How Much Data Does Google Maps Use (Everything Explained)

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Nowadays, itโ€™s hard to imagine our life without popular navigation apps, including Google Maps and others. Whether you are planning to visit a new country or touring around a new city looking after eateries or nearby attractions, Google Maps comes in handy in so many ways.

As you may know, unlimited data plans are expensive, and not many want to switch to them. Itโ€™s good to have an estimation of how much data youโ€™ll need. Letโ€™s say you are planning a foreign trip. While you may be aware of the affordable data plans from your country, itโ€™s possible that the country youโ€™re planning to visit may have different data rates.

Since youโ€™ll be using Google Maps for your navigation needs, you must be wondering how much data Google Maps uses. Having an answer to this question will prevent you from running out of your data in the midst of your tour. Even if you havenโ€™t been planning a trip, this question may have popped up in your mind.

We understand that it is one of the frequently asked questions. Thatโ€™s why we are here to tell you everything about it. In this guide, youโ€™ll not only learn how much data Google Maps uses but also get to know the factors that influence Google Maps data usage. Weโ€™ll further walk you through possible ways to cut down data usage while using Google Maps. So, without further ado, letโ€™s jump right in.

How Google Maps Actually Work

Before answering your question of how much data Google Maps actually uses, it’s important to know how it works. Well, there are mainly two things to look at here. The first is map data. Generally speaking, Google Maps uses its servers to fetch map data, which includes different information related to roads, landmarks, points of interest, and real-time traffic updates. Google updates these data regularly for better accuracy and reliability.

How Much Data Does Google Maps Use

On the other hand, Google Maps also uses the user data when you use it during navigation. Google Maps uses your deviceโ€™s GPS to fetch your location so it can help with turn-by-turn navigation. In addition, the app also collects your usage patterns data, like your favorite place to eat, etc., to personalize your navigation experience.

Also read: How to Find Cheapest Gas using Google Maps on Mobile and PC

How much data does Google Maps use

It’s estimated that Google Maps uses 0.73MB of data per 20 minutes of use. So, if you are planning for an hour-long trip, you can expect Google Maps to use approximately 2.19MB of data. That converts to a data usage of 53MB per day or 1.6GB per month. Below, we have answered some of the most searched queries related to Google Maps data usage.

How much data does Google Maps use in 8 hours

If we consider the above figures estimated by Canstar Blue, Google Maps would burn somewhere around 15MB – 20MB of data for 8 hours of usage.

How much data does Google Maps use while driving

While there are several estimations based on different factors, turn-by-turn navigation while driving using Google Maps consumes an average of up to 5MB of data per hour. Remember, this estimation is only for turn-by-turn navigation.

How Much Data Does Google Maps Use

Also read: How to Modify Route on Google Maps

How many hours of navigation can 1GB of data offer while using Google Maps

As we mentioned earlier, Google Maps uses approximately 2.19MB of data for an hour of usage. Considering this estimate, 1GB (1024MB) of data can offer up to 470 hours of Google Maps usage time. That also means you can use Google Maps for 15 – 20 days with dedicated 1GB of data.

How much data does Google Maps use to display maps with satellite view?

Remember, satellite view maps use high-resolution images and display more detailed information about the surroundings. Therefore, Google Maps consumes relatively higher data. A quick ten-minute session of satellite view can burn up to 30MB of data. The figures can be even higher if you choose to zoom in and out for obvious reasons.

Remember, all the above figures are an estimation. The fact is pinpointing the exact figure of how much data Google Maps uses is dependent on various factors given below.

Factors influencing Google Maps data usage

Opening the app: When you first open Google Maps or search for a new area, rendering the map of such areas will consume data. The data consumption can be significant when you are trying to load a detailed view of an area for the very first time.

Zooming In and Out: This is where Google Maps uses a lot more data. You might wonder…why? Well, frequent zooming in forces the map to load additional details. On the other hand, when you zoom out, the map has to display a larger area. Since Google Maps displays more details than regular, itโ€™s pretty evident that the data consumption will be quite high.

Navigation: When you use Google Maps for navigation needs, the data is primarily consumed for real-time traffic updates, route calculation, and re-routing. That said, the data consumption can be high or low depending on the length of your trip and frequency of updates.

Looking around places: Using Google Maps to discover new places around a new city or country consumes relatively more data. You may ask why. Well, every time you search for a place like a nearby restaurant or look for their reviews, ratings, and associated images, data is needed for loading such information.

Satellite View: When you enable satellite view during navigation, you generally see high-resolution images of locations or an area. While it looks visually appealing, Google Maps ends up using a lot of data since it displays high-resolution images as compared to what the standard map view displays.

Downloading maps: Google Maps allows you to natively download maps for offline use. Offline maps are considerably handy at times when you can’t use the internet. All that said, Google Maps ends up consuming data during the map downloading process.

Also read: How to Make Google Maps as Default Navigation app on iPhone

How to reduce Google Maps data consumption

Although Google Maps consumes relatively less data than other apps from your device, you may still want to cut down on the data usage. Fortunately, there are a few tips and tricks you might want to try to reduce data usage while using Google Maps.

  1. You should consider downloading the offline map of the area you’re planning to visit beforehand using a Wi-Fi network. This way, your mobile data remains intact.
  2. Since Satellite view consumes a lot of data, we recommend disabling it and using the standard map.
  3. You can adjust the frequency of real-time data, location refresh, and map refresh from the Google Maps settings.
  4. When you are not actively using Google Maps, it’s best to restrict the background of the app to conserve your precious mobile data.
  5. It’s always recommended to track the data usage through the mobile data settings or your carrier provider’s app. This ensures you stay within your data limits.

That’s all we have for you in this guide where we discussed how much data does Google Maps actually uses. If you are trying Google Maps for the very first time, the aforementioned things should be kept in mind to roam around new places without any data woes. Moreover, if you happen to use Waze for your navigation needs, here’s how much data it consumes.

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AUTHOR.

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Rishaj Upadhyay

Rishaj has been writing professionally for over four years with a passion for Android and all things tech. He likes to always be up-to-date on the latest news in the industry and write about it. When he is not writing, you can find capturing landscape shots, listening to podcasts, and more.

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