How much data does Netflix use? You are here because you have been asking yourself that question. Netflix has been growing in popularity in South Africa over the past few years. However, data is not the cheapest in the country when compared to the rest of the world. For most people data anxiety has become another point of worry, in the same league as range anxiety on electric cars, anxiety over the price of bread and the fear of being caught… It’s something that’s always nagging on the back of the mind. In any case, you are here to find out how much data you are going to need to enjoy your favorite Netflix shows.
Netflix Data Usage
The table below provides estimates of the hourly, daily and monthly Netflix data requirements;
| Streaming Quality | Hourly data usage | Daily data usage | Monthly data usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 0.3 GB | 1.5 GB | 45 GB |
| Medium | 0.7 GB | 3.5 GB | 105 GB |
| SD | 1 GB | 5 GB | 150 GB |
| HD | 3GB | 15 GB | 450 GB |
| UHD | 7GB | 35 GB | 1050 GB |
How Much Data Does Netflix Use Explained
In the above table, we gave you rough estimates of the amount of data that you are going to need to watch Netflix shows in South Africa. Hopefully, that will answer the question how much data do I need to watch Netflix in South Africa?
In general, the amount of data that you will need will depend on your streaming quality. The first two qualities in our table, low and medium, are ideal for those streaming on mobile devices. A phone’s smaller screen means the streaming quality will be good. However, if you try streaming on low or medium on a TV, that will not work.
For bigger screens, you should stream in Standard Definition (SD), High Definition (HD) or Ultra High Definition (UHD). In that case, picture quality will be good to very good. Note that when you stream in these modes, you need more data. Generally, the better the picture quality, the more data you are going to need.
You will also need more data if you watch Netflix shows for more hours. South Africans tend to do this sometimes. They hunker down to a series and they will spend the whole day watching it. So, that’s something that you are going to need to take into account. Use the daily amount to calculate your monthly requirement based on the number of hours that you spend watching your shows.
How did we arrive at the monthly estimate?
That’s the answer to the question, how much data does Netflix use in South Africa. But how did we arrive at the monthly usage? We based our estimate on the fact that on average, people watch Netflix shows for 3.2 hours a day. South Africans tend to binge, but we will use the global averages. We then multiplied that by 30.
Summary
In this article, we answered the question how much data does Netflix use in South Africa. We noted that the amount of data that you use depends on streaming quality. If you stream your videos in UHD, you will use way more data than somebody who is streaming in Standard definition.
Having said that, you don’t want a situation where you will be forced to stream in low definition simply to save data. There are many great data offers out there that should enable you to get the most out of Netflix. Rain, as an example, has several unlimited data offerings.
The Rain Unlimited home 5G basic, as an example, starts at R499 per month. Meanwhile, the Rain unlimited 4G for any device starts at R479 per month. The 5G offering gives you 720p, while the 4G offering gives you 360p. 360p would be good enough on a laptop or a smaller screen. 720p is HD and is good for TVs.
Anyway, you may also be interested in finding out what your internet speed is. Use our Speed Test to see whether or not your ISP is giving you the resolutions that were promised.