How Much Data does YouTube ( or your favourite internet streaming passtime ) Consume

With the advent of better internet access in developing markets, more and more people are turning to internet streaming as a source of their entertainment. There is a plethora of free and paid-for streaming services available (YouTube, Netflix, Roku etc) which offer a reasonable alternative to traditional subscription video services ( Digital Satellite TV / Cable TV  etc ). The two challenges faced by the wanna-be streaming user are: internet speeds, and data caps. This article will assume that you are on a service which has a stable internet speed (512kbps and above), and will focus on answering the question : "how much data does my streaming consume?" 

I have scoured a few blogs and the FAQ's of YouTube, Netflix and Roku to attempt to answer your burning question. Armed with this information, you will be better able to evaluate your internet connection and compare it with your traditional video subscription. Without further ado, here goes!

Below are the Internet download speed recommendations per stream for playing TV shows and movies through Netflix.

• 0.5 Megabits per second - Required broadband connection speed
• 1.5 Megabits per second - Recommended broadband connection speed
• 3.0 Megabits per second - Recommended for SD quality
• 5.0 Megabits per second - Recommended for HD quality
• 25 Megabits per second - Recommended for Ultra HD quality

Watching TV shows or movies on Netflix uses about 1 GB of data per hour for each stream of standard definition (SD) video, and up to 3 GB per hour for each stream of high definition HD video. Downloading and streaming consume a similar amount of data.

Source :https://help.netflix.com/en/node/87

How much data do you need to watch YouTube?

• A low quality video uses about 1,5MB per minute.
• A Full HD (1080p) YouTube video uses about 12MB per minute.
• YouTube data usage varies greatly depending on the quality of the stream.

YouTube Usage	240p	360p	480p	720p	1080p
Per min.	1.6MB	2.66MB	4MB	7.4MB	12.4MB
Per hour	100MB	160MB	240MB	450MB	750MB

Source : https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/Guides/Broadband-Usage-Guide

So, with all this information at your fingertips, you can now do the math and see if your regular TV subscription is better off being replaced by a good internet connection with a decent data cap coupled with a subscription to Netflix or any of the other free video streaming sites. Happy watching!

Extras:

If you are concerned with data caps or bandwidth limits, you can adjust your data usage settings by following the steps below:

Adjust your data usage settings on Netflix

1. Access the Your Account page from a web browser and select Playback Settings.
2. Select your desired data usage setting (please note that each estimate below is per stream, and that restricting data usage may affect video quality):
• Low (0.3 GB per hour)
• Medium (SD: 0.7 GB per hour)
• High (Best video quality, up to 3 GB per hour for HD and 7 GB per hour for Ultra HD)
• Auto (Adjusts automatically to deliver the highest possible quality, based on your current Internet connection speed)

Source : https://help.netflix.com/en/node/306

Changing Video Quality on YouTube?

Change the video quality by going to Settings in the corner of the video player, and selecting your preferred quality.

On mobile devices, adjust quality settings by tapping Menu , then Settings . This option isn’t available on all devices (e.g. some TV/game consoles), or connections (e.g. iOS on a cellular network).

Note that choosing lower video quality (such as 240p and 360p) will make videos start more quickly. The video player will remember this for future playbacks. 

Source : https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/91449?hl=en