Many people buy a large data plan because they fear maps will eat it. The opposite is true: maps are among the lightest things you do.
The real figures
- Panning around a map: roughly 1–3 MB per ten minutes of browsing.
- Walking directions, a 20-minute leg: about 2–5 MB.
- Driving directions, a 30-minute leg: about 5–10 MB.
- A full day of sightseeing with constant map use: usually under 50 MB.
For comparison: a ten-minute YouTube video at medium quality is about 150 MB. One video costs about three days of map use.
Why so little
Google Maps downloads map data in small tiles and keeps them on the phone. When you return to an area you have already viewed, it uses the stored copy instead of downloading again. Within one city, after the first day you have largely downloaded the areas you move through.
Getting it close to zero
Download offline maps before you fly. In Google Maps: tap your profile picture → Offline maps → Select your own map → frame the city → Download.
A city the size of Tokyo or Paris takes roughly 100–300 MB of phone storage. Download it at home over wifi, so it costs nothing on the trip.
Once downloaded, the map and walking and driving directions work with no connection at all.
What still needs a connection
Offline maps do not include:
- Public transport directions — these need data, because timetables change.
- Live traffic.
- Opening hours and reviews.
- Searching for new places outside the downloaded area.
For travellers, transit directions are usually the most-used feature — so you do still want data. You just need less of it than you think.
What this means for choosing a plan
Do not buy a large plan out of fear of maps. Maps are not what consumes data. If you genuinely need a large plan, the real reason will be video calls home, posting photos and video, or sharing the connection to a laptop.