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Apple Music data usage calculator

Lossless audio sounds great but can use many times more data than standard streaming. Here's how it adds up.

Quick answer

How much data does Apple Music use per hour?

About 115 MB in standard AAC quality, roughly 0.6 GB in Lossless and over 3 GB per hour in Hi-Res Lossless.

Streaming Data Calculator

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Pick the services you use

1 selected

Set hours and quality

Apple Music9 GB/mo

Audio stream · 0.15 GB per hour

2 h/day

Devices streaming at the same time

1 device
9 GB per month · 10 GB planDetails
Your monthly estimate
Apple Music: 9 GB (100%)
9GB per month
  • Apple Music9 GB100%
Per day
0.3GB
Per year
110GB
Where you land on a data plan
Recommended plan
10 GB / month
You'd use about 90% of it.

Your household uses about 9 GB per month. For reference, a 100 GB plan covers about 14 hours of 4K streaming.

How we calculate
  • Low (SD): 0.7 GB/hour
  • Standard (HD): 3 GB/hour
  • High (Full HD): 3.5 GB/hour
  • Ultra (4K): 7 GB/hour
  • Music streaming: 0.15 GB/hour
  • Daily total × devices × 30 days (month) or 365 days (year).

Estimates based on typical bitrates. Actual usage varies by platform, network, and settings.

In detail

Apple Music streams in AAC at 256 kbps by default, which uses about 115 MB per hour. Our calculator uses 0.15 GB per hour for music — a typical high-quality stream — so it reflects standard Apple Music listening well.

Lossless audio changes the picture. Apple's ALAC Lossless at CD quality (16-bit/44.1 kHz) uses roughly 0.6 GB per hour, and Hi-Res Lossless at up to 24-bit/192 kHz can use well over 3 GB per hour — as much as an HD video stream. Spatial audio with Dolby Atmos sits in between at roughly 0.3–0.4 GB per hour.

You can set streaming quality separately for Wi-Fi and cellular in Settings → Music → Audio Quality. Many listeners keep Lossless for home and choose 'High Efficiency' or standard quality on mobile, where the difference is hard to hear through Bluetooth headphones anyway.

Downloading albums and playlists over Wi-Fi is the most effective way to save mobile data. Note that lossless downloads also take far more storage — a single album in Hi-Res Lossless can exceed 1 GB.

Use the calculator above to combine Apple Music with the video services in your home. Even heavy music listening is usually a small share of a household's data — unless you stream Hi-Res Lossless on mobile.

Frequently asked questions

How much data does Apple Music use per hour?

About 115 MB in standard AAC quality, roughly 0.6 GB in Lossless and over 3 GB per hour in Hi-Res Lossless.

Does Apple Music Lossless use more data?

Yes. CD-quality Lossless uses around five times the data of standard AAC; Hi-Res Lossless uses far more.

How do I stop Apple Music using mobile data?

Download music over Wi-Fi, or set cellular streaming to High Efficiency in Settings → Music → Audio Quality.