How much data abroad: about 5.6GB a week, 24GB a month

Where are you travelling?

Number of days: 7

How you use the internet

— GB

your estimate margin

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How many GB for a week, 10 days and a month

How you use it	Week	10 days	2 weeks	Month
Maps and messaging GPS, cab apps, WhatsApp chats, a few photos	3 GB	3 GB	5 GB	10 GB
Social media and photos Instagram feed and stories, photos backed up to the cloud	10 GB	10 GB	20 GB	50 GB
Videos and video calls Reels and YouTube on the go, video calls home	20 GB	20 GB	50 GB	More than 50 GB
Working on a laptop Hotspot to a laptop, meetings, file uploads	50 GB	50 GB	50 GB	More than 50 GB

Rounded up to the most common plan size: data runs out before the paid days do, and adding a second plan in the middle of the trip is more hassle than taking a bigger size from the start. More than 50 GB does not fit in one plan with a data allowance: then you need two plans or an unlimited one, which has its own fair-use limit. The calculator above is more precise, because it also takes the country into account.

How much data maps, messaging and video use

Use per hour, in gigabytes. Logarithmic axis

Music, high quality just over 115 MB

Video, standard definition 0.7 GB

Video in HD 3 GB

Use per hour. Video figures are Netflix’s, via Vodafone UK’s data calculator; the music figure is Vodafone UK’s own. Vodafone UK calls them an estimate based on average data use, not a recommendation. For maps it says only that they use very little. Each mark on the axis is about three times the previous one.

How not to overpay

Compare the price per day, not just the total. The calculator shows what a day costs on the suggested plan; on the country page you can compare it with the other plans.

Turn off background downloads before you travel. Automatic photo backup to the cloud can use up a week’s plan in a few days without you noticing, with the phone in your pocket.

Don’t buy exactly what you need. When the data runs out, the paid days keep running, and you will have to buy another plan in the middle of the trip.

Frequently asked questions

How much data do I need for a week abroad?

About 5.6GB at 0.8GB a day, 2.1GB with only maps and messaging, 11.9GB with daily video. Round up: 10GB for 5.6GB, 20GB for 11.9GB.

Do video calls use a lot of data?

Our video profile is 1.7GB a day, about 2 h 16 min of standard-definition video. We have no measured figure for calls alone.

Can I share data with my family from one eSIM?

Hotspot use counts against your plan’s data. We have no confirmed hotspot rule, so check the plan details on the country page, or buy one eSIM per phone.

How much data do pilgrims need for Umrah?

About 5.6GB for 7 days at 0.8GB a day, 11.9GB with daily video. The Saudi Arabia 25GB plan lasts 45 days.

What if the data runs out before the plan ends?

The plan stops working for data and the paid days keep running. You can buy another plan for the same destination at any time, but it is better to take some margin than to buy exactly what you need.

Does my phone use data when it is just in my pocket?

Yes. Background app updates, photo sync and backups use data without you touching anything, sometimes a noticeable share of the plan. Before you travel, turn off automatic photo upload to the cloud and app updates over mobile data.

Does hotel Wi-Fi save much data?

Yes, and it is the main way to manage with a small plan. If you are back at the hotel every night and it has Wi-Fi, mobile data during the day goes mostly on maps and messaging, the first row of the table. With Wi-Fi included where you stay, you often do not need a big plan.

In detail

Plan on about 0.3GB a day for maps and messaging, 0.8GB for social media and photos, and 1.7GB for video and video calls. A week is then about 2.1GB, 5.6GB or 11.9GB. These are our estimates, not measurements, and the calculator above uses the same numbers (15 Oct 2026).

Data per day: messaging, maps, photos, video

Four profiles cover most trips: about 0.3GB, 0.8GB, 1.7GB and 3.0GB a day, shifting with network, apps and Wi-Fi time.

Profile	GB a day	Same data as standard-definition video (our arithmetic)
Maps and messaging	0.3GB	about 24 min
Social media and photos	0.8GB	about 1 h 04 min
Videos and video calls	1.7GB	about 2 h 16 min
Working on a laptop (hotspot)	3.0GB	about 4 h

Vodafone UK’s data calculator says 1GB lets you “Watch one hour and 20 minutes of video at Standard Definition” (15 Oct 2026). We divide each daily figure by 0.75GB an hour.

Three days, a week, two weeks, a month

Multiply the daily figure by the days: a week at 0.8GB is 5.6GB. India plans come in 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 and 20GB, so round up to the next size. The smallest fixed-GB plans for India and the Gulf run 7 days; on a 3-day trip choose by size and let the spare days go.

Profile	3 days	7 days	14 days	30 days
Maps and messaging	0.9GB	2.1GB	4.2GB	9GB
Social media and photos	2.4GB	5.6GB	11.2GB	24GB
Videos and video calls	5.1GB	11.9GB	23.8GB	51GB
Working on a laptop	9GB	21GB	42GB	90GB

Our arithmetic. Past 20GB, the largest fixed size for most home countries, look at unlimited: full speed up to 3GB a day, then 1 Mbps. It fits the first three profiles; the laptop profile has no margin. Plan days start at your first connection in the destination country.

A month at home with family

A month at 0.8GB a day is about 24GB, more than the 20GB that fixed plans for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Egypt stop at. Family Wi-Fi cuts mobile use by an amount we have not measured; size for the profile and top up if needed. Each country guide lists the plans for that destination.

Country (catalogue, 15 Oct 2026)	Largest fixed plan	Unlimited days	A month at 0.8GB
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines	20GB	3 to 30	unlimited, 30 days
Sri Lanka	20GB	none	20GB plus a top-up
Egypt	20GB	3, 5, 10	20GB plus a top-up
Nepal	10GB	3, 5, 7, 10	three 10GB packs

For a month in Nepal, Sri Lanka or Egypt there is no 30-day unlimited plan; buy two packs or top up. Over a month, Nepal’s largest pack of 10GB covers only the lightest profile (9GB). The Nepal SIM card guide sets it against a local SIM and roaming.

Umrah and longer stays

Seven days of Umrah at 0.8GB a day is about 5.6GB; at 1.7GB it is 11.9GB. For Saudi Arabia we list up to 20GB for 30 days, 25GB for 45 days and 50GB for 30 days, and unlimited for 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 or 30 days.

7-day Umrah pack	Data	Covers 2.1GB	Covers 5.6GB	Covers 11.9GB
e& prepaid	7GB	yes	yes	no
du Umrah bundle	10GB	yes	yes	no
e& postpaid	15GB	yes	yes	yes

Snapshot: e& 15 Oct 2026, du 15 Oct 2026; coverage is our arithmetic. The packs include minutes, so for many calls home an operator pack is hard to beat (Umrah roaming). Over 45 days, 25GB is about 0.56GB a day; at 0.8GB you need 36GB (our arithmetic). The 50GB plan and the longest unlimited plan both run 30 days, so a 45-day stay takes a second plan or a top-up (unlimited eSIM).

Hotspot use counts against your plan’s data, and on unlimited plans towards the daily fair-use limit. Tether a second phone at 0.8GB a day and a week becomes 11.2GB (our arithmetic). We have no confirmed hotspot rule for our plans, so check the plan details on the country page.

Or buy one eSIM per phone, which needs a free eSIM line on each. Apple lists two eSIMs on iPhone 13 models and later; Samsung says “Only one eSIM can be active at a time on most Samsung Galaxy devices” (15 Oct 2026), so on most Galaxy phones a UAE line that is itself an eSIM and the travel eSIM can’t be active together.