# Smart Phone Users: How much data do you use? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 9, 2015, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172 "2015-02-09T01:06:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bag_of_mostly_water/32/1029_2.png) [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bag_of_Mostly_Water)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/1 "2015-02-09T01:06:34Z")
For those of you who have any smart phone: How much data do you actually use on average in a month? For those with family plans, list per person per month. Include only cellular data; not WiFi. I have a family plan with four people / five devices and each person averages a bit under 1 GB / month. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/2 "2015-02-09T01:32:23Z")
bloody heck, I have wifi at home and work but go through 20gb a month on my smart phone, 10gb on my LTE modem, 12gb on my iPad, my 3 kids all use about 1.5gb a month on their phones and 0.8gb on their ipads, missus about 2 gb on her phone. So about 50gb of mobile data… Plus we use about 400gb on the ADSL service… Oh I work for a carrier 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/3 "2015-02-09T02:00:21Z")
A bit less these days, but I used to get texts from att that I was in the top 5% of data users for the month. Was running about 8gb a month in that time period. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/4 "2015-02-09T02:08:41Z")
I go through about 10 gig a month over cellular. Which seems like a lot since I have wifi at work and home. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/5 "2015-02-09T02:21:40Z")
OP, you should have added more brackets at the top end. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/6 "2015-02-09T03:06:22Z")
Usually between 5 and 6 GB. We have a 10GB plan shared between Mr. S and me; I’ve allotted 6 GB to myself and 4 GB to him, which is just about right for each of us. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/7 "2015-02-09T03:18:37Z")
My average is 2.2 GB of cellular date per month. My peak has been around 5 GB, and that was when I was uploading gigs of data via FTP and my phone because the wireless connection was too slow (and AT&T throttled me, despite having unlimited data.) I can’t imagine how I’d go about using much more than that. ---
**Author:** ![Tread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Tread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tread)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/8 "2015-02-09T03:21:14Z")
I use right around 6G each month, my college daughter in the 5G neighborhood, while my wife is normally in the 2G range. We are with Verizon, and are still grandfathered in from our unlimited Alltell plan. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Joker_and_the_Thief)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/9 "2015-02-09T03:36:20Z")
Under 50 MB a month. How does anyone go through multiple gigabytes a month? Do you stream HD movies all the time or something? ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/10 "2015-02-09T04:28:05Z")
I originally signed up for the unlimited plan which doesn’t have a cap, but slows your download speed after 7GB/month. After using it for a half-a-year I found that I went over 1GB on cellular for one month only. Most of the time I’m on WiFi. Now I’m on a 3GB/month plan with monthly roll-overs and I’m still barely hitting 1GB. Count me as someone who doesn’t get multi-GB users. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/11 "2015-02-09T05:09:15Z")
My wife steams movies and stuff all the time and does about 15 GB a month. We have an unlimited plan we got with Sprint back in the early 90’s so its OK with me. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/12 "2015-02-09T05:44:02Z")
I use 5 or 10 gigs of data a month on my phone… but it ends up being between 500 MB and 2 GB of cellular data, at most. Wifi is _everywhere_, these days; the only months I reliably break a gig are when I’m traveling and really hit the tether. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/13 "2015-02-09T15:42:34Z")
> [@The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](#): > > Under 50 MB a month. How does anyone go through multiple gigabytes a month? Do you stream HD movies all the time or something? Maps, email on the move, looking up travel and transport, some light web browsing, internet radio - it all adds up. How on earth do you manage to only go through 50MB a month? I use between 2 and 3 GB in the average month, but was also without internet at home for a while, and during that time it shot up to about 8GB a month. Thankfully, I have an unlimited data plan (which is sadly ending in April :(). ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/14 "2015-02-09T15:54:30Z")
> [@Dervorin](#): > > Maps, email on the move, looking up travel and transport, some light web browsing, **internet radio** - it all adds up. How on earth do you manage to only go through 50MB a month? Well, that’s what increases your total, streaming internet radio, the others don’t really contribute that much. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/15 "2015-02-09T16:03:51Z")
I used over 300 Gb in December by using my phone as a hotspot. Used it to stream all five seasons of Breaking Bad to my UHDTV in 4k. Cost me $35 due to my grandfathered unlimited data plan from Verizon Wireless. Got to love the FCC’s stance on net neutrality and forcing Verizon to stick with its agreements with long standing customers. No slowing down (throttling) of data at any point from what I have seen. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/16 "2015-02-09T16:06:41Z")
The least I can pay for if 2 gb, and if I’ve used up that much data in the entire two and a half years I’ve had it, I’d be surprised. I only got it so I could get email on my phone when I was apartment hunting while renting a room in a place that didn’t have internet access; I should probably dump it because the Weather Underground weather bug is about all I use it for now. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/17 "2015-02-09T16:32:21Z")
I won’t answer the poll because it doesn’t really apply to me, I have a smartphone but no data plan. I just use WiFi and pay PagePlus $12 a month for 250 min of voice and 250 texts. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/18 "2015-02-09T16:35:51Z")
I don’t know, Verizon unlimited means I don’t have to concern myself with such things and I don’t. I like that 🙂 FWIW, I always use map apps when driving and usually streaming music, but sometimes predownloaded (over WiFi) audiobooks. Almost no videos, not interested in small screen theater. Also some say that WiFi is everywhere, it’s still a pain. I only go to that when cellular is spotty, however when I do enter such a place and go on their wifi I do have it set to auto rejoin (just not to ask me the first time - that gets old really quickly) ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/19 "2015-02-09T17:55:54Z")
Under 500 meg. I use wi-fi almost everywhere because in most cases I like it better than 4G for streaming. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172/20 "2015-02-09T18:01:13Z")
My husband, my son and I are on a plan where each person gets 1GB of data, and we have never gone over that, due to WiFi most places. About the only time I use data is Google Maps and, during the summer when I’m doing art shows and use data to process credit card transactions. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-how-much-data-do-you-use/712172.md?page=2)