How to Enjoy Streaming Music without Sending Your Data Bill Through the Roof

Data is very important to many of us. The issue is that not everyone has the luxury of being able to pay for unlimited data, and keeping tabs on usage can become stressful. Overcharges can add up very quickly and inflate your monthly bill to scary proportions, even to the point that some have to cancel their plans because they can’t handle the data bill. It shouldn’t have to be like that, however. Let’s take a look at how you can enjoy streaming music without sending your data bill through the roof.

Use Downloading Software

If you’re using YouTube to listen to audio files, know that you can end up using a lot of data without realizing it. YouTube audio files can be deceptively big. It’s even worse if you’re watching videos. A video can easily reach 50,000MB or more in size. That means that if you have 5G of data, you get to watch 100 of these per month. That might sound like a lot, but that’s only about 3 per day, which is not that much when you think about it.

The solution here would be to use an mp3 YouTube converter. Setapp has an informative blog that reviews multiple converters for you down to the last detail. They look at things such as features, how good the downloads are, and how fast files can be converted and downloaded. Some of these are standalone and allow you to download straight from their website, while others will need to be installed on the machine of your choice. These will allow you to quickly convert YouTube files into audio files that you can store on your phone, tablet, or PC and listen to whenever you want. This goes for anything from music to things like podcasts. This is a great way to keep your data consumption low and have easier access to the music you want when you want it.

Find a Great Plan

You should also try to find a better plan so you’ll have more space to work with. You can find great unlimited plans for around $60 from places like T-Mobile. If that’s too much for you, you should be looking at plans that will give you at least 5GB of data. This will get you about 1000 songs in total per month. This will be enough for some people, but you also have to look at how you use your phone.

If you use a lot of mobile apps, then you might want to look at something a little bit bigger, though you might not be able to find one that fits within your budget. In this case, you might want to revise how you use your phone and keep your consumption under control.

Keep Wi-Fi On Whenever You Can

Also, make sure that your Wi-Fi is on at all times and save and look for as many free networks as you can. Also, make sure that you ask for and save Wi-Fi credentials for any place you go to regularly, like your friends’ or family’s house. If you’re out and about and your phone is asking you to update something, say no. You can also control the download settings on your phone to turn off automatic updates. Updates can sometimes be huge. It’s not uncommon for them to go over 100,000MB. This could put a serious dent in your plan. Instead, only make major downloads when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Use the Lowest Setting

Also, make sure that you choose the lowest setting possible when using streaming services. Keep high settings for when you’re at home or connected to a Wi-Fi network. Go as low as you can while still keeping it enjoyable. You don’t need lossless audio wherever you go, especially if you’re using $20 earphones. You’ll soon forget that you’re listening to music at a lower setting and become used to it after a while.

Use the Right Streaming Services

You should also know that there is a big difference between how much data different streaming services consume. You want to look for a streaming platform that starts at the lowest minimal setting possible. For instance, Spotify has 3 levels of quality, and the lowest starts at 96kbps. That means that the average song will consume about 2.16MB, which is very small.

On Apple, that minimum is 256kbps. This means that the average song will be around 5.6MB. That also means that you could end up consuming 3.3GB of data per month if you listen to music for an average of 1 hour every day. This is more than many people’s plans. By contrast, listening to Spotify at the lowest setting for an hour each day will only consume around 1.27GB per month, which is manageable.

However, one thing that you should know is that the choice of carrier will make a big difference. Some have agreements with streaming services that allow users to use their streaming service without using their data. Apple has a deal with T-Mobile, for instance. That doesn’t mean that you should switch to them just for that, however. Look at the quality of their network and coverage, and look at which carriers are offering special deals.

If you’re looking for the cheapest platform, you have to go with Deezer. Their basic setting streams music at around 64kbps, which is still pretty decent and will allow you to listen to approximately one hour of music per day without reaching the 1GB mark.

The absolute worst on the list is YouTube Music. Listening to music on the platform on the lowest setting for one hour a day will use up around 4.4GB of data and a whopping 33GB on their top setting.

Tidal offers the widest range. They allow you to stream music at 96kbps on their lowest setting and 1411kbs if you go lossless. This is recognized as the streaming service with the best audio quality, however, and this setting wasn’t meant to be used on the go. So, if you’re looking for versatility and great sound quality, that’s the platform to go for.

As you can see, there are tons of ways you can listen to your favorite music on the go without tearing through your data plan. Use these tips and try monitoring your usage the best way you can as well.