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How much data does zoom use?

Video calling data usage varies, but depends mostly on the call quality and how many people are in it.

Key takeaways

  • The pandemic might be over, but video calling is here to stay.
  • Video calling is relatively data heavy, but it should be within the limit of most plans.
  • For a high quality call, expect to use between 500MB and 1.5GB per hour.

How much data does Zoom use per hour?

The amount of data Zoom uses depends on how many people are in the call and the video quality you're using. Keep in mind that 1080p video settings are only available to users with an Enterprise licence.

Data usage for a 2 person video call

For a 1:1 Zoom meeting, you'll spend somewhere between 500MB and 2GB per hour (around 10MB to 30MB per minute), depending on the quality of your video being streamed.

Video qualityDownloadUploadTotal data usage
High270MB/hr270MB/hr540MB/hr
720p540MB/hr540MB/hr1.08GB/hr
1080p810MB/hr810MB/hr1.62GB/hr

Data usage for a group video call

For a group Zoom meeting, you'll spend somewhere between 800MB and 2.5GB per hour (around 13MB to 40MB per minute), depending on the quality of your video being streamed. Even on lower video settings, your data use will increase the more people are taking part in the meeting.

Video qualityDownloadUploadTotal data usage
High450MB/hr360MB/hr810MB/hr
720p675MB/hr675MB/hr1.35GB/hr
1080p1.2GB/hr1.2GB/hr2.4GB/hr

As a point of reference, you'd use about 1GB an hour if you streamed Netflix on standard quality or 3GB an hour if you're streaming in HD. If you're in a 1:1 meeting, you'd definitely use less data over an hour on Zoom, but your data usage can easily spike when you're in a group Zoom.

Upload data usage of video calls like zoom

Downloads are when you pull data from the Internet, while uploads are when you send data to the internet. Most things you do on the internet are download-centric. However, video calls both send and receive a lot of data, in the form of video and audio information.

That's why video calling has so much higher data upload usage than other stuff you'll do on the net.

How much speed do you need for video calling?

Video calling, whether on Zoom, Google Meets or Facebook, required pretty fast internet. Without a decent speed, you'll be dealing with laggy or pixelated video, while the person you talk to sounds more and more like a robot.

At the very least, you'll want a 25Mbps connection. That's one of the basic NBN tiers in Australia, so it's available to pretty much everyone in the country. However, if you can spend and extra $10 or $20 a month, a 100Mbps connection is going to make you video calls way more reliable and high quality.

Rebecca Pike's headshot
Is 25Mbps enough for video calls?

"I use the internet pretty much all the time, either streaming music, playing PlayStation online or streaming video. I also make video calls pretty regularly for work, and to talk to my family in merry old England. I have a pretty cheap 25Mbps internet connection, and honestly it's more than fast enough for me. I'm sometimes surprised by that - I keep expecting to start having speed issues, but I haven't yet."

Senior writer

Tips to reduce your Zoom data usage

  • Turn off your camera. Sending pure audio uses about a 10th of the data that having your video on uses. Keeping your camera off will cut your total data usage by around 40%.
  • Reduce your video quality. Lower video quality means lower data usage. You can lower the quality of your video on desktop in the Video Settings section of your account. Untick "HD Video" if it's selected. On a mobile, your stream quality is decided automatically and you can't change it.

How common is video buffering?

23% of people rarely get buffering, according to our consumer sentiment tracker (November 2023). NSW users experience the highest number of daily issues (17%) compared to South Australia and Tasmania (14%).

What type of Internet is best for Zoom?

The Internet connection you'll need for a smooth Zoom experience will depend on how often you use it and how many people are online at the same time. If you have two or more people in the house working from home simultaneously, you'll likely want an NBN50 plan for a good connection.

If you're on mobile data, your Zoom connection and quality will be reduced to match your connection type. Overall, it should use less data than on a desktop, although mobile data caps tend to be much lower than home Internet plans. Watch out for excessive data consumption, especially in group calls.

Compare NBN plans for working from home below

Luckily, most NBN plans come with unlimited data so if you're not already on an unlimited plan, check out the range below.

1 - 10 of 254
Name Product AUFBB-INT Data allowance Typical download speed Price Hid Compare Box!
Dodo NBN100
NBN
Month-to-month
OFFER: $68.90/mth for the first 12 months, then $88.90/mth. Eligibility criteria, T&Cs apply. Ends 28.1.25
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem or purchase for $99.90. Option to pay in monthly instalments. T&Cs apply
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
100Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
Speed
100Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
$68.90
per month
$0 setup fees, $68.90 min. total cost
Price
$68.90 per month
$0 setup fees, $68.90 min. total cost
Swoop NBN Home Fast Finder Exclusive
NBN
Month-to-month
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: $69/mth for the first 6 months, then $94/mth. Use promo code FINDER25. Eligibility criteria, T&Cs apply. Ends 30.11.24
Exclusive
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem or purchase for $130
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
100Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
Speed
100Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
$69
per month
$0 setup fees, $69 min. total cost
Price
$69 per month
$0 setup fees, $69 min. total cost
Buddy Telco NBN Speedy
NBN
Month-to-month
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
98Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
Speed
98Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
$85
per month
$0 setup fees, $85 min. total cost
Price
$85 per month
$0 setup fees, $85 min. total cost
TPG NBN50
NBN
Month-to-month
OFFER: Get $10/mth off for 3 months starting from your second bill. Eligibility criteria, T&Cs apply. Ends 10.12.24
Finder Award
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem or purchase for $114.95
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
Speed
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
$79.99
per month
$0 setup fees, $79.99 min. total cost
Price
$79.99 per month
$0 setup fees, $79.99 min. total cost
Superloop NBN Family
NBN
Month-to-month
OFFER: $75/mth for the first 6 months, then $89/mth. Eligibility criteria, T&Cs apply.
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem or $0 modem if you stay connected for 24 months. T&Cs apply
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
98Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
Speed
98Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
$75
per month
$0 setup fees, $75 min. total cost
Price
$75 per month
$0 setup fees, $75 min. total cost
Optus Plus Everyday Fast nbn®
NBN
Month-to-month
OFFER: Introductory offer: $89/mth for the first 6 months, normally $99/mth. Eligibility criteria, T&Cs apply.
  • Month-to-month
  • Optus Ultra WiFi Modem Gen 2 included for $0 if you stay connected for 36 mths. T&Cs apply
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
100Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
Speed
100Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
$89
per month
$0 setup fees, $395 min. total cost
Price
$89 per month
$0 setup fees, $395 min. total cost
Swoop NBN Home Fast Plus Finder Exclusive
NBN
Month-to-month
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: $79/mth for the first 6 months, then $104/mth. Use promo code FINDER25. Eligibility criteria, T&Cs apply. Ends 30.11.24
Exclusive
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem or purchase for $130
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
100Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
Speed
100Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
$79
per month
$0 setup fees, $79 min. total cost
Price
$79 per month
$0 setup fees, $79 min. total cost
iiNet NBN100 Liimitless
NBN
Month-to-month
OFFER: Black Friday Deal: $79.99/mth for the first 6 months, then $89.99/mth. Eligibility criteria, T&Cs apply. Ends 10.12.24
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem or $0 modem if you stay connected for 24 months. T&Cs apply
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
100Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
Speed
100Mbps
nbnâ„¢100
$79.99
per month
$0 setup fees, $79.99 min. total cost
Price
$79.99 per month
$0 setup fees, $79.99 min. total cost
Dodo NBN50
NBN
Month-to-month
OFFER: $63.90/mth for the first 12 months, then $83.90/mth. Eligibility criteria, T&Cs apply. Ends 28.1.25
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem or purchase for $99.90. Option to pay in monthly instalments. T&Cs apply
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
Speed
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
$63.90
per month
$0 setup fees, $63.90 min. total cost
Price
$63.90 per month
$0 setup fees, $63.90 min. total cost
amaysim NBN Speedy As
NBN
Month-to-month
OFFER: $75/mth for the first 6 months, then $85/mth. Eligibility criteria, T&Cs apply.
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
Speed
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
$75
per month
$0 setup fees, $75 min. total cost
Price
$75 per month
$0 setup fees, $75 min. total cost
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Written by

Insurance expert

Tim Bennett is a Finder insurance & utilities expert. For over 10 years he's reported on news, politics, finance and other topics as a journalist and radio presenter. Tim's roles have included radio news reader and breakfast at the ABC, news producer for SBS and producer for Fairfax Media. Tim regularly appears as a health insurance expert on programs like Sunrise and SBS news, as well as in the Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more. See full bio

Tim's expertise
Tim has written 119 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Personal finance
  • Financial comparison
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  • General insurance
  • Life insurance
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Co-written by

Writer

Sam Baran is a writer for Finder, covering topics across the tech, telco and utilities sectors. They enjoy decrypting technical jargon and helping people compare complex products easily. When they aren't writing, you'll find Sam's head buried in a book or working on their latest short story. Sam has a Bachelor of Advanced Science from the University of Sydney. See full bio

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