How Much Data Do You Need for a Trip to Europe?

Europe is one of the world’s top travel spots, attracting around 585 million visitors each year. Between hopping on trains, exploring historic cities, and posting your adventures online, one question always comes up: how much mobile data will I actually need?

These days, your phone is your ultimate travel buddy — for maps, translation, social media, music, and more. But without the right data plan, you could end up stuck hunting Wi-Fi or (worse) paying crazy roaming fees. Let’s keep that from happening. 🚀

First Things First: MB vs. GB

• MB (megabyte) and GB (gigabyte) are just measurements of data.
• 1 GB = 1,000 MB.
• Most travel eSIMs are sold in GB packages, so it’s good to know what that actually gets you.

Keep an Eye on Your Data

Before you travel, check which apps eat the most data. Luckily, your phone already has built-in tools:

On iPhone 📱

• Settings → Cellular Data → scroll to see app usage
• Reset stats when your trip starts

On Android 🤖

• Settings → Network & Internet → Data usage
• Set warnings or limits so you don’t get a nasty surprise

How Much Data Do Travel Apps Use?

Here’s a quick breakdown of common activities:

Essentials

• Emails: almost nothing (10–50KB per email)
• Web browsing: ~5MB per hour
• Google Maps: 5–25MB per search (Street View can spike to 150MB)

Fun Stuff

• Music streaming: ~50MB per hour
• YouTube: ~250MB/hour (SD) or 1.5GB/hour (HD)
• Instagram/TikTok: 30–150MB per hour
• Video calls: 500MB–1.5GB per hour

Hotspot

Sharing your data with a laptop? Expect:

• Browsing: 20–50MB/hour
• Zoom calls: 150–300MB/hour
• HD video streaming: 1–2GB/hour

What Different Data Plans Really Mean

1GB Plan (good for quick trips)

• 1 hour maps
• 30 mins YouTube
• 1 hour music
  👉 Perfect for light travelers

3GB Plan

• 3.5 hours YouTube
• 6,000 songs on Spotify
• 7,500 map searches
  👉 Great for short but active trips

5GB Plan

• Almost 5 hours YouTube
• 9,500 map searches
• 8,000 songs
  👉 Solid for a week+ in Europe

10GB Plan

• 12 hours YouTube
• 25,000 map searches
• Plenty left for browsing & messaging
  👉 Good for digital nomads or long vacations

20GB Plan

• 60 hours YouTube
• 70,000 map searches
• 25 hours of FaceTime
  👉 Ideal for heavy users or business travelers

So… How Much Do You Actually Need?

• Light users (maps, messages, emails): ~500MB–1GB per day
• Moderate users (social media, music, a bit of video): ~1–2GB per day
• Heavy users (streaming, hotspot, constant FaceTime): 3GB+ per day

Final Tip

Don’t stress too much — it’s always better to get a little more than you think you’ll need. Running out of data mid-trip is way more annoying than paying a few extra dollars for a bigger plan.

With an eSIM, topping up is usually just a few taps away. 🌍✨