Tuesday, September 26, 2023

How Much Data Does YouTube Use (Complete Guide)

YouTube is a popular video-sharing website that allows users to upload, view, and share videos with the rest of the world. To watch a video on YouTube, we need data. So, the next question that naturally arises in everyone’s mind is How Much Data Does YouTube Use? Well, this blog will give you all the details you want. 

The amount of data you use on YouTube is primarily determined by the video resolution, YouTube bitrate, and streaming duration. Lowering the resolution of the video is one way to reduce the amount of data consumed. Streaming a video in 144P will use less data than in 360P

However, remember that the lower the resolution, the more pixelated the video may appear. Let us discuss some topics related to YouTube’s data usage in this article.

How Much Data Does YouTube Use per Minute

The video streaming resolution determines the amount of data used. Streaming videos in 144P will save data, but the video quality may be too pixelated to watch. In contrast, watching videos in Full HD or Ultra HD will consume more data.

ResolutionData Consumption per Minute
144P0.5 – 1.5 MB
240P3-4.5 MB
360P5-7.5 MB
480P/SD8-11 MB
720P/HD Ready20-45 MB
1080P/Full HD50-68 MB
4K/Ultra HD135-385 MB

How Much Data Does YouTube Use 144P

Watching YouTube videos in 144P resolution will consume approximately 0.5 to 1.5 MB of data per minute and 30 to 90 MB per hour.

How Much Data Does YouTube Use at 240P

Streaming YouTube videos in 240P are slightly better than 144P in terms of quality. The data consumption is around 3 to 4.5 MB per minute and 180 to 250 MB per hour.

How Much Data Does YouTube Use per Hour 360P

Streaming a YouTube video in 360P for an hour will consume between 300 to 450 MB of data.

How Much Data Does YouTube Use 480P

YouTube classifies 480P videos as SD videos. These videos perform far better than previous versions. We will consume approximately 480 to 660 MB of data if we stream a 480P resolution YouTube video for an hour.

How Much Data Does YouTube Use per Hour 720P

YouTube offers increased frame rates for 720P and higher-quality YouTube videos. A higher frame rate means a smoother streaming experience and more data consumption. Streaming a 720P video for an hour will consume between 870 MB to 2.7 GB of data.

How Much Data Does YouTube Use per Hour 1080P

1080P YouTube videos use more data. Watching a video in this mode for an hour will consume approximately 1.65 GB to 4.1 GB of data. The video quality will be good in this mode, but the data usage will be higher.

FAQ: How Much Data Does YouTube Use

How Long Will 1GB of Data Last on YouTube?

The amount of data used depends entirely on the type of video we watch on YouTube. When we play a video in 144P resolution, 1GB of data will last for 11+ hours, whereas the same video in 720P resolution will not last even 1 hour.

Does YouTube Use a Lot of Data?

The answer is both Yes and No. When we play a video in 144P resolution, it will not consume a large amount of data, but when we play the same video in a higher resolution, it consumes more data.

How Do I Make YouTube Use Less Data?

Open YouTube → Click on Your Profile Picture → Go to Settings → Select Data Saving → Enable the Data Saving Mode. When you enable this mode, it automatically reduces video quality and consumes less data.

How Long Will 25GB of Data Last on YouTube?

It differs from one person to another. If someone prefers watching videos in data saving mode, 25 GB will last several days. However, it may last a few hours if they watch the videos in higher resolution.

How Long Will 5GB of Data Last on YouTube?

The information provided below will be fairly clear on how long 5 GB of data will last on YouTube.

1. 144P – up to 56+ hrs

2. 240P – up to 20+ hrs

3. 360P – 11+ hrs

4. 480P – 7+ hrs

5. 720P – Not even 2 hrs

6. 1080P – Just 1 hr 20 min

7. 4K – Not even 1 hr.  

How Many GB Is 2 Hours of YouTube?

If someone watches videos on YouTube in 144P, 240P, or 360P resolution, they will not even use 1 GB of data in 2 hours. However, if the same person prefers to watch videos at 480P or higher resolution, they will require more than 1 GB of data.

Conclusion

There’s no hard and fast rule for data usage with YouTube. How much data you use depends on what you’re streaming, whether you’re connected to WiFi, and how many videos you watch. Generally, a high-resolution video consumes more data than a video with a lower resolution. We hope this article about ‘How Much Data Does YouTube Use‘ has answered all your queries.

Please leave any additional questions in the comments section. We will gladly respond.

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Dhanya Narasimhamurthy
Dhanya Narasimhamurthy
Dhanya is a Content Writer, SEO and Digital Marketing enthusiast. She is a postgraduate in Commerce with over 10+ years of corporate experience in Market Research, ITO and BPO outsourcing and Competitive Intelligence.

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