Discord Data Usage: How Much?

Here’s how much data Discord uses:

On your desktop or PC, Discord will use more data than on your phone.

  • Discord chat conversation will take approximately 280 KB or .28 MB per hour. That’s about the size of a Facebook photo, for reference.
  • Discord voice chat uses around 28 MB per hour.
  • Discord video calls will run about 270 MB per hour.

If you want to learn all about how much data Discord uses and how to reduce the usage, then this article is for you.

Let’s jump right in!

How Much Data Does Discord Use?

How Much Data Does Discord Use? 

Discord allows you to connect with friends, family, and colleagues, just like Zoom, but in a more organized way.

It also links with third-party apps like Spotify so that you can bring music and video-streaming to your experience. 

Many users have found Discord especially helpful for making international and long-distance calls because it acts as a VOIP.

VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol.

A VOIP allows you to make phone calls without an analog phone line; it runs on data instead.  

Man in suits and headsets smiling while working with his laptop inside modern office.

In fact, Discord, like all messaging apps, requires data to run all of its features.

To share music, send video, start a voice chat, or simply text message another user, you’ll need access to a decent amount of data. 

So, how much data does Discord use? 

Well, the answer isn’t all that straightforward. There are multiple factors at play.

To understand, let’s zoom out just a bit and talk about data and how it works on your phone versus your personal computer. 

Discord Data on PCs vs. Phones 

Cellular or mobile data uses radio waves to connect to the internet just like Wi-Fi does.

However, Wi-Fi covers a limited area, like your house or office building. 

Mobile data relies on cell towers to connect you to the internet no matter where you are.

So, it has a broad range and can connect you with the internet even when you’re far from your home Wi-Fi network. 

Data plans are priced based on speed and the number of gigabytes they offer per month.

Though unlimited plans are becoming more popular, many stick with less expensive plans that charge by data usage.

Often, such plans cap the number of gigabytes you can use and charge any overage at a premium. 

Your computer uses data too, but unless you’re using your phone as a hotspot, it’s probably not connected to a limited data plan.

Most websites recognize whether you’re browsing via your desktop or a smartphone.

So, they’ll customize the data packages that are sent accordingly. 

So, how much data does Discord use on a PC?

It’s hard to be exact, but we can say Discord will use more data when running its desktop or PC version than it would on your phone. 

When you use a desktop, more data comes through to display better quality images, video, and text.

When you use a mobile device, many websites tailor the amount of data you receive down to a minimum out of respect for mobile plans’ data caps. 

How Much Data Does Discord Use an Hour? 

How much data a particular app, like Discord, uses in an hour can be difficult to pinpoint.

The amount of data you use will depend on what you’re trying to do, what’s going on in the background, and how fast your internet connection speed is. 

It makes sense that sending a picture or video requires more data than a text message.

Larger group chats and screen sharing add to data usage as well.

So, what you’re attempting to do on Discord has the biggest effect on data usage. 

Phones, tablets, and computers also tend to be running multiple applications at once.

Even if they’re not open, applications may be retrieving location data or synchronizing content. 

Background applications running while you use Discord will significantly affect the total amount of data you burn through.

You can shut down background applications by adjusting your phone settings, which may be ideal if data usage is becoming a problem. 

With faster internet connection speeds, you end up using more data because you can complete tasks faster.

Essentially, you won’t send as many pictures to a friend if they take hours to download.

With good internet speeds, you’re more likely to use more data sending additional photos and video. 

Discord Data Usage on Phones

Now that we understand data a little better, let’s take a look at Discord data usage on phones for voice calls, video calls, and texts. 

In general, it tends to be lower than other messaging app options.

But keep in mind, this is highly variable, and your data usage may differ from the amounts we’re guesstimating. 

How Much Data Does Discord Text Use? 

Each time you send a text message through Discord, you send a full HTTP POST request.

That doesn’t mean much to most of us, but know that it’s more data than you might think. 

Data usage for text messaging in Discord depends on how many people are chatting at once.

For simplicity’s sake, let’s stick to a conversation between two people.

In that case, an hour-long conversation will take approximately 280 KB or .28 MB. That’s about the size of a Facebook photo, for reference. 

How Much Data Does a Discord Voice Call Use? 

In general, Discord uses less data than many other apps when it comes to audio calls.

Close up of man using voice assistant on his cellphone.

If you’re asking how much mobile data does Discord voice chat use, the answer seems to be around 28 MB per hour.

Keep in mind that it could vary significantly based on background apps your phone may be running.  

You can rest assured that Discord uses less data than other apps like Skype because of the way it transmits information.

While applications like Skype are continuously transmitting user data, Discord only transmits data for the person speaking, significantly reducing the amount of data transfer overall. 

How Much Data Does Discord Use for Video Calls? 

In general, a video call will run about 270 MB per hour.

As noted above, though, that number will vary significantly depending on the other applications you’re running on your device. 

Again, since Discord only transmits audio data while you’re speaking, rather than throughout the call, you save a little bit of data using Discord over other messaging applications. 

Discord Data Usage for Music and Streaming 

If you’re wondering how much data does Discord music use, or how much data does Discord streaming use, the answer depends on the service you’re using.

Girl cybersport gamer having a livestream.

Discord works well with several third-party apps, but which 3rd-party application you use plays a huge role in data usage. 

Spotify, for example, uses about 43.2 MB per hour of music. Streaming music and video on YouTube, though, takes 150MB per hour at the lowest quality setting.

At higher quality settings, you could use over 1 GB per hour, which is a lot of data!

How to Minimize Discord Data Usage?

If you keep running out of data but rely on Discord to reach friends, family, and internet-based groups, learning how to minimize your data usage is helpful. 

As mentioned, you can start by pausing or disabling unnecessary background apps.

How to do that varies based on your phone, but both Apple and Android allow it, typically from the settings menu. 

In group chats, you can also disable link previews, at least on the messages you send.

Link previews force your phone to download images and text you may have no interest in reading.

It can add up to a lot of data in group chats where people are sending links back and forth. 

If you know the people in your Discord chat channel well, you can ask that users bracket links using < >, which will block link previews and help reduce the total data exchange. 

Currently, there’s no way to disable the link previews when you’re on the receiving end, but users have requested that Discord consider that for future updates. 

Does Discard Use a Lot of Data? 

So, does Discord use a lot of data on a phone?

Does it use a lot of data on tablets?

Does Discord use a lot of data in general? 

The answer to all of the above is that it depends.

Discord uses less data than other popular messaging apps, like Skype. But, it still uses a lot of data, depending on what you use the app for. 

If you’re using it to send text messages between two people, the data usage is negligible.

However, if you’re in a group chat where everyone is sending pictures back and forth, the amount of data required could be much higher.

 It will be higher still if you’re trying to use voice chat, video chat, or screen sharing.

And sharing music, images, and video will use the most data of all. 

Discord is a great way to keep in touch and a fun way to interact with new communities.

But if you’re asking how much data does Discord use, the answer isn’t straightforward.  

Your best bet is to track the data usage on your particular device while using the app.

Then you’ll have an idea of how much data Discord uses on your specific device for future reference.

Author

  • Theresa McDonough

    Tech entrepreneur and founder of Tech Medic, who has become a prominent advocate for the Right to Repair movement. She has testified before the US Federal Trade Commission and been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, helping influence change within the tech industry.