Data Usage can add up quickly, especially streaming all those videos around the holidays. Monitoring data usage and tracking it can be done in a couple ways, but you can also get a general idea of usage before you even start. This can be important for ensuring you don’t go over any usage limits or reach your allotted high speed data before the month is over.
We only covered some of the most popular streaming services. If you don’t see yours listed, we also offer a handy data usage calculator you can use at our website. Check it out here!
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon has no public information for streaming data usage at this time. Based on research from users online, here’s what we can surmise from an hour episode:
- SD: About 0.14 GB per hour
- HD: About 1.82GB per hour
Disney+
Disney+ automatically detects your system’s capabilities and internet connection speed and delivers the highest quality experience possible as a default setting. They also give you the choice to change your data usage settings on all devices. With the Auto option, you can stream in the highest quality, up to what your device supports.
For example;
- 4K: 7.7GB per hour
- HD: Up to 2GB per hour
- SD: 0.7GB per hour
HBO Max
There’s no specific data on this, but the application automatically adjusts the video quality based on your network bandwidth and connection speed. Most shows and movies are available in high definition (HD). Manual video quality settings are not currently available.
Hulu
HD video streaming will use about 650MB per hour. Data usage controls are NOT available, nor is an official data chart, but this data was confirmed from users on their forums. Hulu does however have quality control settings, which can help with data usage.
Netflix
- Standard-definition (SD) video streaming on Netflix uses 1 GB of data each hour.
- High-definition streaming will consume 3 GB of bandwidth per hour.
- 4K videos use 7 GB of data every hour.
For comparison, Netflix offers the following video settings:
- Low: 0.3 GB per hour per device
- Medium: SD: 0.7 GB per hour per device
- High: Best video quality, up to 3 GB per hour per device for HD, and 7 GB per hour per device for Ultra HD
- Auto: Adjusts automatically to deliver the highest possible quality, based on your current internet connection speed
Paramount+
Per their Help guide – mobile data use will fluctuate based on the quality of your Internet connection and varies from 74 MB per hour for the lowest connection speed, up to 800 MB per hour for the highest quality video stream.
YouTube
- 480p: 264 MB per hour
- 720p: 870 MB per hour
- 1080p: 1.65 GB per hour
- 4K: 2.7 GB per hour
Happy Streaming!
