YouTube is the world’s most popular video-sharing website. But like all video streaming services, YouTube can use a lot of data, especially if you’re watching on-the-go. In this article, Canstar Blue explains how much data YouTube uses and how to minimise your data usage.
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The following table shows selected published Optus SIM-only postpaid plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost, from the lowest to highest and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to a referral partner.
The following table shows selected published Telstra SIM-only postpaid plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost, from the lowest to highest and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to a referral partner.
The following table shows selected published Vodafone SIM-only postpaid plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost, from the lowest to highest and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to a referral partner.
How much data does YouTube use?
Unlike streaming sites Netflix and Stan, YouTube doesn’t have an official data usage guide.
But below is a rough overview of data usage at different quality settings per hour. Although be aware that exact data usage is based on factors including video quality, the type of video you’re watching and its length.
| Video quality | Data usage (per hour) |
| Standard definition (SD) | 169MB |
| High definition (HD – 720p) | 468MB |
| Full high definition (FHD – 1080p) | 756MB |
| Ultra high definition (UHD – 4K) | 4.57GB |
How to check YouTube data usage
You can check how much data YouTube is using on your device by following the steps below:
For iPhones
- Go to Settings > Cellular
- Scroll to find the YouTube app
- View the data usage under YouTube
For Androids
- Tap on Settings > Apps
- Click on the YouTube app
- Select Usage
For Pixels
- Open Settings
- Select Network and internet > SIMs
- Press App data usage
- Scroll until you see YouTube
How much data does YouTube Music use?
Like YouTube, the amount of data that YouTube Music uses depends on the quality and length of the music streamed. While there are no official data usage stats for YouTube Music, here’s an approximate estimate:
| Audio quality (approx) | Data usage (per hour) |
| Low (48Kbps) | 21MB |
| Normal (128Kbps) | 73MB |
| High (256Kbps) | 115MB |
Does YouTube use a lot of data compared to other streaming sites?
Compared to other big players like Netflix and Stan, YouTube seems to be a fairly light offender when it comes to data usage. For example, watching YouTube videos in HD for an hour might use about 500MB. But an hour-long television show or movie on Netflix could use up to 3GB. The viewing experience is similar on Stan, with high definition videos also likely to rack up around 3GB in a 60-minute sitting.
How to reduce YouTube mobile data usage
Before you dive deep into another YouTube binge session, here are some tips for staying in control of your data usage.
Adjust the video quality
Lowering your video quality from High Definition to Standard Definition can cut your hourly data usage by over half.
- Open the YouTube app > Select Settings > Video quality preferences. If you use an iOS device you will need to select On mobile networks or On WiFi on the next page
- Under Video quality on mobile networks/WiFi, choose Data saver or Higher picture quality as your default settings.
Note: whatever your chosen default playback settings, you’re still able to change the quality on individual videos via the settings icon during playback.
Use WiFi
You can prevent YouTube from chewing through your mobile data by connecting to a public or home WiFi network. However, if you want to download YouTube videos to your device to enjoy while away from a WiFi connection, you’ll need to subscribe to a YouTube Premium account.
Phone plans for video streaming
If you love streaming video on the go, you’ll need a phone plan with lots of data. There are tonnes of phone plans that offer large amounts of data, and if you look around for the right plan, you might find the perfect plan for your needs. For example, Optus offers 10GB of streaming data for Netflix, Stan and ABC Kids on its Epic Data prepaid plans, but you might find cheaper data deals elsewhere. Check out the table below to find the perfect phone plan for you.
Here is a selection of postpaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database with a minimum of 10GB of data, listed in order of standard cost, lowest to highest, then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use Canstar Blue’s phone plan comparison tool to see a wide range of plans on offer from mobile providers. This table includes products with links to referral partners.
Here is a selection of prepaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database with a minimum of 10GB of data, listed in order of standard cost, lowest to highest, then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our comparison tool to see a wide range of plans from other providers. This table includes products with links to referral partners.
What’s the deal with YouTube data usage?
YouTube offers a range of playback quality options, allowing viewers to watch some videos in up to 4K UHD. But with improved video quality comes greater data usage, which can quickly exhaust your mobile data allowance when you’re using the YouTube app on your phone outside of Wi-Fi range.
Offering the best streaming experience, videos in UHD can use over 5GB per hour. However, YouTube does offer lower quality streaming options, and within the YouTube app you can set your default video setting to ‘data saver’, which allows viewers to enjoy on-the-go entertainment with data usage under 169MB per hour.
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