How to use
- Type a speed in Value, such as 100.
- Pick From and To. Bit units (Mbps) and byte units (MB/s) are grouped separately.
- Read the answer and the exact factor. Open Show in all common units for the full list.
How the conversion works
Everything is converted through bits per second:
- 1 byte = 8 bits, so MB/s = Mbps ÷ 8.
- Decimal prefixes step by 1,000: 1 Gbps = 1,000 Mbps = 1,000,000 kbps.
- Binary prefixes step by 1,024: 1 MiB/s is 1,048,576 bytes per second.
Internet plans are sold in megabits per second. Download apps often show megabytes per second, which looks 8 times smaller.
Examples
- 100 Mbps: 100 ÷ 8 = 12.5 MB/s, or 11.92 MiB/s
- 1 Gbps: 1,000 ÷ 8 = 125 MB/s
- A 20 MB/s download: 20 × 8 = 160 Mbps
Mbps to MB/s chart
| Plan speed | MB/s | MiB/s |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Mbps | 1.25 | 1.19 |
| 25 Mbps | 3.125 | 2.98 |
| 50 Mbps | 6.25 | 5.96 |
| 100 Mbps | 12.5 | 11.92 |
| 300 Mbps | 37.5 | 35.76 |
| 500 Mbps | 62.5 | 59.6 |
| 1 Gbps | 125 | 119.21 |
Download time at full speed
Time = file size in bits ÷ speed. These are best-case times at the full plan speed.
| Speed | 1 GB file | 5 GB file | 50 GB file |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Mbps | 13 min 20 s | 1 h 6 min 40 s | 11 h 6 min 40 s |
| 25 Mbps | 5 min 20 s | 26 min 40 s | 4 h 26 min 40 s |
| 50 Mbps | 2 min 40 s | 13 min 20 s | 2 h 13 min 20 s |
| 100 Mbps | 1 min 20 s | 6 min 40 s | 1 h 6 min 40 s |
| 300 Mbps | 27 s | 2 min 13 s | 22 min 13 s |
| 500 Mbps | 16 s | 1 min 20 s | 13 min 20 s |
| 1 Gbps | 8 s | 40 s | 6 min 40 s |
More detail: bits, bytes and binary prefixes
- A lowercase b means bits and an uppercase B means bytes, so Mb/s and MB/s differ by a factor of 8.
- NIST notes that telecommunications engineers use the megabit per second to mean exactly 1,000,000 bits per second.
- KiB, MiB and GiB are binary prefixes, powers of 2. Some software shows binary units but labels them KB or MB.
- A 1 GiB file is 7.4% bigger than a 1 GB file, so at 100 Mbps it takes about 1 min 26 s.
Converting file sizes rather than speeds? Use the data storage converter.