your trip or overpaying for an oversized plan.
How much each activity consumes: the reference table
Before going into detail, here is the complete picture. These figures come from the data consumption tables that the platforms themselves (Netflix, YouTube, Instagram, Google Maps) use as a reference for their users, and are commonly used in the telecommunications sector when sizing data plans.
| Activity | Estimated consumption | Source / note |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix, low quality | ≈300 MB/hour | Netflix data usage table |
| Netflix, SD quality | ≈700 MB/hour | Netflix data usage table |
| Netflix, HD (1080p) | ≈3 GB/hour | Netflix data usage table |
| Netflix, 4K | up to 7 GB/hour | Netflix data usage table |
| YouTube, 720p | ≈2 GB/hour | YouTube video quality settings |
| YouTube, 1080p | ≈3 GB/hour | YouTube video quality settings |
| Instagram (feed, stories, reels) | ≈720 MB/hour, up to ≈1 GB/hour with lots of video | Average active scroll consumption |
| Google Maps, turn-by-turn navigation | 3-5 MB/hour | Google Maps data usage |
| Google Maps, satellite view | 15-20 MB/hour | Google Maps data usage |
Just by looking at this table, the pattern becomes clear: video reigns supreme, and within video, resolution changes everything. Other everyday activities — maps, messaging, light web browsing — fall into a completely different order of magnitude, closer to megabytes than gigabytes.
Netflix: Resolution quadruples spending
Netflix is the clearest example of how image quality multiplies consumption. According to their own data consumption table, watching a series in low quality barely uses about 300 MB per hour, a figure that would fit many times into any modest travel plan. Going up to SD already doubles that figure to 700 MB/hour. But the real leap comes with HD (1080p), which is around 3 GB per hour, and with 4K, which can reach up to 7 GB per hour.
Put another way: the difference between watching a movie in low quality or in 4K is the difference between spending the equivalent of a few WhatsApp photos or spending a good portion of an entire travel data plan in just one hour. If you're going to stream during your trip, the most cost-effective decision you can make is in the app's settings menu, not in buying more GB than you need.
YouTube follows a similar pattern
YouTube behaves similarly to Netflix, though with fewer quality tiers relevant for daily use. At 720p, consumption is around 2 GB per hour, and going up to 1080p increases it to about 3 GB per hour, practically in line with what Netflix consumes at the same resolution. If you tend to watch long videos —documentaries, matches, live streams— on YouTube during your travels, this is the figure that will most impact your data plan, even more so than social media.
Instagram: the consumption of constant scrolling
Social networks don't reach the levels of pure streaming, but they're not innocent either. Browsing the Instagram feed, watching stories and reels continuously consumes around 720 MB per hour, a figure that approaches 1 GB per hour when the content you watch is mostly video (which is increasingly the norm on the app). This is an intermediate consumption: much more than messaging or maps, but considerably less than watching a series in HD.
The key here is usage habit: twenty minutes of scrolling between meals barely registers on the data meter, but a long hour of reels on a train journey starts to add up similarly to half an hour of Netflix in SD.
Google Maps: the app that should worry you least
And here comes the most reassuring fact for any traveler: Google Maps with active turn-by-turn navigation barely consumes between 3 and 5 MB per hour. Even in satellite view, which is the heaviest option within the app, consumption rises to 15-20 MB per hour, a figure that is still tiny compared to any other activity on this list.
The comparison is stark: ten minutes of watching Netflix in HD consumes as much as hundreds of hours using Google Maps for navigation. So if your main concern abroad is "not getting lost," you can rest assured: GPS with maps is, by far, one of the cheapest data activities out there. What you really need to watch is how much time you spend watching video, not how much you use the map.
What this means for your travel data plan
With these figures, you can now do your own calculations based on what you usually do with your mobile. Some practical ideas:
- If you're going to stream, lower the resolution. Switching from 4K to SD on Netflix is barely noticeable on a mobile screen, and the consumption difference is several gigabytes per hour. The same applies to YouTube: activating the "data saver" quality significantly reduces consumption without compromising video quality.
- Save HD/4K streaming for hotel Wi-Fi. Download episodes in advance when you have Wi-Fi and save your mobile data for things you can't do offline.
- Don't be afraid to use GPS. As we've seen, Google Maps is one of the most data-efficient apps: you can leave it running in the background all day without significantly impacting your plan.
- Monitor your social media scroll time, don't ban it. Instagram isn't as heavy as streaming, but long video sessions within the app do add up. If you notice your data running low, that's a good place to cut back.
- Choose your eSIM size based on your actual profile, not "just in case." If your trip is mostly messaging, maps, and some social media, you need much less than you think. If you'll be making work video calls or watching series daily, the calculation changes completely.
This is where the travel eSIM comes in as a practical tool: by activating it, you can see in real time how much data you've consumed and how much you have left, something that is much more opaque with traditional roaming from Spanish operators. With an eSIM for Europe or an eSIM for the United States, you activate the plan that corresponds to your real consumption profile — from a few GB if you only use maps and messaging, to larger plans if you're going to stream or make video calls — and control your spending from your phone without depending on whether the hotel has good Wi-Fi or not.
If you've never used an eSIM and don't know where to start, this guide explains what an eSIM is and how it works compared to a traditional physical SIM, and this one provides a step-by-step guide to installing it before you travel. And if you're still undecided between sticking with your operator's roaming or switching to local data, this comparison between eSIM and roaming will help you decide with figures on the table.
How to reduce consumption if your plan is insufficient
If halfway through your trip you see that the data counter is dropping faster than expected, there are very simple adjustments that make a real difference, precisely because they target the activities that consume the most according to the table above:
- Lower the resolution of Netflix and YouTube to SD or "data saver" in each app's settings, instead of leaving it on automatic.
- Download content on Wi-Fi (series, playlists, offline maps) before leaving the hotel or airport.
- Disable video autoplay on social networks to avoid accidentally starting reels while browsing.
- Activate the operating system's data saver mode (both Android and iOS have this option in network settings), which limits background consumption of apps you are not actively using.
- Leave GPS and maps alone: as we've seen, they are not the problem.
If you want a longer list of specific tips applied specifically to using an eSIM while traveling, we have this guide to saving data with an eSIM that complements what's covered here.
Frequently asked questions about data consumption per activity
How much data does Netflix use per hour on a mobile?
It depends on the selected quality: about 300 MB/hour at low quality, 700 MB/hour at SD, 3 GB/hour at HD (1080p), and up to 7 GB/hour at 4K, according to Netflix's own data consumption table. If you're going to watch series during your trip, lowering the quality in the app settings is the most effective way to extend your data plan.
Does YouTube consume more or less data than Netflix?
They are very similar. YouTube uses around 2 GB/hour at 720p and about 3 GB/hour at 1080p, figures very similar to Netflix at the same resolutions. The general rule is the same for both apps: higher resolution means higher consumption, almost proportionally.
How much data does Instagram consume in an hour of scrolling?
Around 720 MB per hour browsing the feed, watching stories and reels normally, a figure that can approach 1 GB/hour if the content you consume is mostly video. This is a significant consumption, though considerably less than streaming series or movies.
Does Google Maps use a lot of data if I leave it open all day?
No, it is one of the most data-efficient activities. Turn-by-turn navigation consumes barely 3-5 MB per hour, and satellite view, the app's heaviest option, remains at 15-20 MB per hour. You can use it with complete peace of mind without it significantly impacting your data plan.
What consumes more, watching a series or spending an hour on social media?
Watching a series, by far, especially if it's in HD or 4K. An hour of Netflix in 1080p (≈3 GB) consumes several times more than an hour of scrolling on Instagram (≈720 MB), and in 4K the difference becomes even greater. If you need to prioritize where to cut back, high-resolution streaming is the first place to look.
Is it worth lowering video quality while traveling?
Yes, it's probably the setting with the most impact. Switching from 4K to low quality on Netflix, for example, reduces consumption from 7 GB/hour to just 300 MB/hour: a more than twenty-fold difference for the same hour of content. On a mobile screen, the visual difference is barely noticeable; on the data meter, it's very noticeable.
How many GB do I need for my next trip?
Review which apps you use most often and how much time you dedicate to them daily, and cross-reference those hours with the figures in this table. Someone who only uses maps, messaging, and some social media will have plenty with a few GB; someone who watches series daily in HD needs quite a bit more. Choosing the eSIM size based on this calculation, instead of buying "just in case," is the most efficient way to avoid overpaying or running out.
Conclusion
Mobile data consumption is not equal for all activities, not by a long shot: there is a huge leap between high-resolution video and practically everything else. Netflix and YouTube can reach 7 GB and 3 GB per hour respectively in their highest qualities; Instagram falls in the middle, around 720 MB per hour; and Google Maps, the app you'll open most often on a trip, barely uses a few megabytes per hour. With these numbers clear, choosing the right data plan for your next trip stops being a gamble and becomes a simple calculation. You can check the available plans for your destination, for example, an eSIM for Spain if you receive foreign visitors, or compare the cost of traditional roaming versus a local eSIM in our statistics on roaming for Spaniards abroad.
