How Much Data Does Netflix Use On Cell Phones?

Binge watching Netflix on our phones can seem like the ultimate luxury. We all love to catch up on our favorite shows when we are on the go, riding the bus or in the back of an Uber. Unfortunately, our addictions also eat up our data. Dedicated Netflix watchers are probably familiar with the degrading quality of shows as the cell phone plan reaches its limit. Others might have been surprised by a huge data overage fee from a large cell phone provider. To avoid these unpleasant situations, we need to choose the right cell phone plan. The right cell phone plan depends on how much data we habitually use.

Streaming Speed and Quality

To determine how much data we use, we need to start with the quality of video that we are watching. Low quality video is streamed at a lower speed and uses less data. The highest quality video requires more bandwidth and eats up our data at faster pace. Netflix has published the amount of data used for each video type in gigabytes (GB) per hour.

• Low (0.3 GB per hour)
• Medium (SD: 0.7 GB per hour)
• High (Best video quality, up to 3 GB per hour for HD and 7 GB per hour for Ultra HD)

From this list, we can see that low quality video uses only 10% of the data that high quality video does. The middle ground, medium, is often called standard definition, or SD. To help users anticipate their data usage, Netflix allows users to set their data usage settings to one of these options. There is also a fourth option, called auto, which selects the highest quality video option available based on the internet speed. This might be low quality at a busy cafe or Ultra HD at a high speed internet center. Knowing what speed we usually stream is key to calculating how much data our cell phone plans should have.

How Much Data Does Standard Definition Netflix Use?

Many people elect to watch Netflix at Standard Definition, or SD, which uses about 1 GB per hour. To determine how much data we use at SD, we need to know how much Netflix we watch everyday. This can vary from day to day, but it's good to work with an average amount. As an average, Netflix subscribers use about 1.5 hours per day. At the 1 GB per hour rate, that is only 1.5 GB per day. However, when you multiple that by the number of days in a month (usually 30), we get to 45 GB per month. Since we typically pay cell phone bills on a monthly basis, the average Netflix user would need to get a cell phone plan that allows at least 45 GB per month.

Standard definition viewers can estimate their monthly Netflix data usage using this formula: 1 GB x the number of hours watched per day x the number of days in a month

Remember that we don't have to include the time that we watch on our TV using our home internet. For many people, the data we use for home internet is billed separately through another provider. The number of hours watched per day in this calculation should be the time we spend watching Netflix on our cell phones using cell phone-provided data.

How Much Data Does High Definition Netflix Use?

Some people can't stand the lower quality of standard definition and opt for higher definition streaming. For a long time, the only option for high definition, or HD, was an option that streamed 3 GB per hour. However, Netflix now has an Ultra HD option that uses 7 GB per hour. For the average Netflix user, who spends 1.5 hours per day streaming, streaming in HD would use 135 GB per month. Ultra HD lovers would reach 315 GB per month. That's a lot of data! To calculate our individual usage, we can use the similar formulas below:

High Definition (3GB per hour)

3 GB x the number of hours watched per day x the number of days in a month

Ultra High Definition (7GB per hour)

7 GB x the number of hours watched per day x the number of days in a month

Again, the number of hours should include the hours spent using cell phone provided data to watch Netflix, not the time spent at the local coffee shop using their internet.

Netflix-Induced Throttling

Because watching Netflix is such a data intensive process, Netflix introduced the idea of throttling data to help customers. Throttling data is decreasing the streaming speed (and therefore the quality of the video) as we reach our cell phone data limits. If we are streaming Ultra HD and get close to our limit, throttling would slow the speed to SD or low quality video to keep us from going over our data limits. Some cell phone companies, like Sprint and T-mobile, also throttle data to avoid hitting the limits.

However, some people don't enjoy losing their video quality as they approach their cell phone limit. Now Netflix allows users to set their preferences right in the app. Users can select low, SD or HD. Netflix won't change the speed based on approaching the limit. But some cell phone carriers still might throttle as we approach our cell phone plan limits. It depends on the carrier. Of course, if we don't approach our limit, we don't have to worry about throttling, which makes unlimited plans look very appealing to avid Netflix watchers.

Related: How to Change Netflix Region

Cell Phone Plans for Netflix Addicts

Although opting for an unlimited plan is a simple solution, many phone carriers are starting to offer options to stream media without using data. Unfortunately, not all of these plans include Netflix. T-Mobile currently offers the most Netflix-compatible version called Binge On. This service compresses and optimizes the data streaming so that lots of Netflix barely touches the data usage. Any T-Mobile plan with more than 3 GB has this feature. Verizon is also experimenting with zero data streaming, but they haven't included Netflix in their app yet. AT&T throttles data now. Sprint hasn't incorporated any low data use plans for Netflix yet. T-Mobile is the best option if we want to take advantage of this data optimization.

Of course, the other option is to get a plan with unlimited data, which allows us to stream Netflix to our hearts' content. Each major cell phone provider has an unlimited option, though they vary in price. You can compare these plans below.

There are many options to keep our data usage in check and yet still enjoy Netflix. Built-in Netflix limitations help us set how much data we intend to use per hour. Cell phone carriers can throttle data to keep us from going over our limits. Alternatively, there are unlimited plans that allow us to stop worrying about all this data stuff, sit back and enjoy Netflix.