How much data does Apex Legends use?
While Apex Legends has an interesting approach to the now-popular online multiplayer game setup, it can demand a lot from your internet bandwidth limits. It is more important to keep this in mind if you work with data limits to avoid overstepping your budget.
If you are playing online games through a mobile hotspot connection or using installed mobile broadband, they can make significant dents in your available data when you are not careful in their management. While most of them are fine because they do not need much data on your end, Apex Legends is among the exceptions to the rule.
The demands of Apex Legends are quite high for an online game, as it uses a minimum bandwidth of 200 MB per hour. Therefore, if you are planning on playing it for extended periods, it is best to switch to an unlimited mobile data plan to make the most from your gaming experience.
Table of Contents
How much data do I need when downloading Apex Legends?
The initial download of the game will require more bandwidth than playing or updating it. When looking at this comparison table, keep in mind that the file size is larger than the download size (due to compression), and the file size increases with time from developer updates and patches.
Gaming platform |
Size of file |
PlayStation 4 |
23.09 GB |
Windows PC |
22 GB |
Xbox One |
41.13 GB |
Additionally, if the mobile data demand worries you because of insufficient amounts, you can install the game offline instead by purchasing the physical disk, rather than downloading the game online.
How much data do I need when updating Apex Legends?
Similar to all online games, Apex Legends receives periodic updates from EA. These will vary in their download size, but the demands on your data are not significant – the most major update will reach a maximum of 15 GB.
If this is a worrying aspect because of data limits, you can always turn off the auto-update option and install the updates manually when you have extra data.
How much data will I need when playing Apex Legends?
As we mentioned before, Apex Legends is quite demanding for an online game, reaching demands of up to 200 MB an hour. This will depend on the tick rates of your server, whether voice chat is active or inactive, your frame rates, and the number of players in the game mode.
Server tick rates
Using a 64-tick server that refreshes the game 64 times per second will need half the data requirements that a 128-tick server needs.
Voice chats
Expect to use up more data if your voice chats are active during gameplay. In fact, your maximum data requirements per hour significantly reduce to less than 30 MB when the voice chat option is off while activating it increases your data demand to more than 50 MB per hour.
Frame rates
The higher your frame rate, the more the game refreshes, resulting in faster running. Slower frame rates will save you data because of this, but they also make it harder for you to react quickly and smoothly.
To control the frame rates, you can do so in the game settings and adjust the rate, which is measured in FPS. You will need to disable the V-Synch (vertical synch) as well.
Number of players
The more players there are in the game, the more data you will need because your network must communicate with the other players’ networks to share information like location and stats. Since every gaming session of Apex Legends has 20 teams of three players each, it will require more data compared to a smaller multiplayer-mode game.
Average data requirements of Apex Legends per month
One gaming session of Apex Legends lasts about 20 minutes and demands 15 MB on average for this timing. That may not seem much, but it can easily become too much to handle – especially if you do not disable updates on your iOS or Android device when playing through a hotspot. This is because the smartphone will see the mobile hotspot as a wireless internet connection, and deem all apps suitable for updates at the same time.
If you are playing the game for 1 hour every day, you will need an average of 1.8 GB a month, while playing it for 2 hours daily consumes 3.6 GB monthly.
Conclusion
Apex Legends is an enjoyable multiplayer game, but it can quickly drain your resources if you fail to monitor its performance. If you plan on spending considerable amounts of time on it, you are better off switching to unlimited data connections because it will allow gameplay without bandwidth throttles and limits.
FAQs
How much GB on average does Apex Legends require?
For downloading, you should set aside at least 25.82 GB.
What GB limits should I have to download Apex Legends on PC?
The minimum is 30 GB when downloading on PCs to ensure smooth running.
