How much data do I need for a week or two abroad?
With the starting values above (an hour each of maps, social media and browsing, half an hour of WhatsApp video calls and half an hour of Netflix on Automatic), a day comes to about 930 MB. That's about 6.5 GB for a week and about 13 GB for two weeks. Social media is most of it: an hour of reels and stories is about 600 MB.
Change what you'll really do. Someone who navigates and messages all day but saves video for the hotel Wi-Fi needs far less; someone who posts stories and calls home on video every evening needs more. If the total is close to a plan size, I'd take the next one up: app updates, photo backups and maps you forgot to download also use data.
How much data do maps, social media, calls and video use?
- Maps: about 5 MB an hour for navigation only, about 50 MB with Street View and about 150 MB with satellite view, according to StarHub, a Singapore carrier (StarHub). Navigation itself is cheap; the pictures are what cost.
- Social media: about 120 MB an hour for an Instagram feed of photos, about 600 MB for a mix of Stories and Reels, and about 840 MB for TikTok at its default quality (StarHub).
- Web, email and messages: Telstra, an Australian carrier, estimates 15 to 75 MB an hour for email, searches, news and weather (Telstra).
- Video calls: about 250 MB an hour for a one-to-one WhatsApp video call and about 540 MB for one-to-one Zoom video in standard definition (StarHub). For a sharper picture, Microsoft recommends 1,500 kbps up and 1,500 kbps down for a one-to-one Teams video call (Microsoft Learn), which is about 675 MB an hour in each direction, so about 1.35 GB for the call. I couldn't find a figure from Apple for FaceTime.
- Video: on a phone, Netflix says Save Data gives "about 6 hours per GB", Automatic "about 4 hours per GB", and Maximum Data "can use 1 GB per 20 minutes or more" (Netflix Help).
Carrier figures are estimates without a stated method, and different carriers give different numbers for the same app. Treat the total as a planning figure, not a promise. Your iPhone shows what each app really used in Settings > Cellular: scroll to the list of apps and tap Show All (Apple Support). Check it at home for a few days before you go.
How to use less data abroad on iPhone
- Download maps before you leave. In Apple Maps, tap your picture or initials, then Offline Maps; with offline maps in iOS 17 and later "you can use Maps for information and navigation even when you don't have a Wi-Fi or cellular connection" (Apple Support). Google Maps has Offline maps under your profile picture (Google Maps Help).
- Download shows on Wi-Fi. Netflix keeps downloads underMy Netflix > Downloads and recommends Wi-Fi for downloading (Netflix Help).
- Turn on Low Data Mode. Go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options and turn on Low Data Mode; on 5G it's under Data Mode (Apple Support).
- Watch roaming. Apple says that when you're traveling internationally "you can turn off data roaming to avoid roaming charges" (Apple Support). If you use an eSIM or local SIM for data, follow its setup instructions for which line uses cellular data.
Hotel and airport Wi-Fi save data but come with their own risks. See is airport Wi-Fi safe, and if you're heading to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Brazil or Spain, do you need a VPN in Japan and the other posts in that series.
Does a VPN use more data?
A little. A VPN wraps everything you send in its own encryption and headers, so each packet gets slightly bigger. How much depends on the protocol and on what you're doing. We haven't measured Mistero on a phone yet, so the calculator leaves that line empty instead of guessing. We'll add the figure here once we've tested it.
Where the numbers come from
- StarHub, How Much Data Do Apps Like YouTube, TikTok, Netflix & Instagram Use in 2026? (maps, social media, WhatsApp, Zoom): starhub.com
- Telstra, What content uses the most data? (web, email): telstra.com.au
- Microsoft Learn, Prepare your organization's network for Microsoft Teams (video calls): learn.microsoft.com
- Netflix Help Center, How to control how much data Netflix uses (video): help.netflix.com
All read on November 10, 2026. The calculator runs in your browser and doesn't send what you enter anywhere.
Questions
How much data do I need for international travel?
It depends mostly on video: social media reels, video calls and streaming use far more than maps, messages and browsing. With this calculator's starting values (an hour each of maps, social media and browsing, half an hour of WhatsApp video calls and half an hour of Netflix on Automatic), a day comes to about 930 MB, or about 6.5 GB for a week.
How much data do I need for 2 weeks in Europe or Japan?
The country doesn't change how much data your apps use; what you do each day does. At this calculator's starting values, two weeks come to about 13 GB. If you mostly use maps and messages and download videos on hotel Wi-Fi, it can be well under that.
How much data does Google Maps use?
StarHub, a Singapore mobile carrier, estimates about 5 MB an hour for navigation only and about 150 MB an hour with satellite view. Google Maps and Apple Maps can both download offline maps before you go.
How much data does a WhatsApp or FaceTime video call use?
StarHub estimates about 250 MB an hour for a one-to-one WhatsApp video call. I couldn't find a figure from Apple for FaceTime. For a sharper call, Microsoft recommends 1.5 Mbps each way for a one-to-one Teams video call, which works out to about 1.35 GB an hour.
Does a VPN use more data?
A little. A VPN wraps everything you send in its own encryption and headers, so each packet gets slightly bigger. We haven't measured how much Mistero adds on a phone yet, so this calculator doesn't add anything for it.