Streaming data
How much data does a Zoom call use per hour?
1.98GB per hour
Zoom, Group video, 720p: a ceiling worked out from the speed the service publishes
A video call sends as well as receives, so on a metered connection both directions count. Zoom publishes the bandwidth it needs; we turn that into data per hour.
The arithmetic
- Zoom Group video, 720p: 4.4 Mbps (published speed)
- 4,400,000 bits/s × 3,600 s ÷ 8 = 1,980,000,000 bytes = 1.98 GB per hour
- A 2-hour film: 1.98 × 2 = 3.96 GB
- Two hours a day for 30 days: 1.98 × 60 = 119 GB a month
| Setting | Per hour | Per 2-hour film | 2 h a day, 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audio only | 72 MB | 144 MB | 4.32 GB |
| 1:1 video, 720p | 1.08 GB | 2.16 GB | 64.8 GB |
| Group video, 720p | 1.98 GB | 3.96 GB | 119 GB |
| Video, 1080p | 3.06 GB | 6.12 GB | 184 GB |
Sources and assumptions
- Zoom Support, 'Zoom system requirements: Windows, macOS, Linux' (support.zoom.com, KB0060748): bandwidth requirements, checked 2026-10-25. Zoom publishes the bandwidth it needs in each direction; we add upload and download, because both count towards a data cap. Treat these as ceilings.