How many GBs do I need for home internet?

All internet service providers want to make more money by selling you faster connections and higher speeds– but the question you should ask is how many GBs you need when getting a home internet connection.

As internet connectivity continues to increase globally, texts and phone calls are no longer a priority in communication – now it is social media platforms, and more people are working from their phones, streaming, and web browsing than before.Since the web has become more important as time goes on, it is essential to have sufficient data on your device without paying for unused data (a common problem).

The bandwidth you require depends on several factors. However, a general rule to use would be the number of people using the network as well as your intended uses. Anything below 200 Mbps is too low for a large household, while most modern applications are fine with a minimum of 25 Mbps. Using these figures as a basis, the average GBs to aim for in an average household will range from1 GB to 20 GB, depending on these factors.

Which activities use the most bandwidth?

The internet speeds you use are ultimately measures of the bandwidth you require. An instance would be using a 25 Mbps connection to watch up to 5 Mbps Netflix streams at average quality. If you live in a rural area, it is easy to have low connection speeds, but watching the same content in cities will max out the speed at 100 Mbps easily – and you will need more GBs to keep up with it.

For an average user, most bandwidth will go to streaming videos. Some services such as YouTube will adjust the bandwidth you use if you have insufficient levels, and you may experience some buffering due to that.

Knowing the average bandwidth is essential because most ISPs set 1 TB as their data cap, and anything beyond that requires very expensive equipment installation. While this figure may seem too high for the average household, the increasing reliance on the internet may result in you reaching this cap earlier than you expect.

Below is a table showing the average individual bandwidth consumption, which you can use as a basis for calculating the household demand (depending on the number of people).

Activity	Average data usage (estimates per hour)
Music streaming	100 MB
Social media/general web browsing	50 MB
Instant messaging	50 MB
Video calls	200 MB
Video streaming	700 MB

Breakdown of each activity

Music streaming

Streaming music on platforms like Amazon Music, Soundcloud and Spotify can easily demand up to 100 MB bandwidth per hour, depending on the specific platform and quality you stream in.

Social media/general web browsing

These will not demand much from your data allowance except Instagram (which is fairly heavy due to its image and video-sharing qualities). Each page you view will average about 1 MB of bandwidth, so you will not need much from your data plan.

While 1 MB does not sound much though, it can add up very quickly depending on how often you use it daily. For instance, browsing for an hour every day can easily demand 3 GB of data alone.

Instant messaging

If you regularly do instant messaging such as on Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, that can use up to 150 MB per day for individuals – though this can vary if you use it the entire day or sporadically.

Video calls

Doing a video call consumes 200 MB per hour on average, though this can add up if you do them frequently or multiple people in your home making them.

Video streaming

Video streaming platforms such as Disney Plus, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube will demand different bandwidth, depending on the video quality. Some of them will offer you control over the streaming quality, such as Netflix that will demand 0.3 GB per hour if you stream content in low quality, while others offer less control and consume higher data amounts.

Based on these estimates, an average household needs:

Overall usage	Monthly data allowance
Light	1 GB or more
Medium	6 GB or more
Heavy	20 GB or more

Conclusion

The bandwidth you require for a home internet connection will depend on the activities you intend to do, the household size, the number of users, and so on. If you are unsure, you can always use a bandwidth calculator to enter your household details and it will give you an average estimate to use.

FAQs

How many GBs does the average household consume every month?

According to data from various internet service providers, the average home consumes an average of 344 GB monthly, an increase of 38 times the average of 10 years ago.

How many GBs of data does the average person use?

Average estimates are 2.9 GB per person every year, which is an approximate take from early 2019.