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How much is 100MB of data? How much data do I need?
Ting Staff • October 9, 2019
First, consider how many megabytes (MB) are in a gigabyte (GB). There are 1000MB in 1GB. This means when converting 100MB to GB, it is just 0.1GB of data. With the amount of content and background data we use today, 100MB of cellular data would usually require regular access to Wi-Fi.
What can you do with 100MB of mobile data?
Unless you’re the lightest of data users, you’ll run out of this amount of mobile data rather quickly. Here are some examples of what 100MB will get you.
Type of Data | Amount |
Web Browsing | About 500 pages/4 hours w/out downloads |
100 emails with small attachments | |
Podcasts | About 100 minutes |
Streaming music | About an hour at average quality |
Navigation (Google Maps, Maps, Waze) | About an hour |
Social Media | As much as 40 mins, as little as 10 mins |
Video Streaming | About 8 minutes at average quality |
These are, of course, extremely rough estimates as actual numbers will vary according to factors such as quality of streaming media and how media-rich websites and emails are. Answering the question “how much data do I need” is a tricky one, and may require a month or two of trial and error. However, it’s easy to see that with consistent use, you can easily use 100MB of data in a fraction of a day. One reason Ting Mobile excels at lowering mobile data usage is that you can limit usage and set alerts or even disable data for each phone on your account using your Ting dashboard.
100MB of data could be enough for you
All that being said, there are certain users that can happily go through a month with 100MB or less of mobile data, saving a ton of money on their phone bill. The first type is the user that is almost always connected to Wi-Fi. If you spend nearly all your time at home and work/school where there are Wi-Fi connections and very rarely use streaming services or social media in transit, you’ll likely have no problem staying under your 100MB limit. Secondly, a truly light data user can also get by with 100MB. If your mom is going to be looking up directions to a new lunch spot twice a month, that 100MB is going to do just fine.
To avoid unwelcome surprises, however, users without much may want to restrict background data if on Android or turn off cellular data for certain apps on their iPhone. A surefire way to control your data usage is to turn off cellular data completely on your phone until you need it. Check out our comprehensive list of ways to lower mobile data usage and save on your cell phone bill.