The pandemic has made working from home possible for people around the globe. This also includes attending meetings and conferences virtually. It does not matter whether you like it, but zoom has become one of the essential things in our daily lives. Hopping on zoom calls from time to time has recently become a must for people. You can easily have client meetings on zoom calls, even working from the office. However, zoom consumes quite a good part of the internet data. Having a stable connection with sufficient data is the only way to avoid mid-freezes during meetings or voice disturbances. However, you may not have the exact idea of how much data your zoom data uses. So, here are some details that will help you to how much data is spent on the zoom calls you take regularly.
Data Consumption by Zoom
There are several activities that have zoom data uses. These activities include video calling, group video calling, screen sharing without video calls, attending webinars, etc. You will require a different amount of internet for different activities you perform over zoom. Here is a detailed list of internet consumption for every zoom call you make or take.
One-on-one video call internet consumption
- For high-quality video, the consumption rate is 600Kbps up/down
- For 720p high-definition video calling, the consumption rate is 1.2Mbps
- For doing 1080p high-definition video calls, the consumption rate is 1.8Mbps
- For receiving 1080p high-definition video calls, the consumption rate is 1.8Mbps
Group Video call internet consumption.
For high-quality group video calling, the internet consumption is between 600Kbps to 1.0Mbps.
- To view the gallery while receiving calls, the consumption varies. If it is a view of 25 people, then the internet consumption would be 2.0Mbps, and if the view is 49 people, then the internet consumption would be 4.0Mbps.
- For group video calling with 1080p high-definition, the internet consumption is between 3.0Mbps to 3.8Mbps.
- For group video calling with 720p high-definition, the internet consumption is between 1.8Mbps to 2.6Mbps.
For Screen Sharing internet consumption
If you share the screen with the video thumbnail, the internet consumption would be between 50Kbps and 250Kbps.
If you are only sharing audio, the internet consumption would be between 60Kbps to 80Kbps.
Internet Consumption for Webinars
The consumption for panelists along with the Video will consume:
- 600Kbps for high-quality Video
- For 720p high-definition Video, the consumption is between 1.2Mbps to 1.8Mbps.
- For 1080p high-definition video, the consumption is between 2.0Mbps to 3Mbps.
If you are doing or taking a zoom call from your phone, the consumption will be somewhat between 60Kbps to 100Kbps.
Understanding the Data Consumption
The average amount of data that zoom uses in an hour for a video call is 888 Mb. However, this can increase and decrease depending on the video call you make through zoom.
- One-on-one calls will consume much lesser data than group video calls. The simple logic behind this is that there are fewer people on one-on-one calls while the consumption automatically increases when the number of people on the call increases. Since the audio and video download is more in case of a larger number of participants, the data consumption is also higher. If you think one-on-one calls are the cheapest, then, to an extent, you are correct. It helps you save a lot of zoom data usage per hour without video. However, on the wider spectrum, you are not. If you want to save data on one-on-one calls, you must keep the HD version disabled.
- In the case of group video calls, these calls take up maximum data. The more people you have on a zoom video call, the higher the data consumption. Even if you use the lowest resolution for your group video calls, the consumption would be more than 50% compared to single calls. However, there are ways in which you can save on the internet consumption of group calls. This is mainly by minimizing the screen size of the Video or by turning to change the zoom setting and switching on the speaker mode. You can save a lot of zoom data usage per hour without video.
- Zoom uses the least amount of data for sharing screen and audio calls. Sharing screen and audio call consumption can get higher if the participants on the other end keep the video mode turned on during the zoom call. This is the best application method if you want to save data on zoom calls. If the Wi-Fi connection is slow, then by doing this, the quality of the call will get better.
Ways to Save data on Zoom
Data consumption is generally high on Zoom. However, consumption can be controlled if you want to. Here are some tips that will tell you how to reduce zoom data usage on a PC:
- Although seeing each other is indeed important for meetings. However, if there is no specific need, turn off the Video. This is one of the easiest things you can do to save data.
- High-definition videos tend to consume more data. Go to your zoom settings and turn it off. You will see a great change in the data consumption unit.
- Although sharing the screen takes the minimum amount of data, consumption can go high if you forget to stop sharing the screen. Please do it for yourself and the other participants to save on data.
- You do not speak all the time during the meeting, do you? Then, when you are not speaking, mute your audio. This will also help you with data savings.
- Use other online collaborative methods to share documents over a screen share option. This will help you to save data too.
Conclusion
Zoom calls have become an integral part of our lives in recent days. If you are a working professional, you cannot avoid using zoom. The data consumption for zoom is high. Hence you will have to look into how you can save data on the calls. Hope this article has cleared your doubts about zoom call data consumption and has given you an idea of how to reduce data usage on PC while using the Zoom App.