A 20GB data plan will allow you to browse the internet for around 240 hours, to stream 4,000 songs or to watch 40 hours of standard-definition video.
Nowadays, the key difference between mobile phone price plans is how many gigabytes of data it comes with.
If you're looking for a mobile phone plan with 20GB of data, prices currently start from £7/month in the UK. With your 20GB of data, you'll be able to browse the internet for approximately 240 hours per month, to stream 4,000 songs online or to watch 40 hours of online video in standard definition.
In this article, we'll discuss what you can do with 20GB of data and how long you can expect your 20GB allowance to last for. We'll also discuss 20GB data plans, where you can find one in the UK and how much you can expect to pay.
Contents
How Much Is 20GB Data?
In the UK, a number of mobile networks currently offer 20GB data plans. There's a choice of 9 mobile networks if you're looking for a Pay Monthly SIM card, and a further choice of 6 networks if you're looking for a more flexible Pay As You Go bundle.
Pay Monthly SIM Cards
If you're looking for the lowest possible prices, you can get a Pay Monthly SIM card with 20GB of data from £6.95/month. The following table shows a list of currently available deals:
| Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £6.95 1 month |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £7.85 £1.99 for 3 months 1 month |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £9.00 12 months |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £9.90 1 month |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £10.00 1 month |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £10.00 1 month |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £10.00 £4.50 for 3 months 1 month |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £12.00 1 month |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £24.00 12 months |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £26.00 1 month |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £34.00 1 month |
| To show you the most relevant plans, 2 similar but more expensive plans have been hidden. Tap here to show them. | ||||
Contract lengths will vary when taking a Pay Monthly contract. You'll normally need to undergo a credit check when taking out a Pay Monthly contract.
Pay As You Go SIM Cards
If you're looking for a bit of extra flexibility, a Pay As You Go bundle allows you to have this with 20GB of data from £10.00/month. There's no commitment to renewing your bundle every month. You can also increase or decrease your data allowance at the end of each month if you find you're on a plan with the wrong amount of data.
The following table shows Pay As You Go bundles with 20GB of data per month:
| Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £10.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £10.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £10.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £12.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £15.00 |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £15.00 |
Alternatives
Instead of choosing a 20GB data plan, it may sometimes make sense to choose a plan with more data. This is especially the case when special offers and promotion are available: you might be able to get a larger allowance of data for the same or for a very similar price:
| Amount of Data | Pay Monthly | Pay As You Go |
|---|---|---|
| 250MB Data | - | - |
| 500MB Data | - | - |
| 1GB Data | £3.99 £3 cheaper | £3.00 £7 cheaper |
| 2GB Data | £6.00 £1 cheaper | £6.00 £4 cheaper |
| 3GB Data | £4.75 £2 cheaper | £5.00 £5 cheaper |
| 4GB Data | £4.95 £2 cheaper | £6.00 £4 cheaper |
| 5GB Data | £4.50 £2.5 cheaper | £5.00 £5 cheaper |
| 6GB Data | £5.95 £1 cheaper | £9.90 £0 cheaper |
| 8GB Data | £6.00 £1 cheaper | £10.00 |
| 10GB Data | £5.95 £1 cheaper | £8.00 £2 cheaper |
| 12GB Data | £9.00 £2 more | £10.00 |
| 20GB Data | £6.95 | £10.00 |
| 30GB Data | £7.00 £0 more | £10.00 |
| 40GB Data | £8.00 £1 more | £20.00 £10 more |
| 50GB Data | £7.95 £1 more | £15.00 £5 more |
| 100GB Data | £9.95 £3 more | £19.88 £10 more |
| Unlimited Data | £15.00 £8 more | £20.00 £10 more |
Some price plans include a data rollover feature giving you a second opportunity to use your data allowance. Alternatively, an unlimited data plan could also be worth thinking about if you'd like a worry-free plan where you never need to think about how much data you're using.
How Long Does 20GB Of Data Last?
When figuring out how much data you need, it's important to think about your own individual usage requirements.
If you choose a plan with too much data, you could be overpaying for lots of data that you don't actually use. On the other hand, choosing a plan with too little data could mean being cut-off from the internet in the middle of the month.
The following table gives you an approximate guide to what you can do with 20GB of data:
| Activity | 20GB data is equal to... |
|---|---|
| Accessing web pages | 12,000 web pages (approx 240 hours browsing) |
| Basic e-mail/instant message | 7,000,000 messages |
| Rich e-mail/IM (with attachments) | 40,000 messages |
| Downloading or streaming music | 4,000 songs |
| Downloading or streaming video (SD) | 40 hours |
| Downloading or streaming video (HD) | 10 hours |
| Skype voice call | 600 hours |
| Skype video call | 80 hours |
| Listening to online radio | 320 hours |
| Downloading or updating apps | 500 apps |
We've made a number of assumptions in coming to these numbers. You can read about these in more detail here.
As of 2019, the average UK consumer uses around 3GB of mobile data each month. This has been growing rapidly in the past few years (e.g. it was only 1.9GB in 2017 and 0.2GB in 2012). This means a 20GB data allowance is much more than the average consumer can use. It's worth double-checking to make sure you actually need all of this data, as you could otherwise end up paying for lots of data that you don't actually use.
For more information, see our guide on how to find out your current data usage.
More Information
Our full guide to mobile download limits has more information including on how to find out how much data you need.
Once you've decided how much data you need, we've summarised the best Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go SIM cards across a variety of price points in the UK.
Mark said:
I enjoy the no worry of unlimited. I can easily read articles like this and get lost following all the branch off topics and then have no time left.
I would really be in a pinch if I used up all my data without concern, reading about duck wing feather mites in birds of the pine forested area of Kanuckistan or somewhere, and have no time left to read a bus schedule the next day.
The extra cost is worth it to me. Hell, I used 2gb just trying to read the comparison chart for 2gb.
Dre replied:
😂 😂
Sonu Kumar Kaiyar said:
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Angela said:
I just bought Pay As You Go card (it said £15 25GB on it, but I paid £1 for the card).
I then bought £10 top-up for it and put it on…… I was lazy and couldn’t be bothered to go downstairs to see what the internet code was and so went on to mobile data.
17 minutes later my £10 was used up.
This was my first experience with my new Smart Phone. I will be going back to my Samsung Flip phone which DOES only cost me £10 per month for unlimited calls and texts. I do NOT need internet and photos and all this malarkey – I was getting on just fine (Amazon is useful but if I remember to check when they will arrive I do not really need them).
This is daylight robbery by 3 (and no doubt other companies are similar). I am utterly shocked!
I don’t know what I did wrong, but I expect other people will have as well – what if I had been lost in a forest – 17 mins for £10 wouldn’t have been very long to get unlost and I may have been eaten by a wolf…….
Back to my happy-clappy phone!
Angela
Angela replied:
Another point from me – Angela – I only went on to Google and TESCO website to see if I could log on to the internet – don’t recall anything else, and I updated some settings on my new phone….. I didn’t upload or download anything or add any Word or Excel docs; I looked up the word ‘squirrel’ and I don’t think much else….
I am off to the 3G phone shop tomorrow, but for me – this was a bit like a horror movie!!
I am off to use my laptop now – modern technology I understand!
Angela (again). 🙂
Soundharrajan k replied:
Please refresh.my one GB plans