Internet bandwidth is a hot-button issue these days, as much as we cord cutters wish that it wasn't. With the rise of cord cutting and video streaming, data usage is going up in homes with services like Netflix and Hulu. And the ISPs, who are often the same companies that offer cable television, are trying to find new ways to charge us for data usage or throttle our speeds.

It's disappointing, but it's not surprising. We know that cable companies are losing tons of money thanks to the rising cord cutting trend, and we know that many cable companies are also internet service providers. So it's no surprise that cable companies oppose net neutrality and dream of a time when they can charge a whole nation of cord cutters for the right to stream videos off of Netflix. In Chicago, residents are already suing over an unfair tax on streaming video. And many customers are dealing with data caps from their home providers, like the unlucky souls who submitted the more than 2,000 customer complaints that Comcast recently had to fork over in a Freedom of Information Act request.

Even if you don't have a bandwidth cap on your home internet, you probably have some sort of restriction on your mobile data usage. And that means that its useful to know how much data Netflix uses. Well, that's why we're here!

How Much Data Does Netflix Use?

Well, it turns out that how much data Netflix uses depends on what level of streaming quality you're using. There are four levels of Netflix streaming quality, each with its own rate of data consumption. There's Low, Medium, HD, and Ultra HD. The last two both fall under the High option on your Netflix menu, so which one applies will depend on how fancy the video you're watching is and whether you have the Netflix package that allows for HD (Netflix's cheapest option doesn't allow HD viewing).

Here's a breakdown of each level's data usage. These estimates come directly from Netflix's own website; they're not exact, but they should be pretty close to the average impact for each level.

Low: 0.3 GB per hour

Medium [Standard Definition]: 0.7 GB per hour

High [HD]: 3.0 GB per hour

High [Ultra HD]: 7.0 GB per hour

Let's Change Some Netflix Data Usage Settings

Okay, great – now we know how much data Netflix uses. But how can we adjust these settings to ensure that we don't anger our corporate overlords at Time Warner Cable, Verizon, et al.?

Start by navigating to the “My Account” page on Netflix. You can get there by hovering over your name and icon in the top-right corner. The My Account link will be in the drop-down menu that appears.

Okay, here we are. Let's scroll to the bottom of the page, where we find an option for “Playback Settings.” Click on that!

And, yep, it's that simple. Netflix's default setting is “Auto,” which will automatically select the best quality possible with your current connection. If you're curious, here's the minimum performance that Netflix needs from your internet connection to play at each quality:

Low: 0.7 Mbps

Medium [Standard Definition]: 1.6 Mbps

High [HD or Ultra HD]: 5.3 Mbps

If you notice that Netflix keeps bumping you down to Medium, it's because your internet speed isn't reaching a stable 5.3Mbit/s. That stable part is important – you could be paying for higher speeds, but your internet speeds are always going to fluctuate at the top. You'll need more than a 6 Mbps plan to get consistent HD streaming.

Back to the task at hand. Since “Auto” will choose the best possible, it's always going to try to use as much data as you possibly can. If you're worried about data caps, you'll want to select Medium or possibly even Low.

What About Mobile Data?

Mobile data is the same deal as always for Netflix, but it can be very different for users. Many of us have no data caps on our home internet, but face harsh financial penalties if we go over on our phone data plans.

The good news is that you can make the exact same adjustment from your mobile device. Hit the menu icon on the upper-left corner, and click on “Account” – it's the last option on the list.

That button will open your smartphone or tablet's browser and load your Netflix account page. From there, just navigate exactly as we did above!

And that's it! You can switch back and forth with ease, using less data when you're on your mobile device and more at home. Do whatever works best for your data limits!