How much data do Prime Video and Disney+ use?
Disney+ publishes its figures: on a phone, about 0.6 GB an hour on Save Data, 2 GB on Automatic, which is the default, and 2.5 GB with the Wi-Fi only option. Prime Video does not publish data use per hour, only the connection speeds it recommends, so the reliable way to know is to measure one episode. Downloading before the trip takes both to zero.
Plan your streaming dataDisney+ on a phone, by its own numbers
- Save Data: about 0.6 GB per hour, SD video and stereo sound.
- Automatic, the default: about 2 GB per hour, HD video and 5.1 sound.
- Wi-Fi only: about 2.5 GB per hour, Full HD 1080p and 5.1 sound, and only on Wi-Fi.
These come from Disney+'s help article on data usage and streaming quality. On a TV, Automatic goes up to 4K with HDR and Dolby Atmos and uses about 7.7 GB an hour, which matters if you ever connect a TV or a streaming stick to your phone's hotspot.
Turned into a film night, a two-hour film on the phone is about 1.2 GB on Save Data and about 4 GB on Automatic. Disney+ itself says lowering data usage makes the picture and sound slightly worse, which on a phone screen is a trade most people accept.
One eSIM for 33 European countries
Several countries on one trip? Same eSIM, same data, no swapping lines at the border.
Black Friday −25 % Ends in 31d 14:47:17Choose your data
For one to two weeks of maps, messaging and the odd video.
Buy up to 180 days before you fly: the plan only starts when the eSIM connects at your destination.
Write the email where we should send the QR code.
We send the QR code and your receipt here. No spam.
QR in your inbox in minutes · If it does not connect, we fix it · Secure payment with Stripe
Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
Not sure about your model? Ask us before you pay and we will tell you — a person answers within 24 hours.
How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
The surprise: Disney+ in a browser
The heaviest Disney+ setting for a traveller is not the phone, it is the laptop. Disney+ says that in a computer browser, Automatic uses about 4.2 GB an hour, even though browsers are limited to HD 720p. That is roughly double the phone app for a smaller picture, so the same two-hour film over your phone's hotspot comes to about 8.4 GB.
Save Data in the browser drops it to about 0.6 GB an hour. To change it, open the Disney+ website, hover over your profile icon, choose App Settings, pick the data usage option and click Save. Disney+ notes that the setting applies to each device separately, but to every profile on that device. If you share a phone connection with a laptop, the hotspot guide covers the rest of what a computer does in the background.
Setting Disney+ for mobile data and downloads
In the phone app, tap your profile icon and go to App Settings. data usage on Wi-Fi and on cellular are set separately, so you can keep the best quality at the hotel and choose Save Data for mobile data. That pairing gives you the 0.6 GB figure on the street without touching anything else.
Downloads are in the same place, under video quality or download quality, with three choices: Standard, Medium and High. Disney+ describes Standard as the fastest and smallest, and High as the slowest and largest, without giving sizes. Downloads need a plan that includes them; Disney+ says its ad-supported plan does not. They stay on the phone while the subscription is active and you go online at least once every 30 days, and signing out deletes them.
Prime Video: no figure, only speeds
Amazon's Prime Video help centre has no table of data use. What it publishes is a recommended minimum download speed, 1 Mb/s for SD and 5 Mb/s for HD, and the statement that Prime Video serves the highest quality it can based on the bandwidth available. A speed is not a volume, so those numbers cannot be turned into gigabytes per hour, but the second part matters: on a good 4G or 5G signal, Prime Video aims high unless you tell it otherwise.
The ceiling depends on the device. Amazon lists streaming quality up to Ultra HD on Android phones and up to HD on iPhone, iPad, web browsers and the Windows and Mac apps. The app has its own quality options for streaming and downloads, but the help centre does not say what each one uses, so measuring is the honest way to plan.
Measure Prime Video with one episode
Pick an episode and do it before the trip on your home line, or on the first evening on the travel line. On an iPhone, go to Settings, Cellular, tap Reset Statistics at the bottom, turn off Wi-Fi and watch 15 minutes with the quality you plan to use. The Prime Video line in the same list shows what it took; multiply by four for an hour. On Android, the per-app figures are in the network settings, explained in this guide.
Then compare it with the Disney+ figures above: if your Prime Video hour comes out near 2 GB or more, it is streaming at HD-like quality and a lower setting is worth trying. Repeat the 15 minutes after changing it and you have your own table, which is more useful than any estimate because it is your phone, your app and your connection.
Download before leaving, and what changes abroad
Both services let you download to watch offline. Prime Video downloads work on Fire tablets and in the Prime Video apps for iOS, Android, macOS and Windows; Amazon notes that downloaded titles cannot be played over Chromecast or AirPlay. Disney+ downloads are for its mobile app. Downloading at home on Wi-Fi is the one step that takes video off the plan completely; this guide covers the limits of each service.
The catalogue can also change when you travel. Amazon says the titles you can stream may differ outside your country of residence. EU residents keep the same titles when travelling within the EU, while outside it they can stream and download Prime Originals; anything you downloaded before leaving can be watched offline anywhere.
How much data does Disney+ use per hour on a phone?
Disney+ says about 0.6 GB on Save Data, about 2 GB on Automatic, the default, and about 2.5 GB with the Wi-Fi only option.
How much data does Prime Video use per hour?
Amazon does not publish a figure. It recommends at least 1 Mb/s for SD and 5 Mb/s for HD and plays the highest quality your connection allows, so the best way to know is to measure a short episode.
Why does Disney+ use more data on a laptop?
Disney+ says Automatic in a browser uses about 4.2 GB an hour, even at HD 720p. Choosing Save Data in the website's App Settings brings it to about 0.6 GB.
Do downloaded films use mobile data?
No. Once downloaded, they play offline. Disney+ asks you to go online at least once every 30 days to keep downloads.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
Plan your streaming data