How much is 15GB of data?
By most standards, 15GB is considered a fairly large data bundle. According to Ofcom’s 2021 Market Report, the average monthly data used per mobile data connection was 4.5 GB. Considering this, 15GB is over triple the average! It’s a great amount for people who need a little more than 10GB, but don’t want to pay for a 20GB bundle.
It’s nowhere near unlimited, but 15GB could be the right amount of data for you each month.
How long does 15GB of data last?
To understand how long 15GB could last you, you’ll need to know the average amount of MBs (megabytes) or GBs (gigabytes) of mobile data certain activities will use up.
In case you didn’t know, around 1,000MBs fit into 1GB.
|
Activity |
Data consumption |
|
Browsing the internet |
|
|
Listening to music |
Spotify 10.8MB per hour (24kbps) 43.2MB per hour (96kbps) 72MB per hour (160kbps) 144MB per hour (320kbps) |
|
Watching Netflix |
1GB per hour (standard definition) 3GB per hour (HD) |
|
Watching YouTube videos |
1.56GB per hour (1080p) 2.7GB per hour (4K) |
|
Browsing social media |
90MB per hour (scrolling) 156MB per hour (interacting) |
|
Using Skype / FaceTime |
Skype
FaceTime |
As you can see, some tasks consume more data. Streaming video content, for example, is likely to eat away at your allowance much more quickly than simply browsing the web. Find out more about how much data video apps use.
But, with 15GB, this isn’t as much of a worry, as you have quite a lot of data to play around with. If you prefer to only stream audio content, FaceTime or Skype, and interact on your socials, 15GB would probably take you to the end of the month and more. For a more detailed breakdown, take a look below.
How many hours will 15GB of data last for?
|
Activity |
Time duration with 15GB* |
|
Browsing the internet |
250 hours |
|
Listening to music |
Spotify 1,388 hours (24kbps) 347 hours (96kbps) 208 hours (160kbps) 104 hours (320kbps) |
|
Watching Netflix |
15 hours (standard definition) 5 hours (HD) / 39 minutes (HD) |
|
Watching YouTube videos |
9.6 hours (1080p) 5.5 hours (4K) |
|
Browsing social media |
166 hours (scrolling) 96 hours (interacting) |
|
Using Skype / FaceTime |
Skype 55 hours
FaceTime 83 hours |
*Calculated based on data consumption values in previous table - 15000MB or 15GB / XXMB or XXGB
For the record, there’s 720 hours in 30 days (an average month). With 15GB of data, you could (theoretically) do a bunch of these tasks non-stop for about a quarter of the month. You’re most likely not going to do that though, meaning 15GB should last you easily, unless you constantly stream videos every day!
If you were to play Spotify in its lowest quality, for example, you’d be able to play music constantly on mobile data and never run out before your allowance refreshed again the following month.
For video content, however, it’s slightly different. You’ve only got around five hours in HD, which could allow you to watch movies while travelling long-haul, but then you’d be out of data. For content like this, it’s a good idea to download episodes or films before disconnecting from Wi-Fi, so the files are already stored on your phone. Then they won’t take up any data to play.
Based on these times, is 15GB the right plan for you? Let’s take a look.
Is 15GB of data enough for me?
15GB is an ideal bundle size for users who:
- Like to download and listen to music on mobile data
- Occasionally like to watch a YouTube video or Netflix episode while commuting
- Video chat friends or family consistently throughout the month
- Interact on social media often
A bundle of this size would not be cost-effective if you only tend to browse the internet and scroll when on mobile data. Similarly, you’d need to consider a larger data bundle if you need to watch a lot of video content live or on demand.
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Discover more
If 15GB isn’t right for you, we have a range of other data guides you could look at:
