Is 1.2TB of Internet Data Enough?

Many internet service providers (ISPs) impose monthly data caps, limiting how much internet data you can use. If you go over your data cap, you may have to pay extra fees or even have your service cut off. Thankfully, ISP data caps tend to be generous, so going over your data cap isn’t something most customers need to worry about, with a few exceptions that we’ll cover here.

Xfinity, the nation’s largest ISP, imposes a data cap of 1.2TB (1,200GB) a month—many ISPs have similar data caps. According to a recent industry report, the average household uses about 586GB of data per month, less than half of 1.2TB. So most customers should be fine with Xfinity’s 1.2TB data cap. But those who download a lot of large files  (like game and video files) or live in a big household with many internet users may need more data.

Let’s get further into exactly what you can do with Xfinity’s 1.2TB data cap, who may need more data, and some easy ways to cut down on household data use.

Jump to: How much internet data is 1.2TB? | Average internet data usage | What uses a lot of internet data? | What doesn’t use a lot of internet data? | How to save internet data | FAQ

Jump to:

• How much internet data is 1.2TB?
• Average internet data usage
• What uses a lot of internet data?
• What doesn’t use a lot of internet data?
• How to save internet data
• FAQ

How much internet data is 1.2TB?

To help put a 1.2TB data cap into perspective, here are some examples of what you can do with that much data:

• 400 hours of HD video streaming
• 8,000 hours of music streaming
• 6,666 hours of web browsing
• 888 hours of video conferencing
• 12 huge (100GB) video game downloads

Internet data usage

Average Monthly Data Usage: 586.7GB

According to the most recent Open Vault Broadband Insights Report, the average household uses 586.7GB of data. That’s less than half of a 1.2TB data cap, so most internet customers should be just fine with a 1.2TB data cap. Let’s take a closer look at specific internet activities to see how they affect data usage.

What uses a lot of internet data?

Video and gaming files are some of the biggest culprits of spent data caps. That doesn’t mean you need unlimited data if you stream and game, but keep these activities in check if you have a hard time staying under your data limit.

Video

Video files are probably the biggest data hogs in most households. Whether it’s streaming services like Netflix or Hulu, broadcasting/uploading to Twitch or YouTube, or video conferencing on Zoom or Microsoft Teams, video files simply take up a lot of data.

Video quality has a big impact on data usage. The table below shows how dramatically video quality affects the amount of data required to stream on Netflix:

Gaming downloads and updates

It doesn’t take a lot of data to game online. But downloading new games and gaming updates can put a big dent in your data cap. For example, one of the most popular gaming franchises, Call of Duty, often requires initial file sizes over 100GB, in addition to large required updates.

What doesn’t use a lot of internet data?

General updates

Computer, device, and program updates are usually a drop in the bucket compared to game downloads and video streaming. Of course, file sizes vary, but tend to be around 3GB for major updates and often much less for routine updates.

Web browsing

The amount of data required for web browsing depends on what you’re doing. For example, shopping on Amazon doesn’t take that much data at all, perhaps 180Mbps every hour. On the other hand, if you’re watching 4k videos on Youtube, you can expect data usage similar to the 4k streaming numbers in the table above.

Email

Standard emails take up very little data, approximately 20KB. Of course, attaching files to emails increases their size. Even so, the tiny amount of data used by email is not something to worry about.

What’s the perfect internet speed for you?

Use our  how much internet speed do I need tool to discover the ideal internet plan for your household.

How to save internet data

Use these tips to stay under your data cap and avoid overage fees.

Know your data usage

Many ISPs allow you to view your data usage throughout the month. Take advantage of this feature and keep an eye on how much data you’re using. Also, memorize the day of the month when your data cap resets. Sometimes waiting on a big download for a day or two is all it takes to avoid going over your data cap.

Lastly, see if you have the option to get text or email alerts when you go over a certain amount of data usage. Some ISPs do this automatically.

Stream video in 1080p instead of 4k

Streaming 4k video takes twice as much data as streaming in 1080p. We know 4K looks great, but it burns through your data really fast, especially if you have multiple people watching different streams in your household.

A 1.2TB data cap will get you 171 hours of Netflix 4K streaming; the same 1.2TB data cap affords 400 hours of streaming in 1080p.

Limit video game downloads and other large files

Installing a video game often requires a huge download. Even games that come on a physical disc often require a large initial update. Cutting down on these downloads will help you get more mileage out of your data cap.

FAQ