Data caps
How much streaming fits in a 10 GB mobile plan?
14hours a month
of Netflix Medium in 10 GB, about 29 min a day
On a 10 GB phone plan the quality setting decides whether you get three hours of video or thirty. Phones default to lower qualities on mobile data for exactly this reason.
The arithmetic
- Netflix Medium uses up to 0.7 GB per hour
- 10 GB ÷ 0.7 GB per hour = 14.3 hours a month
- Over a 30-day month: 14.3 ÷ 30 = 29 min a day
- That assumes the whole allowance goes on streaming; leave room for updates, browsing and backups.
| Service and setting | Hours a month | Per day |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix Low | 33 h | 1 h 7 min |
| Netflix Medium | 14 h | 29 min |
| Netflix High, SD | 10 h | 20 min |
| Netflix High, HD | 3.3 h | 7 min |
| Netflix High, 4K Ultra HD | 1.4 h | 3 min |
| YouTube 360p | 32 h | 1 h 3 min |
| YouTube 480p | 20 h | 40 min |
| YouTube 720p | 8.9 h | 18 min |
| YouTube 1080p | 4.4 h | 9 min |
| YouTube 4K | 1.1 h | 2 min |
| Spotify Low (24 kbps) | 926 h | 30 h 52 min |
| Spotify Normal (96 kbps) | 231 h | 7 h 43 min |
| Spotify High (160 kbps) | 139 h | 4 h 38 min |
| Spotify Very high (320 kbps) | 69 h | 2 h 19 min |
| Apple Music AAC 256 kbps | 87 h | 2 h 54 min |
| Zoom Audio only | 139 h | 4 h 38 min |
| Zoom 1:1 video, 720p | 9.3 h | 19 min |
| Zoom Group video, 720p | 5.1 h | 10 min |
| Zoom Video, 1080p | 3.3 h | 7 min |
Sources and assumptions
- Netflix Help Center, 'How to control how much data Netflix uses' (help.netflix.com/en/node/87), checked 2026-10-25. Netflix publishes these as 'up to' figures per device. Real use is often lower, since Netflix adapts to the connection and the title.