The three usage profiles, and what they assume
The numbers below come from one consistent model, not from a survey of travellers. Each profile bundles navigation, messaging, photos, video and laptop use into a single daily figure, then adds a 20% buffer to allow some room for variation.
| Profile | Daily assumption | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Light | 0.3 GB/day | Maps with offline areas saved, messaging, email, some photo uploads, no streaming |
| Mixed | 0.7 GB/day | The above plus social scrolling, short video clips, occasional music streaming |
| Video-heavy | 2 GB/day | Regular streaming, video calls, hotspot to a laptop for cloud work |
These are planning assumptions. Your own total will move with screen time, resolution and how much you do on hotel Wi-Fi instead.
7, 14 and 30-day totals
With the 20% buffer applied, the model produces these trip totals.
| Trip length | Light | Mixed | Video-heavy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 days | 2.52 GB | 5.88 GB | 16.8 GB |
| 14 days | 5.04 GB | 11.76 GB | 33.6 GB |
| 30 days | 10.8 GB | 25.2 GB | 72 GB |
Round up. If your 14-day trip lands at 11.76 GB, a 15 GB plan is a better fit than a 10 GB one, provided its validity also fits your itinerary. The examples use the same assumptions at every trip length.
What actually moves your number
Resolution is the biggest lever
Netflix publishes web playback data settings; phone-app settings may differ: Low uses up to 0.3 GB per hour, Medium up to 0.7 GB per hour, HD up to 3 GB per hour, and Ultra HD up to 7 GB per hour (Netflix Help Centre, retrieved 2026-10-11). The gap between Low and HD is roughly tenfold, so a single setting change can move you from the Light column to the Video-heavy one. If you plan to stream, set your quality deliberately before you fly rather than after you have burned through a daily cap.
Offline maps change the navigation line
Google Maps lets you download areas for offline use, but the offline version is not the full product. Google notes that offline maps do not include transit, walking or cycling routes, and do not show live traffic or alternate routes (Google Maps Help, retrieved 2026-10-11). Downloading your city before you arrive still cuts data use for basic navigation, but do not assume every feature will work without a connection.
Wi-Fi and cloud backup
Hotel, cafe and coworking Wi-Fi can carry the heavy downloads: app updates, photo backups, offline map packs, podcast batches. Suppress cloud photo and video backup on mobile data, or a single evening of automatic uploads can undo a week of careful budgeting. Our guide to hotel Wi-Fi in Vietnam covers when it may be suitable and when you should fall back to mobile data.
Hotspot and laptop use
A connected laptop can consume data through video calls, cloud sync and background updates. Its usage depends on the applications and settings, so include those tasks in your estimate. If you plan to work from Vietnam, read the hotspot guide and the remote work guide before you choose a size, and consider a plan with a generous total rather than a small daily cap.
Total allowance, daily reset, reduced speed and unlimited
These four terms describe different products, and mixing them up can lead to a plan that does not fit your usage.
| Term | What it means | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Total allowance | One pot of data for the whole validity period | A heavy day eats tomorrow's data |
| Daily reset | A fresh allowance each day | Unused data does not roll over unless the terms say so |
| Reduced speed | Full speed up to a threshold, then throttled | Still connected, but video and large uploads may stall |
| Unlimited | The seller’s terms define any fair-use or sharing limits | Read the fair-use terms, not the headline word |
A daily-capped plan cannot borrow unused data from other days unless the terms explicitly allow it. If your usage is uneven, a total-allowance plan usually suits you better. If you want to understand what "unlimited" really buys, the unlimited eSIM guide explains the fair-use mechanics.
Choosing a plan size
Use the table above to find your column, round up to the next available size, and check the validity period against your trip. A longer-validity product may still be suitable for a short trip; compare the total price and usable allowance. Do not assume that a plan can be topped up or extended unless its terms confirm that.
Under the mixed-use assumption, the model produces 5.88 GB for a week and 11.76 GB for a fortnight. Choose a fixed allowance above the relevant estimate if you want to preserve that buffer. These figures do not establish what most visitors use. If your measured habits differ, use those instead.
You can compare current sizes and validity periods on the Vietnam eSIM store page. If you are still deciding between an eSIM and a physical SIM, the eSIM vs local SIM comparison covers price, registration and which suits which trip.
A quick checklist before you buy
- Estimate your daily profile: Light, Mixed or Video-heavy.
- Multiply by trip days and add the 20% buffer.
- Round up to the next plan size.
- Check whether the allowance is a total pot or a daily reset.
- Check the validity period against your arrival and departure dates.
- Set streaming quality and suppress cloud backup before you fly.
- Download offline maps for the cities you will actually visit.
If you need installation or connection help, use the help centre and keep your private order details available.
Using the calculator on this page
The calculator below uses the same daily assumptions and 20% buffer as this table. Select your days, usage profile and any additional people sharing the hotspot. Each additional person is budgeted at the same chosen daily rate; adjust the inputs if that does not match your group. The result is an illustrative budget, not a measurement or guarantee of future use.