When using mobile internet daily, the most important question for us is whether our data package will be large enough to cope with "data-hungry" applications. Have you ever wondered how much data transfer is needed to meet their demands? We checked how much data the most popular applications download.
Our comparison is based on a report by Tech Insider, which shows how data usage is distributed across individual applications with a monthly package of 2 GB. Thanks to this, you can estimate the capabilities of any larger package.
See also: Perfekt Match prepaid offer with accumulated unused GB
➡ Facebook and Instagram
According to the report, Facebook is an unassuming, very demanding application. With a 2 GB monthly package, our data transfer would run out after just 22 hours of browsing the feed. So, one minute spent on Facebook costs about 1-2 MB. Why so much? The main culprit is auto-playing videos. The comparison for Instagram is more optimistic. It shows that our package will allow us to post or view 3,333 photos or 3.5 hours of video. Therefore, one photo consumes 600 KB, and a video – 9.6 MB.
➡ Snapchat, Skype, and WhatsApp
How many snaps can you send or receive with 2 GB at your disposal? Most likely, it would be difficult for us to reach the point where the data transfer would be depleted. We would have to view or send about 1,600 messages daily (each 30-50 KB), which amounts to 50,000 snaps per month. What does data usage look like for other, more standard communication apps? One minute of voice calls on Skype is 375 KB, and video – 3.75 MB. With a 2 GB package, this gives us 89 or 9 hours of calls. Interestingly, among communication apps, WhatsApp is the most economical. To use up a 2 GB package, we would have to exchange two million messages (sending or receiving one is just 1 KB) or 40,000 photos (one photo weighs 50 KB).
➡ Spotify and Netflix
Music and movies make our time more enjoyable not only at home, within WiFi range, but especially when traveling, where we are forced to use our own data package. Most of us imagine a tremendous amount of data transfer consumed by apps like Spotify or Netflix. Is that justified? The Tech Insider report argues that yes. One minute of listening to music via Spotify is 0.72 MB, which in the long run gives us 46 hours of non-stop music. Watching your favorite series in HD quality definitely requires a package larger than 2 GB – one minute of playback is 50 MB, which means your data will run out after an hour. It certainly won't be enough for more than one episode.
➡ Which package to choose?
With all this information in mind, we can make a decision about the size of the package we need. What do we use most and for how long? After considering our needs, we will surely be able to decide how much internet we need. For example, our bestseller offer No Limit 29 includes as much as 15 GB of internet. This amount should be enough for daily internet use on your phone, but it definitely won't be suitable for watching movies in HD quality. For that, Viking Net packages will come in handy. The largest ones, with 40 and 80 GB, will handle a whole season of your favorite series. And they'll let you discuss it with your friends 😉
See also: How long will 20 GB of internet last? How to reduce data transfer?
