Data Usage Calculator
Project a monthly data allowance from active hours and an estimated activity bitrate, with a custom-rate option.
Estimated monthly data
Presets are estimates, not provider promises. Browsing is bursty; only active time is entered. Game downloads, patches, backups, additional devices and overhead are excluded unless included in the custom average.
Formula checked · NumberSwift · Review process
How this calculator works
The tool converts sustained megabits per second to decimal megabytes per active hour, then applies your daily hours and selected month length. Browsing, music, HD video, 4K video and gaming shortcuts use 0.25, 0.128, 5, 25 and 0.1 Mbps respectively. These are illustrative averages. Enter a measured custom average when available. A negative remaining allowance means the modelled activity alone exceeds the cap; it does not represent an overage charge.
Formula
MB/hour = Mbps × 3,600 ÷ 8. GB/day = MB/hour × active hours ÷ 1,000. GB/month = GB/day × days. Remaining allowance = cap − GB/month.
Assumptions & limitations
Presets are estimates, not provider promises. Browsing is bursty; only active time is entered. Game downloads, patches, backups, additional devices and overhead are excluded unless included in the custom average.
Sources & reference material
- NIST: binary prefixes and bits/bytes ↗
Unit definitions; service bitrates and achieved throughput remain user-selected estimates.
Worked example
Music at 0.128 Mbps uses 57.6 MB per active hour. Two hours a day use 0.1152 GB; over 30 days this is 3.456 GB, leaving 96.544 GB of a 100 GB allowance.
Our approach to calculations ↗Common questions
Does online gaming include game downloads?
No. The gaming preset estimates in-session traffic. Large installation files and patches should be budgeted separately.
Can this calculate mobile data?
Yes, as an estimate of the entered activity. Provider accounting, adaptive quality and other app traffic may change billed usage.
How is this different from Streaming Data Usage?
This tool compares general activities with an allowance. Streaming Data Usage focuses on a selected video-stream bitrate and viewing schedule.