How Much Internet Data Do You Need?

Most people need around 600 GB of data per month for their home internet connection. That gives you enough data to stream movies, play online games, and participate in video conferencing calls.

Usually internet providers give you 1 TB (1,000 GB) of data per month, although some providers like Xfinity have been slightly more generous. That’s plenty for most people. But exceeding your cap leads to overage fees or throttled speeds.

Here’s a rundown of how to budget your data and get more data if you need it. We also give you recommendations for the best internet plans with unlimited data.

Jump to: Unlimited data | 1 TB data caps | Budgeting your data | Data and rural internet | Data and hotspots | FAQ

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• Unlimited data
• 1 TB data caps
• Budgeting your data
• Data and rural internet
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• FAQ

Get unlimited data to avoid going over your data limit

Before we go further, let’s get this point out of the way—the best way to ensure you have all the data you need is to get an internet plan with unlimited data.

Unlimited data means you can use the internet all you want, all month long without consequences (well, from your ISP at least). You can usually get unlimited data from fiber internet providers. Some cable and DSL providers also offer unlimited plans, and those that don’t often have an unlimited option for an extra monthly fee.

Best internet plans with unlimited data

Do you need unlimited data? Honestly, probably not. It’s not necessary for most internet users.

But unlimited data does come in handy if you spend a lot of time doing online activities that use up lots of data, like streaming video and downloading large files.

Unlimited data is also useful for netizens who share Wi-Fi with a lot of roommates or family members. Think of data like food—the more people you have on your Wi-Fi, the more data you consume overall. So you need a larger stockpile of data in your digital pantry to get through each month.

How much data does an average internet user consume per month?

The average internet user consumes 536 GB per month on their home internet plan, according to a recent report from OpenVault.¹

The number of internet users who consume more than 500 GB each month is steadily climbing each year. The rise of smart home devices and ubiquity of online streaming fuels a higher demand for data. Internet users with faster speeds at home also use more data on average, according to the OpenVault report.¹

Is 1 TB of internet data enough?

For most people, 1 TB of data is enough for a month of internet use. That’s the usual data cap for home internet providers, and it’s a generous amount. It will cover activities like browsing, checking email, and watching a handful of YouTube videos or Netflix movies every day.

However, it’s much easier to use 1 TB of data in 30 days if you have gigabit internet speeds, spend a lot of time doing data-heavy activities, share your Wi-Fi with a lot of other users, or all of the above. Some activities in particular consume a lot of data—especially downloading big files and doing anything related to video in HD or 4K.

These activities use a large amount of data:

• Streaming video
• Making video calls
• Running smart-home security cameras
• Posting video to social media
• Downloading games and large files
• Doing any of these tasks on multiple devices at the same time

These activities use a small amount of data:

• Checking, sending, and receiving email
• Using social media (without posting video)
• Browsing the web (with no video)
• Streaming music or podcasts
• Shopping online

How to figure out how much data you need

To figure out how much data you need, first consult with your provider to see how much data you get on your monthly internet plan. While 1 TB is the standard data cap nowadays, Xfinity is a little more generous by offering a 1.2 TB cap on all of its plans.

However, some low-budget plans will skimp on the data cap. For example, Mediacom’s Access Internet 60 deal comes with just 200 GB per month, which you can easily burn through over a couple weeks of Netflix binge-watching.

Once you’ve figured out your data cap, budget out how much time you spend each week doing what you normally do online. Don’t worry too much about the impact of emails, music streaming, or general browsing (none of which use up very much data). Pay more attention to the number and size of files you download, the amount of time you spend streaming video, and the video resolution on your streaming platforms and Zoom calls.

Life lessons for consuming internet data

Lesson one: Stream video in SD to use less data

If you’re worried about your data cap, it’s best to avoid watching video in 4K resolution—it gobbles up a stunning 8 GB per hour. (And can you really tell the difference between 4K and HD, anyway?) Even HD video can take a nasty bite out of your data. Streaming in SD lets you watch a lot more video without putting as big a dent on your data diet.

Lesson two: Every file you download counts towards your data cap

The size of a file you download roughly corresponds to the amount of data you use to download it. You can see how much data a download eats up by looking at how big the file is—the larger the file, the more data.

Lesson three: Watch out for video calls and smart-home cameras

High-resolution video calls on apps like Zoom have the potential to make a big dent in your monthly data. You probably don’t need to worry if you make a couple calls a day, but consider switching off the HD setting on your Zoom account if you work from home and regularly sit in on multiple daily meetings.

The same goes for smart home security cameras, which can use up to 2 GB per hour depending on the resolution and other settings.

Lesson four: Don’t sweat the small stuff

You don’t use much data sending emails, reading the news, scrolling social media, shopping online, or streaming music and podcasts. Even online gaming has a relatively modest impact on your data cap. If this constitutes the bulk of what you do online, then a 1 TB data cap is plenty.

With rural internet, you get a lot less data than usual

Many rural parts of the United States have limited internet options, and sometimes the only service you can get is satellite or fixed wireless internet—both of which often come with stringent data caps.

Why does satellite internet have low data caps?

Satellite internet usually comes with very low caps because its connection—literally beamed down from a satellite in space—has a limited capacity for carrying internet data. With only so much to go around, data becomes a hot commodity.

The only exception to this rule is with Starlink, SpaceX’s new satellite internet service, which offers 1 TB of data per month to customers. That puts Starlink on par with typical internet providers rather than its satellite rivals.

Data caps on satellite internet

When you run out of data on a satellite connection, your internet provider slows your speeds to a snail’s pace, deprioritizing your web traffic in favor of other paying customers. With Starlink, though, you can pay $0.25 for each additional GB of data you use to maintain your speeds.

Although throttled speeds are never fun, the good news is you don’t get stuck having to pay extra fees from HughesNet or Viasat. The bad news is your internet becomes basically useless for anything other than the most basic browsing and email checking.

Not sure how to get a handle on a tiny data cap? See our life lessons on internet data above for recommendations.

Why does fixed wireless internet have low data caps?

Fixed wireless sometimes has low data caps because it depends on a cellular network, which may not always have wide coverage in a remote area.

The data caps on fixed wireless internet usually aren’t as bad as what you get from satellite, but they can still be low. Rise Broadband’s 50 Mbps Internet plan has a 250 GB monthly cap, while AT&T’s Fixed Wireless Internet service comes with 350 GB per month.

That’s probably enough data to cover basic browsing and some occasional video streaming throughout a month. But it’s not enough to sustain more regular streaming in HD or a lot of users on multiple devices.

Data caps on fixed wireless internet

When you use too much data on a fixed wireless plan, you usually get hit with an automatic overage fee—for example, AT&T charges $10 for every 50 GB you go over, with a maximum of $200.

Rise Broadband and some other fixed wireless providers offer plans with unlimited data, though. Unlimited data costs more on fixed wireless; Rise’s unlimited plans cost $20 more than the non-unlimited ones with the same respective speeds. But we recommend going that route rather than risking even more excessive overage charges.

Is 100 GB a month enough for home internet?

A data cap of 100 GB per month is probably not enough for home internet nowadays. You can burn through that much data in a matter of days—possibly even hours—if you’re not careful. But you don’t need to worry as much if you mostly do things like browsing and checking email while online.

Having 100 GB of data per month is great for a hotspot or cellular plan that you use intermittently throughout the month. Hotspots are meant for traveling or working away from the home or office. It can be hard to find a hotspot data plan that even gives you that much data in the first place, so if you can get that much, it’s a plus.

But 100 GB is not gonna cut it for most residential internet plans. A home Wi-Fi network usually gets heavy use on a daily basis, and you likely could have a lot more users on your home network compared to a hotspot plan. Residential internet users consume a lot more data in general, requiring a higher baseline data cap.

However, 100 GB might be enough if you use the internet infrequently, have only one or two Wi-Fi devices at home, and mostly log on to do low-bandwidth activities.

How much mobile data do you need for your phone?

You need 10–15 GB of high-speed mobile data for your phone. That’s how much internet data most Americans use every month on their cell phones, and it gives you enough to watch videos, send emails, and stream music on an irregular basis throughout the month.

One thing you should be aware of—most cell phone users don’t need as much mobile data as they need home internet data. That’s because people generally use the internet a lot less often on their cell phones, and also because you often have the option to hop on someone’s Wi-Fi when you’re out and about.

Although many cell phone plans tout “unlimited” data, in reality most of those plans have caps on high-speed data. The cap could be anywhere from 5 GB to 100 GB, depending on the plan, and when you go over, your speeds revert to crushingly slow, sub–1 Mbps speeds.

How much mobile data do you get from a hotspot?

You can get anywhere from 2 GB to 100 GB per month with your phone’s hotspot or a mobile hotspot.

Hotspots are a great tool if you spend a lot of time working outside your home or office. You can also use one if you’re house-sitting, traveling, or taking a short break at a vacation home. But they require data plans to work, and those plans usually come with strict data limits. The data comes from a cellular network, which doesn’t have the same throughput capacity as a residential fiber, cable, or DSL internet network.

Even when you can get unlimited data on a hotspot, watch out for caveats. T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T technically give you unlimited hotspot data, but your plan comes with a set amount of premium, high-speed data for the month.

After that’s all used up, you get unlimited data at slow-creeping speeds that aren’t good for much. The phone plan from Visible, meanwhile, promises unlimited hotspot data, but only at 5 Mbps with just one Wi-Fi device connected at a time.

Best hotspot data plans

FAQ about how much data you need

How much data do I need per month?

You need at least 600 GB of data per month to comfortably do a range of activities online.

How much data do I use per month?

On average, North American internet users consumed 536 GB of broadband data per month in 2021. That’s an 11% increase from the same time period in 2020.¹ Trends show that internet users are consuming more internet data each year compared to the year before.

How much data does Xfinity give you per month?

Xfinity internet plans come with 1.2 TB of data per month. That’s plenty of data for most people.

Does Xfinity Wi-Fi come with unlimited data?

Xfinity Wi-Fi plans do not usually come with unlimited data, but you can add the Unlimited Data Option to your plan for an extra $30 per month. We recommend the Unlimited Data Option if you have gigabit or multigigabit speeds because gigabit plans often consume a lot more data than slower plans.

Why does Xfinity have a data cap?

Internet providers like Xfinity traditionally have data caps to prevent some internet users from overloading the network with too much internet activity. But data caps also give internet providers an excuse to make more money by charging extra fees for data overages and offering unlimited data as an add-on to internet plans.

What is internet data?

Internet data is the digital information and content you consume as you spend time on the internet. Data can be anything from a video stream to a video game file to The New York Times homepage. System upgrades also count as digital data. All of this counts towards your monthly data cap (if you have one).

What is a data cap?

A data cap is a usage limit enforced by an internet provider, dictating the maximum amount of internet you’re allowed to use per month. Internet providers usually call it a data limit, data usage, usage allowance, or “fair use policy.”

Most internet providers offer a data cap of 1 TB per month, but some providers have unlimited data on all or some of their plans. Satellite internet providers have much lower data caps.

Sources

1. OpenVault, “Broadband Insights Report—Q4 2021,” March 2022. Accessed March 2, 2022.