How long will a 1 GB hotspot last?

hen finding out the amounts of data you require, considering your individual needs is important to avoid getting too little or too much.

The amount of data your hotspot uses has a direct relation to the activities you carry out when using it. While you can keep track of the data you are using, it is still important to remain careful to avoid surpassing your limits. 1 GB of data may seem unlimited, but it can easily run out if you fail to manage it properly.

The length of time a 1GB hotspot data plan lasts on average is 12 hours. It allows you to watch 2 hours of videos in standard definition or stream 200 songs.

Activities that affect the data your hotspot uses

The use of your phone as a hotspot allows you to connect other devices to the internet. Here is a rundown of various activities and their impact:

Web browsing

The consensus on surfing the web is that it does not place too many demands on your hotspot data – though this is dependent on the websites you visit. As a main rule, you will spend more data visiting an image-heavy website compared to a text-only website. On average, the activity consumes 60 MB of data in an hour, so 1 GB should last for 60 hours.

Opening emails

Sending and opening emails leaves a very negligible impact on your hotspot data, as each email takes less than 1 MB to open.

Netflix

The average amount of data you use will depend on the quality you view videos in, with the advantage of saving content for offline viewing. Note that downloading and streaming take the same amounts of data.

If viewing the content in low quality, you will use 570 MB per hour, standard/medium quality uses 1.1 GB, and the high setting uses 3 GB per hour – so the 1 GB bandwidth can only play low- quality videos.

Music streaming

The streaming app you use will determine the bandwidth you spend per hour. For Apple Music, the only quality you can use is 256kps, which makes your hourly data usage 155 MB. Spotify offers more options for quality, with the lowest (96kps) resulting in 43 MB hourly usage, the medium quality (160kps) resulting in hourly use of 72 MB, and the highest quality (320kps) showing an hourly demand of 144 MB.

On the other hand, using a lossless platform such as Tidal will demand 640 MB per hour, while Google Play Music is flexible enough to accommodate the quality of your cellular connection.

Instagram

This is among the surprising platforms when looking at its data consumption, as it is considerably higher than most of its competitors. Five minutes alone takes 60 MB, and it can go up to 80 MB if you play Instagram stories and videos. Expect to use an average of 720 MB per hour.

YouTube

The advantage it offers is the lack of quality options when you are using cellular connections, which should help you in managing your data usage. On average, it uses up to 300 MB per hour.

Facebook

There are two things to remember when using Facebook: general browsing and opening video content. For general browsing, it will take 80 MB every hour, while opening videos takes 160 MB per hour.

Zoom

Like many video-sharing and communication platforms, this is very heavy on data usage, going up to 810 MB per hour.

Downloading apps

This mainly depends on the app size and quality of the network itself, so usage of 1 GB will vary. When downloading apps, it is always better to do so when on a Wi-Fi network to avoid consuming too much data.

Data limits and hotspots

Data use in your hotspot can change due to external factors as well. In many cases, network operators can limit your data use if you exceed your data plan limits (this is prevalent in smaller data limits). Additionally, the hotspot speeds can also determine your data limits, even in unlimited plans.

As a general rule, mobile hotspots do not have very high data limits, and they may not support bandwidth-intense activities, even if you are working with a 1 GB limit.

How do various activities affect your hotspot usage data?

Activity
Data demand per hour (on average)
How long 1GB lasts (on average)
Web browsing
60 MB
16 hours
Opening emails
Less than 1 MB
1000 hours
Netflix
Minimum of 250 MB
4 hours (minimum)
Streaming music
Maximum of 150 MB
6 to 8 hours
Instagram
720 MB
1.3 hours
YouTube
300 MB
3 hours
Facebook
80 MB
12.5 hours
Zoom
810 MB
1.2 hours
Downloading apps
Dependent on the app size and cellular connection
Varies for each app

Conclusion

The question of how long 1 GB data lasts is dependent on the activities you use it on, as different ones will demand different data amounts.

FAQs

Is 1 GB enough for a month’s use?

No, unless you are using it for very light activities such as surfing the internet.

How many GB does the average person use every month?

The average minimum amount is about 3 GB.

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