Video Calls and Streaming Abroad: How Much Data They Use

Ask where a travel data plan went and the answer is nearly always video. Messages, maps and email barely move the needle, while a long video call home or an evening of streaming in bed can use more than everything else you did that day put together. The good news is that video is also the easiest thing to control.

Why video uses so much more data

A video is a rapid series of images, and every one of them has to travel over the network. The sharper the picture and the longer you watch, the more data you use: quality and time multiply each other. Audio is a much thinner stream, which is why a voice call uses only a fraction of what the same call with video does.

Most apps also adjust quality to your connection automatically. On a strong 4G or 5G signal they'll often pick a sharper picture, and use more data, unless you tell them otherwise.

Calls: from lightest to heaviest

Roughly in order of data use:

1. 1Text messages and photos in chat apps: light, unless you send lots of video clips.
2. 2Voice notes: small, even if you send plenty of them.
3. 3Voice calls over WhatsApp, FaceTime Audio, Telegram or Viber: modest, so a long chat home won't make much of a dent.
4. 4One-to-one video calls: heavy, and heavier still in high definition.
5. 5Group video calls and screen sharing: usually the heaviest, because several video streams run at once.

A HelloSIM eSIM is data-only, with no local number, so calls go through apps like these. Your usual number stays on your home SIM, and WhatsApp carries on working with that number as normal.

Streaming: video versus music

Streaming services usually offer several quality levels, broadly:

• Low: a softer picture that's perfectly watchable on a phone and uses the least data.
• Standard: sharper, and noticeably hungrier.
• HD and above: the sharpest picture and by far the most data, with little visible benefit on a small screen.

Music and podcasts sit well below video. Even at high audio quality, an hour of music uses much less than an hour of video, though it does add up if it plays all day while you're walking or driving.

Settings that cut video data

You don't have to give up video, just turn it down:

• Video apps: set playback on mobile data to low or data saver quality, and turn off autoplay of the next episode.
• Social apps: let videos autoplay only on Wi-Fi, or switch on the app's data saver.
• Call apps: look for a low-data option in the call settings, switch your camera off when it isn't needed, and drop to audio only if the picture keeps freezing; the conversation often goes more smoothly too.
• iPhone: turn on Low Data Mode for your travel line, which asks many apps, FaceTime included, to use less data.
• Android: switch on Data Saver to limit what runs in the background on mobile data.

Download first, watch later

The simplest way to watch shows abroad without touching your plan is to download them before you go. Most major streaming and music apps let you save episodes, films, playlists and podcasts for offline use, where your subscription allows it. Do it on home Wi-Fi the night before you fly, and refresh your downloads on hotel Wi-Fi during the trip.

Downloaded over Wi-Fi, they cost you storage rather than data, so free up some space on the phone first.

Check your own video habits before you go

Rules of thumb are a start, but your phone already knows how you use video. On iPhone, Settings → Mobile Data lists how much each app has used since the counter was last reset; on Android, the data usage screen shows the same breakdown per app. Look at the past few weeks at home. If video and social apps sit at the top of the list, they will on holiday too.

Two quick questions turn that into a travel plan:

• Will you mostly watch at your accommodation on Wi-Fi, or on mobile data while you're on the move?
• Do your video calls need to happen during the day, away from Wi-Fi, or can they wait for the evening?

If the honest answers are "on the move" and "during the day", plan for the heavy end and keep top-ups in mind.

Sizing your plan around video

If a daily video call home is on the agenda, or you expect to stream over mobile data, put yourself at the heavy end: 10 GB or more a week. Compare that with around 1 GB a week for someone who mostly uses maps and messages, and 3–5 GB a week for everyday social media and browsing. That gap is almost entirely video.

Two ways to stay flexible:

• Top up as you go. With HelloSIM you can add data to the same eSIM from the Check / Top up page, your account or the app, without reinstalling anything.
• Consider an unlimited-style plan where one is offered, as selected destinations have them. If video will be a big part of your trip, read the plan details and see whether it suits you.

Wi-Fi or mobile data for calls?

Good accommodation Wi-Fi is the natural place for long video calls and binge-watching. Shared Wi-Fi in hotels and cafés can slow down at busy times, though, so mobile data can be the steadier option for a call that really matters, such as a family occasion, an interview or a work meeting.

A sensible split is to do the heavy watching on Wi-Fi and keep your mobile data for the calls you don't want to drop and for moments when you're out and about.