๐ก Data Transfer Rate Converter
Convert between bps (bits per second), Mbps, Gbps, and MB/s (bytes per second) in real time. Useful when comparing an internet plan's advertised speed (in bits) with a download speed shown in bytes.
How to use
- Enter a value into any rate unit field (bps, kbps, Mbps, Gbps, B/s, KB/s, or MB/s).
- The converted values appear instantly in the other unit fields.
How the calculation works
Transfer rate is how much data moves per second. Connection speeds are usually quoted in bits per second (bps), while download screens often show bytes per second (B/s). A byte is eight bits, so MB/s is one eighth of Mbps. Following networking convention, this tool uses k = 1,000 and M = 1,000,000. That differs from the 1,024-based units (KiB, MiB) used for file sizes. Advertised speeds are theoretical maximums. In practice, protocol overhead such as headers reduces the actual data carried, and congestion, hardware and Wi-Fi signal quality all take their toll too.
Worked example
A 1 Gbps fibre connection in MB/s 1,000,000,000 รท 8 รท 1,000,000 = 125 MB/s Downloading a 5 GB file at 300 Mbps takes, in theory, 5,000,000,000 ร 8 รท 300,000,000 โ 133 seconds (about 2 minutes 13 seconds). Overhead and congestion make it longer in reality.
Things to be aware of
- "Mbps" is bits; "MB/s" is bytes. Capital B and lower-case b differ by a factor of eight.
- This uses k = 1,000, unlike the KiB (1,024) used for file sizes.
- Advertised speeds are best-effort maximums; real throughput is normally lower.
- Over Wi-Fi, speed varies a lot with distance from the router and obstacles.
FAQ
If my connection is 100 Mbps, what's that in MB/s for downloads?
Connection speeds are usually quoted in bits (bps) while file sizes and download speeds are in bytes (B/s). Since 1 byte = 8 bits, 100 Mbps works out to a theoretical 12.5 MB/s.
Why does my actual download speed feel slower than my plan's advertised speed?
Beyond the bits-vs-bytes unit difference, real-world throughput is also reduced by protocol overhead, network congestion, and other factors, so it's typically lower than the theoretical maximum.
Does this use 1000 or 1024 as the multiplier?
This tool follows standard networking convention, using k = 1000 and M = 1,000,000 โ different from the 1024-based units used in our Data Size Converter.