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Watching videos on YouTube can quickly eat up your data, especially in high quality. Here’s a simple guide to understanding how much data your viewing habits might cost you.
YouTube is one of the biggest data drains on mobile devices. Streaming can use as little as 80 MB per hour at 144p or as much as 7 GB per hour at 4K resolution. Even standard 1080p HD consumes about 2.5 GB per hour, which means a 1 GB data plan can disappear in under 30 minutes.
Understanding exactly how much data it uses helps you avoid running out of data or paying steep roaming fees while traveling.
Watching YouTube videos generally uses way more data than most other online activities. That’s because videos require a constant stream of large amounts of visual and audio information.
High-quality videos, especially in HD or 4K, pack a lot of data into each second to deliver sharp images, smooth motion, and clear sound.
If you’re on a limited data plan, watching YouTube can quickly eat up your data. Knowing how much data you’re using helps prevent unexpected charges or bandwidth problems.
This is especially important for mobile users, travelers with eSIMs, commuters, or anyone sharing their phone’s internet connection via hotspot — basically, anyone who’s relying on a connection that might not have a lot of extra data to spare.
Different video quality settings use varying amounts of data. Here’s a simple table showing how much data YouTube generally uses per hour at common resolutions:
| Resolution | Data use per hour |
| 144p | ~80 MB |
| 240p | ~150 MB |
| 360p | ~300 MB |
| 480p (SD) | ~700 MB |
| 720p (HD) | ~1.5 GB |
| 1080p (Full HD) | ~2.5 GB |
| 4K | ~7 GB |
*These are approximate values — they can vary depending on the content and encoding.
As you can see, streaming in higher resolutions like 1080p or 4K can use a significant amount of data quickly. Lower resolutions like 144p or 240p use much less, which can help you conserve bandwidth if you’re on a limited data plan.
See also: Best Unlimited Data Plans in 2025
If you want a quick way to estimate your data usage, especially when watching short clips or checking how much bandwidth you’re consuming, here’s a handy reference:
| Resolution | Data use per minute |
| 480p | ~0.2 GB |
| 720p | ~0.5 GB |
| 1080p | ~1 GB |
| 4K | ~3.5 GB |
*Values are approximate and depend on video content and encoding.
Note: YouTube Shorts, which are typically under a minute long, tend to use little data — often under 0.02 GB per clip — making them a low-data way to enjoy quick content. Total data consumption depends on how many Shorts you watch and their durations.
Several factors influence data consumption. These include:
Want to know exactly how much data you're using while watching YouTube on your phone? Find out by following these simple step-by-step guides:
Tip: Many apps and devices support setting warnings or limits for data usage, so you can get alerts before you hit your maximum.
If you want to save your data, here are a few simple tips:
Looking to manage your data better? Check out our guides on how much data Spotify uses and Google Maps data consumption.
1. How much data does YouTube use per hour at 1080p?
YouTube uses approximately 2.5 GB per hour at 1080p..
2. Does YouTube use more data than Netflix?
Generally, yes. Streaming in the highest quality, YouTube can consume more data per hour than Netflix.
3. How long does 1GB last on YouTube?
Around 20–25 minutes at 1080p resolution.
4. Does lowering resolution really save data?
Absolutely. Dropping from HD (720p or 1080p) to SD (480p or lower) can cut your data use by more than half.
5. Does YouTube use data when paused?
No. When the video is paused, it generally stops using data unless the video keeps buffering.
6. Is YouTube data usage different on mobile vs. desktop?
Yes. Mobile devices often use more efficient encoding, but also may use more data due to background app activity.
7. How much data does YouTube Music use compared to videos?
Music streaming uses less data, usually around 0.3–0.5 MB per minute.
8. Who should care about YouTube’s data usage?
Anyone who relies on mobile data or has a limited data plan should pay attention to how much data YouTube uses. That includes:
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Our mission is simple: to make sure you never have to ask, “What’s the WiFi password?” again. All our tips come straight from personal experience — because we’d never recommend something we haven’t put to the test ourselves.
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