How Much Data Do I Need Abroad? GB per Day and per Trip

Buying too little data means hunting for Wi-Fi on day four. Buying too much means paying for gigabytes you never touch. The right amount depends far more on your habits than on the country: a pilgrim who sends voice notes and checks maps uses a fraction of what someone video-calling home every evening uses.

Nobody publishes one official "data per day" number. Carriers give rough figures for each activity, and they don't agree with each other. So below we show every figure with its source, do the sums in the open, and give a range where the sources disagree. Treat the results as estimates, then check your own usage after the first day. Axon eSIM packs are data only (no phone number), so your Pakistani SIM stays in the phone for calls and texts.

How much data do I need per day when travelling?

A light day of maps, WhatsApp chat and a few photos uses about 0.3 GB. Add a 30-minute video call home and half an hour of reels and it rises to 0.8–1.5 GB, depending on call quality. A heavy day with an hour each of video calling, reels and YouTube is 1.9–3.1 GB. These are estimates from carrier figures.

For most activities we used the top of each source's range, so those parts lean high. Video calls are different: the sources disagree widely, so we show a low estimate using Verizon's 254 MB an hour and a high estimate using Telstra's "up to 1.5GB" an hour.

Sources for each figure: Verizon, Telstra, BT Business and Smarty. Verizon's figures come from a home-internet calculator and, in its words, are "representative of computer usage only", so treat them as rough. The 500 MB for standard-definition video is Verizon's figure, and our conversion of YouTube's 480p speed gives about the same.

If you make your video calls on hotel Wi-Fi, a "normal" traveller drops back towards the light profile. If you make long or high-quality calls on mobile data, plan on the high column.

How much data does a WhatsApp call use?

We couldn't find a published WhatsApp figure. Carrier estimates put an internet voice call at about 67 MB an hour (Verizon). Video calls range from about 90 MB to 1.5 GB an hour depending on quality: BT says 90 MB to 1.4 GB, Verizon about 254 MB, and Telstra up to 1.5 GB for a one-to-one call.

For a Pakistani family, the daily video call home is usually the biggest use of data.

• Voice calls are cheap on data. At Verizon's 67 MB an hour, a 20-minute call to Ammi uses about 22 MB. That is Verizon's home-internet estimate, based on computer use, so take it as a guide (Verizon).
• Video calls vary a lot. BT puts video calls at "90MB – 1.4GB per hour" depending on quality (BT Business). Telstra says a one-to-one standard-definition video call can use up to 1.5 GB an hour, and group calls up to 8 GB (Telstra).
• Group video calls with the whole family are at the top of that range. Do them on Wi-Fi if you can.

WhatsApp has two settings that help. "Use less data for calls" is under Settings > Storage and data. During a one-to-one video call on mobile data you can also turn on Data Saver, which lowers the quality of the video you receive; it doesn't apply on Wi-Fi, group calls or voice calls (WhatsApp Help).

How much data do maps, social media and video use?

Maps use little: from a few MB to about 120 MB an hour, depending on the source. Short-video apps such as TikTok and Reels use roughly 600 to 850 MB an hour. Video streaming is the heaviest: Netflix says up to 0.3 GB an hour on Low and up to 3 GB in HD.

Two notes on this table. First, YouTube publishes recommended connection speeds, not data per hour. It recommends 1.1 Mbps for 480p, 2.5 Mbps for 720p and 5 Mbps for 1080p, and we converted those speeds into GB per hour, so treat them as upper estimates. Second, BT's figures for browsing and music are much higher than the other carriers', so we used the lower ranges from Telstra, Verizon and Smarty there. BT is our only source for Facebook, so read that row as a high estimate.

We couldn't find a published figure from Careem or Uber. Booking a ride is mostly a map on screen for a few minutes, so it probably sits at the maps end of the table.

How many GB do I need for 7, 15 or 30 days?

Multiply your daily estimate by the number of days. A light user needs about 2.1 GB for a week, 4.5 GB for 15 days and 9 GB for a month. A normal user needs about 6–11, 12–23 and 24–45 GB. A heavy user needs about 13–22, 29–47 and 57–93 GB. Then choose the next pack size up.

Each range is the low and high daily estimate multiplied by the days: for example, a normal user for 15 days is 0.8 × 15 = 12 GB to 1.5 × 15 = 22.5 GB.

Three things change the answer:

1. Wi-Fi. If your hotel or family home has Wi-Fi, move video calls and streaming there and you can often step down a row.
2. The first and last day. Airport days are busy: ride apps, maps, messages to whoever is picking you up. Choosing the next pack size up covers this.
3. Pack sizes and validity differ by country. Some destinations have only 7-day packs, others 30-day packs. Compare what's on offer on the plans page or your country page, such as UAE eSIM.

How much data do I need for Umrah?

For a 15-day Umrah, our estimates run from about 4.5 GB (light use: maps, WhatsApp, photos) to 12–22.5 GB (a daily 30-minute video call home and some reels, depending on call quality). Sharing a hotspot with family, or long video calls on mobile data, can push it well past 20 GB.

Umrah days have a pattern. Much of the day is spent in prayer, when you are barely using the phone. The heavy moments are short: finding your way back to the hotel, sending photos and videos home, a video call after Isha, booking a ride for ziyarat. If your hotel has Wi-Fi, use it for the long calls.

A few practical points:

• Pick the pack length. As of November 2026, Saudi packs come in 7-day and 30-day lengths, with no 15-day option, so for a two-week Umrah choose a 30-day pack at or above your total.
• Video calls decide the size. A long daily video call on mobile data can roughly double the normal estimate. Making it on hotel Wi-Fi keeps you near the low end.
• Install before you fly. Validity starts only when the eSIM first connects in Saudi Arabia, so installing in Pakistan doesn't waste days.
• Phones for parents. An older parent who mostly sends voice notes may be fine on the light profile. You can also share your connection with them by hotspot (next section).
• One eSIM per phone or one hotspot? If the family will split up in the Haram, separate eSIMs mean nobody depends on one phone's battery and signal.

For more on choosing a Saudi pack, read eSIM for Umrah or go to the Saudi Arabia eSIM page. Current Saudi packs:

How much data does a family need on one hotspot?

Add together each person's daily use. Sharing a hotspot doesn't make data go further: every connected phone uses its own share. Four people on the normal profile need about 3.2 to 6 GB a day, or 48 to 90 GB for 15 days. Two normal and two light users need 2.2 to 3.6 GB a day.

Hotspot is allowed on Axon eSIM packs, so one phone can share its data with the rest of the family. Worked examples, using the low and high per-day figures above:

The high end assumes everyone makes a good-quality video call on mobile data every day. Long daily video calls on mobile data can roughly double the normal estimate, so moving them to Wi-Fi is the quickest way to bring a family's total down.

To turn the hotspot on:

• iPhone: Settings > Personal Hotspot (or Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot), then turn on Allow Others to Join. Set a Wi-Fi password of at least eight characters (Apple Support).
• Pixel: Settings > Network & internet > Hotspot & tethering > Wi-Fi hotspot. Google says up to 10 other devices can connect (Pixel Help).

A hotspot drains the host phone's battery quickly, so carry a power bank. And when the family splits up, everyone else loses the connection, which is the main reason some families prefer an eSIM per phone.

How can I make my data last longer abroad?

The biggest savings come from moving video to Wi-Fi, downloading offline maps before you leave, and stopping apps from downloading media in the background. WhatsApp, Google Maps, YouTube, Netflix and the iPhone itself all have settings for this. Set them up at home, before your pack starts.

1. Download offline maps. In Google Maps, download your city before you travel. Google says you can navigate offline if the whole route is inside the downloaded area, though without traffic or walking and transit directions (Google Maps Help).
2. Stop WhatsApp auto-downloading media. In Settings > Storage and data > Media auto-download, set photos, audio, video and documents to download on Wi-Fi only. On Android, untick them under "When using mobile data" and "When roaming". WhatsApp itself warns that "roaming data is often expensive" (WhatsApp Help).
3. Turn on Use less data for calls in WhatsApp's Storage and data settings, and use Data Saver on one-to-one video calls over mobile data (WhatsApp Help).
4. Use iPhone Low Data Mode on the travel eSIM. On a dual-SIM iPhone: Settings > Cellular (or Mobile Data) > tap the travel line > Low Data Mode. Apple says it turns off Background App Refresh, automatic downloads and backups, and pauses iCloud Photos updates (Apple Support).
5. Lower video quality. Choose Data saver in YouTube's quality menu, where you can set a separate default for mobile networks (YouTube Help). On Netflix, the Low setting uses up to 0.3 GB an hour (Netflix Help).
6. Set a data warning. On a Pixel, Settings > Network & internet > SIMs > Data warning & limit lets you set a warning and a cap (Pixel Help).
7. Keep your Pakistani SIM off data. Leave data roaming off on the home line so your Pakistani operator can't charge you for roaming data. Our guide to keeping your WhatsApp number abroad shows the exact settings.