Windows has a built-in bandwidth monitoring tool that lets you see how much data you’ve used in the last 30 days. Follow these steps to view your network data usage in Windows 10 & 11.
Windows 10 and 11 track how much network data you use on a per-network basis. As you can guess, tracking data usage over a period of time, 30 days in this case, is pretty helpful.
Though not as feature-rich as third-party applications, the tool is pretty good at showing which applications are consuming the most data. Add to that, having a good idea of how much data you are using on a monthly basis allows you to enable metered connection setting on a specific network, if needed. As you may already guess, the metered connection is a useful feature to limit data usage when using mobile data.
So, without further ado, let me show you how to view your network data usage in Windows 10 and 11 with just a few clicks.
The steps below work the same in Windows 10 and 11.
Table of contents:
Advantages of monitoring network data usage
Monitoring network data usage over a period of time has several significant advantages that can potentially improve the overall network performance, resolve network issues, and make informed decisions for specific applications or networks.
- Improve network performance: By tracking data usage over an extended period, you can identify patterns and trends in your network usage. This can help you identify potential bottlenecks or other issues that may be impacting network performance and take steps to address them.
- Better allocation of network resources: By monitoring data usage, you can better understand how different applications and users are using the network. This can help you make more informed decisions about how to allocate network resources, such as bandwidth, to ensure that the network is being used efficiently.
- Increased visibility and control: Monitoring data usage over a longer period can give you a complete picture of how the network is being used. This can help you identify potential security threats or other issues and take steps to prevent them.
- Improved troubleshooting: By tracking data usage over a longer period of time, you can more easily identify any issues that may arise and take steps to troubleshoot and resolve them. This can help improve the overall reliability and stability of your network.
How to view network data usage in Windows
Bandwidth monitoring is a built-in feature of both Windows 10 and 11 and is enabled by default. In fact, it is integrated into the Settings app. So, all you have to do is find the network data usage page in the settings app. Let me show you how.
- Launch the “Settings” app.
- Select “Network & Internet” on the sidebar.
- Press the “Data usage” button.
- You will see the overall network data usage at the top.
- Below, you will see per application network data usage.
- With that, you now know how to view network data usage in Windows.
Steps with more details:
First, use the “Win + I” keyboard shortcut to launch the Settings app in Windows. You can also search for it in the start menu or click on the “Settings” button in the Action Center.
After opening it, go to the “Network & Internet” page and click on the “Data Usage” button on the main panel.
As soon as you do that, you will see the network usage data for the last 30 days. In my case, I’ve used 300GB on the Wi-Fi network and around 3GB on the Ethernet.
Note: Unfortunately, there is no way to select a specific number of days or dates to filter and check bandwidth consumption.
Along with the total data usage, you will see data usage per application on the same page. When you have multiple network connections, choose the appropriate one from the dropdown menu, and it automatically lists all the applications and their data usage in descending order.
If you are on a Wi-Fi network, you can filter the statistics for all or a specific WiFi network. If you look at the below image, the statistics are only for the current Wi-Fi network I’m connected to. To view the data usage of all the networks, select “All Networks” from the drop-down menu.
Wrapping Up
That is all. It is that simple to track and view the network data usage in Windows 10 and 11.
If you are using mobile data with a limited data plan and worried about exceeding the daily or monthly limit, I recommend you enable the metered connection setting on that specific network.
Once enabled, you will not only see data usage statistics based on the limit, but Windows restricts itself in the background from using too much data and also shows alerts when you are near or exceeding the set limit.
I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.
If you are stuck or need help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.
