Streaming vs. Downloading - Whose data usage is more? What's preferred?

Downloading is always better.

Let’s say you have a YouTube video you want to watch on your browser. You can stream it any quality you want from 3GP to Full HD but what if you wanted to watch it again or show it to someone else at a later time? The solution here would be to download the video in the first place. There are a couple of free websites that allow you to download the video by just pasting the link. This is saves much more data than the browser plug-ins that wait for you to start the video and then download it from the beginning.

Downloading also saves you from the menace of slow internet connection. I am on a 512Kbps BSNL connection that is woeful of watching videos. So instead of have to wait for it to buffer (when it happens during the video its irritating) I just download it in the quality I want and if the video is not worthwhile I simply erase it from my system.

When it comes to data consumption; I think streaming eats lesser than pure download. I remember reading about it somewhere long time ago. Can't find it now. Can someone confirm? Of course, we aren't talking about repeat viewing; in that case downloading wins hands down.

Streaming, is technically downloading by your browser. Both will consume almost equal data. Only thing is, streaming is for one time, download u can see again.
and again

And as for resolution, you can download video with lower resolution also, it will take less time in downloading.

as of my experience streaming consumes less data than downloading.. moreover it depends on quality of an video ..

If you download, You simply download the file itself ordinarily .
But when streaming, you are constantly been connected to an unstoppable ongoing data.
You know what it is when your device's data runs like that of streaming.

I don't think anyway downloading consumes more data as compare to streaming. Downloading is direct file transfer from server to your machine. While in streaming you it creates a synchronized link between machine to server till it finishes.
Let suppose there is video of 2 hour of size 1GB. If you download you are just creating a direct link and transfers the date in few minute.
But in streaming, browser downloads a chunk of data renders in browser and then again send information to server and download the next chunk again. This repetitive process definitely going to cost you more. This may also lead to repetitive download of chunks in case of quality change. (I don't have concrete proof how much it differ, but I am sure it would be.).
On other hand benefit of streaming is:

1. No wait time.
2. Close the streaming at any time without 'downloading' whole video.
3. No need to manage files on your HDD. Download, save and delete again.
4. Most of the time download chokes the bandwidth even if it is 10Mbps connection. (IDM does)

Considering point 1 and 2, streaming wins. Only benefit of download when you want to keep the file to reuse.
If it's video and and of long duration, I prefer to download than stream. You have more features in VLC player than browser embedded player and don't have to worry about broken link in 1-2 hour. Also, you can easily add subtitles 😉

Live streaming vs old data streaming: My experience with Reliance Jio, live streaming consume hell lot of data (around 2x) than old data streaming. I think in live streaming they don't get enough time to compress property. If I watch a TV channel even just 30sec back it consume half of data than live streaming.

Ankita Katdare

Also, most internet plans specify a limit of downloading separately. So does streaming come under browsing charges or downloading charges?

Yes, download+streaming+browsing(viewing webpages), all are same, downloading means all incoming data through your IP. Not just FTP (File transfer protocol).
Some ISP allow unlimited uploading, that means, when you are uploading your Ubuntu torrent or uploading lots of file to google drive, this data will not added in your FUP account.

Okay, in the recent times; with JIO bringing down the prices of Internet data drastically low; I think it's time to revisit this discussion.

There are two aspects to consider - are you going to consume the media content over and over, and second - are you going to consume it right from the start till end. It applies to songs and videos both.

The modern technology allows for progressive streaming - which means when you watch YouTube or any other video online, it's NOT completely streamed to your computer.

Instead, in order to save the bandwidth, the streaming service provider will load a few minutes worth of data on your app or mobile browser. You might have noticed that if you turn off your Internet, the video still plays for a minute or two and then stops. It doesn't download the video entirely.

This is quite important for both the streaming service provider and you. The 'bandwidth' is costly for both you and the companies. That's why it makes sense to offer only some amount of data in advance to smoothen your online media consumption experience (or simply speaking, listening to audio or watching a video).

Now consider that you want to watch the entire video or listen to the song over and over. In that case, it perfectly makes sense to download the video or audio to your mobile app or any local storage so that you don't have to worry about data exhausting quickly.

The only drawback of this approach (downloading) is that the media continues to eat up space on your mobile or desktop as long as it resides there. 

It's not a big problem for laptops and desktops; but on mobile phones, every app is fighting for space; and that means you can't really keep downloading stuff. You'll eventually run out of storage space. 

That's one of the main advantages of having stuff stored on cloud. 

To cut the long story short - whether you should download files or stream online depends upon how you wish to use it.