50GB of data: How much is it and how long does it last?

What is a GB?

GB is an abbreviation for ‘gigabyte’, and is a unit of measurement for digital information. When we refer to GB in relation to mobile data, we’re talking about how much internet you can use while outside your home, or when you’re not connected to Wi-Fi. Typically, the more GB you have, the longer you can access the internet while not connected to a router. 

You can discover how much GB you need by assessing what you use your phone for. If you do much more than just browse the internet and social media apps, or simply don’t want to worry about running out of data before the month is up, take a look at what a 50GB plan can offer you. 

How much is 50GB of data?

Simply put, 50GB is quite a lot of data! According to Ofcom’s Communications Market Report 2021, the average monthly data volumes per data user in 2020 was 4.5GB.  

50GB of data is halfway to 100GB, which is like having unlimited. This amount of data will most likely see you through the month, unless you stream high-quality video content all day and never use Wi-Fi!

How long does 50GB of data last?

For the vast majority of phone users, 50GB is more than enough.

Take a look at the table below to see how much data you use, on average, for each activity on your smartphone. For reference, a MB is a ‘megabyte’, and approximately 1,000MB make up one GB. 

Scrolling through the internet and social media doesn’t consume too much data, so if you had 50GB of data and only used your phone for browsing, you’d never run out each month. 

In comparison, streaming video content uses up much more. The higher you set the quality of Netflix or YouTube videos, the more data will be used to keep up with the demand. You could always opt to watch videos in a slightly lower quality if you want to save data on a commute or road trip. 

Unsure if 50GB is the right data plan for you? Check out the calculations below to see how long this amount of data would last for each of the common smartphone activities. 

How many hours will 50GB of data last for?

Take a look at our breakdown of how many hours 50GB would last for any one of these smartphone jobs.

*Calculated based on data consumption values in previous table - 50000MB or 50GB / XXMB or XXGB

As you can see, 50GB of data would allow you to browse the internet for 833 hours, which exceeds how many hours are in a month. Similarly, you would be able to use social media without an internet connection for almost the entire month before your data ran out. 

Further, you could download and stream music non-stop for thousands of hours in low or normal quality - which you’d probably never need to do anyway! You’d also have plenty of time to watch all your favourite shows and videos while travelling, and could even save minutes by downloading episodes first rather than streaming them with your mobile data on.

Is 50GB of data enough for me?

For the above average phone user, 50GB looks to be more than enough to last for a whole month’s activity, particularly when you consider that you probably won’t need to use your mobile data for that entire time if you have Wi-Fi at home. 

50GB is most ideal for those who:

• Watch a lot of high-quality videos and movies whilst not connected to Wi-Fi
• Download and stream music often whilst out and about
• Play games online
• Access the internet and social media constantly

If you only tend to browse lightly on your mobile data, choosing a 50GB data plan may mean you end up paying for more than you need to. It’s best to find a plan where you pay for what you use, rather than having an excessive amount of data you can’t take advantage of each month. 

We wouldn’t recommend a 50GB data plan if you only browse the internet for several hours per day, or only use it for sending and receiving emails. 

50GB with Asda mobile If you're looking for a great value SIM plan with no contract, look no further than Asda mobile! For just £20 a month you could get 50GB of data, as well as unlimited minutes and texts. You can also take advantage of 5G, Wi-Fi Calling, roam like you're home, and much more!    Buy 50GB SIM deal

Discover more 

Explore more data allowances with our guides to see if any of these plans would be more suitable for your usage. 

• 250MB
• 1GB
• 2GB
• 3GB
• 5GB
• 6GB
• 8GB
• 10GB
• 15GB
• 20GB
• 30GB
• 100GB

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