How much data do you need for a trip?

For most trips, plan on about 1 GB a day, then round up to the next plan size. A week is 5–10 GB, a fortnight 10–20 GB. If you mostly use maps and messaging, you can halve that. If you watch video on mobile data, video call home or run a laptop off your phone, double it.

Most people buy too little, run out on day five, and then pay for a second, smaller plan at a worse rate per GB. The rest of this post covers where the data actually goes, so you can do the sum for your own trip. If you'd rather skip the arithmetic, the data usage calculator does it for you and prices the plan.

What everyday apps actually use

These are ranges, not exact figures. Few apps publish official numbers, and usage shifts with connection speed and quality settings. Where a company publishes its own figure, it's named.

Text, maps and voice are cheap; video isn't. A day navigating a city uses less than ten minutes of Reels. What decides your plan size is how much video you watch away from Wi-Fi.

Streaming, specifically

Netflix publishes its own figures. On the website's playback settings, Low is up to 0.3 GB an hour, Medium up to 0.7 GB, and High up to 3 GB in HD or 7 GB in 4K. The phone app uses different names: Automatic is roughly four hours of viewing per GB, and Save Data is lower still. Maximum Data can use 1 GB every 20 minutes. Downloaded episodes use no data at all, so download over hotel Wi-Fi and watch on the train.

YouTube doesn't publish a table, and its Auto setting picks quality from connection speed, not your plan. On strong 5G that can mean 1080p, so set the quality yourself.

Calls

Voice calls over the internet cost very little data. An hour on WhatsApp or FaceTime Audio typically uses tens of MB. Video calls are different: a 20-minute video call home each evening comes to roughly 100–300 MB a day. WhatsApp has a Use less data for calls setting under Settings › Storage and data that helps on weaker connections.

Five trips, worked through

Prices below are the cheapest Cabin Mode plan of each size in the live catalogue, in US dollars. Prices checked 25 September 2026. The app shows current prices in your own currency.

A long weekend in Rome (4 days, typical use). Maps all day, messages, some Instagram, a few photos posted. Call it 1 GB a day, so 4 GB. Italy 5 GB for 30 days is $4.76. The 3 GB plan ($3.20) would be tight if you post video.

A road trip across the US (10 days, navigation-heavy). Navigation itself is light, but road trips come with music streaming in the car, restaurant searches and passengers asking to share your hotspot. Budget 1–1.5 GB a day, so 10–15 GB. United States 10 GB for 30 days starts at $12.08, and 15 GB is $17.00. Download Google Maps offline areas for national parks, where coverage is often thin.

A business trip to Tokyo (5 days, laptop on hotspot). A laptop on your phone's hotspot behaves like it does at home: it syncs files, installs updates and backs up. A day of email, documents and a couple of video meetings can easily reach 2–3 GB. Budget 10–15 GB. Japan 10 GB is $9.40, 20 GB is $16.40. If there's a chance of a large file sync, take the 20 GB.

A family fortnight in Japan (14 days, four people). Either each phone gets its own eSIM, or one parent shares a large plan by hotspot, which ties the family together and drains that phone's battery. Two adults on 10 GB each ($9.40 each) plus a teenager on 10 GB comes to $28.20 in total. Children streaming cartoons on mobile data is what breaks the budget, so download episodes before you leave.

A month working from Thailand (30 days, digital nomad). Work runs on coworking or apartment Wi-Fi; mobile data covers maps, Grab, messages and the odd tethered call. 20 GB for 30 days is $16.40, and 50 GB is $61.20. If you're staying longer, eligible 30-day plans in Cabin Mode can be set to renew monthly, so you don't have to buy a new one each month.

A table to size your plan

Read across from trip length to how you use your phone. Then pick the smallest plan that covers both the data and the length of the trip.

Check the validity as well as the data. A plan is valid for a fixed number of days, and once it starts the countdown runs continuously, whether or not you use data. A 1 GB, 7-day plan won't cover a 10-day trip, however lightly you use it. Most of the larger plans are valid for 30 days, which covers most holidays.

Why sizing up is usually cheaper

Data gets cheaper per GB as plans get bigger. Here is the curve for Japan and Italy, using the cheapest plan of each size:

Prices checked 25 September 2026. The app shows current prices in your currency.

In Japan, going from 5 GB to 10 GB costs $4.00 more. That second 5 GB works out at 80 cents a GB, cheaper than any GB in the smaller plan. If you're stuck between two sizes, the bigger one usually costs little extra and saves you a top-up halfway through the trip.

Topping up still works. In Cabin Mode it adds data to the eSIM you already have, with nothing to reinstall. But two small purchases usually cost more than one right-sized purchase.

Measure your own usage before you go

Your iPhone already knows how much data you use. It just doesn't reset the count on its own.

1. At home, go to Settings › Cellular (Mobile Data or Mobile Service in some regions).
2. Scroll to the bottom and tap Reset Statistics.
3. Live normally for a week, then come back to the same screen. You'll see the total and a per-app breakdown.

Divide by seven for your daily figure. Then adjust it for travel. At home you probably spend evenings and weekends on your own Wi-Fi. On a trip you're out all day, and hotel Wi-Fi is often too slow to rely on. So assume your daily mobile data use will go up on a trip, not down.

If one app dominates the per-app list, deal with it before paying for a larger plan.

Settings that stretch a plan

Low Data Mode. With two lines on your iPhone, go to Settings › Cellular, tap your travel line, and turn on Low Data Mode. Apple says it pauses automatic updates and background tasks. It won't lower the quality of a video you choose to watch, but it stops the phone doing things you didn't ask for.

Photo backup. iCloud Photos can upload over mobile data. Turn off Settings › Photos › Cellular Data before you fly, and your photos will upload the next time you're on Wi-Fi. Google Photos has a similar setting in its backup options.

App updates. Turn off automatic downloads over mobile data in Settings › App Store.

Wi-Fi Assist. At the bottom of Settings › Cellular, Wi-Fi Assist switches to mobile data when a Wi-Fi network is weak. That helps at home, but on a trip it can quietly use your plan while you think you're on hotel Wi-Fi.

Offline everything. Download Google Maps offline areas, Spotify or Apple Music playlists, and Netflix episodes before you leave home.

Keeping an eye on it during the trip

Cabin Mode shows data used and data remaining for each eSIM. The figure comes from the network and lags real usage by one to three hours, so it can look lower than it really is just after a heavy session. If you're close to the limit, top up before you run out rather than after. The new data lands on the same eSIM.

See plans and prices by destination, or read about installing a travel eSIM on iPhone.

Frequently asked questions

Is 5 GB enough for a week abroad?

For maps, messaging, browsing and some social media, yes. That's around 700 MB a day. If you watch video on mobile data, make video calls or hotspot a laptop, look at 10 GB. Also check the plan lasts the whole week: a 7-day plan counts down from the moment it starts.

Is 10 GB enough for two weeks?

For a typical traveller, yes. It works out at roughly 700 MB a day. Heavy video use or hotspotting will run through it faster. On many destinations, 20 GB costs less than twice as much.

How much data does Google Maps use?

Standard navigation uses a few MB an hour, because the map is drawn from lightweight vector data. Satellite view and 3D features use much more. Downloading an offline area of the city before you go cuts it further and keeps directions working when the signal drops.

How much data does Netflix use on a phone?

Netflix says its Automatic setting on the phone app gives about four hours of viewing per GB. On the website, High quality can use up to 3 GB an hour in HD. Downloading episodes over Wi-Fi and watching them offline uses no mobile data.

How do I check how much data I use on my iPhone?

Go to Settings › Cellular, scroll to the bottom and tap Reset Statistics. Check the same screen after a normal week. It shows your total and a per-app breakdown, which you can divide by seven to get a daily figure.

What happens if I run out of data?

The eSIM stops carrying data until you add more. In Cabin Mode you top up the same eSIM from the app, with no reinstall, and the new data is usually available within minutes.

Should I buy an unlimited plan?

If you stream, video call every day or work off a hotspot, a daily or unlimited-style plan can be simpler than guessing. Check the fair-use terms, because many of these plans slow down after a daily threshold. For everyone else, a fixed plan sized with the table above is usually cheaper.