- WhatsApp used the least mobile data at 81.5MB, while Microsoft Teams used the most at 167MB.
- Teams consumed just over twice as much data as WhatsApp during the same 12-minute test.
- At the rates observed, 1GB could support about 2 hours 27 minutes of WhatsApp calling, compared with about 1 hour 12 minutes on Teams.
Video calls are now routine for work, interviews, classes, and keeping in touch. But for people relying on mobile data, the platform they choose can affect how quickly a data bundle runs out.
To make the comparison consistent, Techloy used the same iPhone 11 Pro, mobile connection, two participants and scripted activity sequence across all four calls.
How much data does a WhatsApp video call use?
WhatsApp consumed 81.5MB during the 12-minute test.
Zoom followed at 92.5MB, Google Meet used 117MB, while Microsoft Teams recorded the highest consumption at 167MB. Compared with the other platforms, WhatsApp used about 12% less data than Zoom, 30% less than Google Meet, and 51% less than Teams.
Teams consumed just over twice as much data as WhatsApp during the same 12-minute scenario.
If those rates remained similar over a one-hour call, WhatsApp would use roughly 408MB, compared with 463MB on Zoom, 585MB on Google Meet and 835MB on Teams.
But a more useful way to understand the difference is to ask how much calling time the same data allowance could provide.
How long does 1GB last on WhatsApp, Teams, Zoom and Google ?
At the rates observed in Techloy’s test, 1GB of mobile data could support approximately 2 hours 27 minutes of WhatsApp video calling.
The same amount of data could provide about 2 hours 10 minutes on Zoom, 1 hour 43 minutes on Google Meet and 1 hour 12 minutes on Microsoft Teams.
That means 1GB could provide about twice as much WhatsApp calling time as Teams calling time under the conditions we tested.
What does 1GB of mobile data buy you?
Approximate one-to-one video-calling time, based on the rates observed in Techloy’s 12-minute test.
2h 27m
Zoom
2h 10m
Google Meet
1h 43m
Microsoft Teams
1h 12m
At the rates observed in our test, 1GB would buy about twice as much WhatsApp calling time as Teams calling time.
For someone trying to make a limited mobile-data bundle last longer, this is the clearest practical takeaway from the experiment: WhatsApp provided the most projected calling time per gigabyte, while Teams provided the least.
More data did not mean a smoother call
Subscribe for free to continue reading this article
Subscribe SubscribeAlready have an account? Log in
