An hour of YouTube at 480p costs 480 to 660 MB, and at 1080p between 3 and 4 GB. YouTube does not publish what playback costs. The bitrate table it does publish is for uploads, which is where most of the figures in circulation come from.
What each resolution costs
These figures come from Android Authority’s 2023 testing, which averaged three monitoring apps and cross-checked bitrates using YouTube’s Stats for Nerds. Because the test ran an 8K, 60fps HDR video tour of Peru, these benchmarks represent upper-bound estimates; typical 30fps videos consume less.
| Resolution | Per hour |
|---|---|
| 144p | 30 to 90 MB |
| 240p | 180 to 270 MB |
| 360p | 300 to 450 MB |
| 480p | 480 to 660 MB |
| 720p | 1.2 to 2.7 GB |
| 1080p | 3 to 4 GB |
| 4K | 5.5 to 23 GB |
1080p uses about six times the data of 480p. While 480p is visibly softer, it remains comfortable on a phone screen for casual viewing.
Why the ranges are so wide
At any given resolution, what the video contains decides most of the cost. A static talking head compresses down to very little. Football, or anything with confetti, motion and camera pans, does not.
YouTube has been rolling out a newer codec that gives similar quality at lower bitrates, so published figures, including the table above, are more likely to run high than low.
YouTube’s bitrate table is for uploads
YouTube publishes a bitrate table, and the page says the bitrates are recommendations for uploads.
They are encoding targets for creators, and they assume a codec YouTube often does not use for playback. Many published figures are these bitrates converted into megabytes per hour. At 1080p the converted number lands inside the measured range, but it is worked out from upload settings, not from what your phone receives.
The settings that control data use
Under your profile picture, Settings, then Video quality preferences, you can set a default for mobile networks separately from wifi. YouTube describes Data saver as lower picture quality with videos that may start faster.
You can also set quality per video through the gear icon, then Quality, then Advanced. Use that when a single video matters and the rest of your watching does not.
With Premium, you can download videos over wifi and watch them without using your plan.
How much data to budget
A 5 GB plan is seven and a half to ten hours of YouTube at 480p, or between one and two hours at 1080p. Atli’s 3 GB plan, which every destination has for thirty days, is four and a half to six hours at 480p.
Streaming video uses the most data on most trips, and the Netflix guide covers the other big streaming app. If you are sizing a whole trip rather than one app, how much data a trip uses puts the proportions together.
YouTube publishes no playback figures. Its bitrate table is for uploads. Measured benchmarks from Android Authority testing, June 2023.
FAQ
What quality should I pick on a travel plan?
Why does the same resolution use different amounts?
Is YouTube's own bitrate table wrong?
Do Premium downloads save data?
How can I tell how much of my plan YouTube has used?
data or usage to the WhatsApp or Telegram chat returns the data left and the days remaining.
