How this calculator works
Most home internet plans in Canada are measured in gigabytes per month, and the total depends far more on what you watch than on how long you are online. Streaming video dominates: an hour of high definition is about 3 GB, while an hour of web browsing is a small fraction of that. The calculator multiplies the hours of each activity by a data rate per hour, adds the size of the files you downloaded, and compares the total with your plan allowance. Adjust the rate for music, calls, gaming or browsing if your provider quotes a different figure.
Formula
data per activity = hours x gigabytes per hour. monthly total = sum of the activities + downloads. data per day = monthly / 30.44. data per year = monthly x 12. overage = max(0, monthly - allowance); charge = overage x price per gigabyte.
Worked example
At high definition, 60 hours of streaming is 180 GB. Add 40 hours of music at 0.1 GB/h (4 GB), 10 hours of video calls at 1.5 GB/h (15 GB), 20 hours of gaming at 0.1 GB/h (2 GB), 40 hours of browsing at 0.1 GB/h (4 GB) and 50 GB of downloads, and the month comes to 255 GB. On a 100 GB plan that is 155 GB over, which at $10 per gigabyte would cost $1,550 if every gigabyte were charged.
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Frequently asked questions
Does streaming quality change the total much?
Yes. Standard definition is about 1 GB an hour, high definition about 3 GB and 4K about 7 GB. Switching one person from high definition to 4K for an evening a week adds roughly 50 GB a month.
Why is my usage higher than this estimate?
Automatic cloud backups, security cameras, game updates and multiple devices left streaming all add data without anyone sitting at a screen. Some providers also count uploads and background downloads.
Is a gigabyte 1,000 or 1,024 megabytes?
Internet plans use decimal units, so a gigabyte is 1,000 megabytes. Operating systems often show binary units, where a gibibyte is 1,024 mebibytes, so the same file can look smaller on the plan than in your file manager.
Can the overage charge really be that high?
Canadian providers usually cap overage charges or raise the monthly price rather than charging every gigabyte. Use your provider's actual rate and check whether a cap applies.