Data Transfer Rate Converter

1. Enter the value you want to convert.
2. Choose the from unit.
3. Choose the to unit.
4. Read the result, plus Mbps and MB/s.

Here is what each result means:

A data transfer rate is how fast digital information moves, measured as an amount of data per second. It is the number behind broadband speeds, download times and network specifications. The confusion most people meet is that some units count bits and others count bytes, and there are eight bits in a byte.

Network and internet speeds are almost always quoted in bits per second: megabits per second, or Mbps, for broadband, and gigabits per second, or Gbps, for fast connections. File sizes and download managers, on the other hand, usually show bytes per second: megabytes per second, or MB/s. Because a byte is eight bits, a 100 Mbps connection downloads at only about 12.5 MB/s.

This converter bridges every unit through bits per second. It multiplies your value by the bits in its unit, then divides by the bits in the target unit, using eight bits per byte. That is why it can turn a broadband speed in Mbps into the download speed in MB/s you actually see.

One more detail is the size of the prefixes. For transfer rates, kilo, mega and giga mean 1,000, one million and one billion, the decimal system used here. Storage capacities sometimes use binary prefixes of 1,024, which is a related but separate convention, so a quoted speed and a quoted file size can use slightly different scales.

It converts through bits per second, allowing for the 8-bit byte.

1. Your value is multiplied by its unit's value in bits per second.
2. Byte units count eight bits per byte, so they are eight times the matching bit unit.
3. Dividing by the target unit's value in bits per second gives the result.

For the number side, see the base converter, or convert file storage sizes with the length and data tools in the converters hub.

Convert 100 Mbps to megabytes per second.

Result: 100 Mbps is 100,000,000 bits per second, and dividing by 8 bits per byte gives 12.5 MB/s. So a 100 Mbps broadband line downloads a file at about 12.5 megabytes each second.

Each unit's value in bits per second.

Every byte unit is exactly eight times the matching bit unit. That single factor of eight is the reason a broadband speed in megabits looks so different from a download speed in megabytes.

The two are easy to mix up, but the difference is fixed.

A lowercase b means bits and an uppercase B means bytes, so Mbps and MB/s are different by a factor of eight. Watching the case is the quickest way to avoid mixing them up when reading a speed.

Bits or Bytes

Switching between a bit unit and a byte unit multiplies or divides by eight.

The Prefix

Kilo, mega and giga each add a factor of a thousand for transfer rates.

Decimal vs Binary Prefixes

Transfer rates use 1,000; storage sizes sometimes use 1,024, a separate convention.

Broadband

See the real download speed in MB/s behind a Mbps broadband figure.

Downloads

Estimate how long a file will take at a given speed.

Networking

Compare interface and link speeds in consistent units.

1. Confusing Bits and Bytes

A megabit is an eighth of a megabyte. A 100 Mbps line is only about 12.5 MB/s.

2. Ignoring the Case of B and B

Lowercase b is bits, uppercase B is bytes. Mbps and MBps differ by eight.

3. Mixing Decimal and Binary Prefixes

Transfer rates use 1,000; storage sizes sometimes use 1,024. Keep them separate.

4. Expecting Full Speed

Real transfers are usually slower than the headline rate due to overheads and network conditions.

5. Wrong Direction

Check which unit is the from and which is the to; swapping them inverts the result.

Conversions use the standard 8-bit byte and decimal prefixes.

12.5 MB/s. A megabit is an eighth of a megabyte, so 100 megabits per second divided by 8 is 12.5 megabytes per second.

Mbps is megabits per second, used for network speeds. MB/s is megabytes per second, used for file transfers. A byte is 8 bits, so they differ by a factor of eight.

Divide by 8, since one byte is eight bits. To go from bytes to bits, multiply by 8. This converter handles both directions.

Broadband is quoted in megabits, but downloads show megabytes, which are eight times larger. A 100 Mbps line downloads at about 12.5 MB/s at best.

Lowercase b means bits and uppercase B means bytes. So Mb is megabits and MB is megabytes, differing by a factor of eight.

Transfer rates use decimal prefixes, so kilo is 1,000. Storage capacities sometimes use binary prefixes of 1,024, which is a separate convention.

Divide the file size in the same units by the speed. A 1 GB file at 12.5 MB/s takes about 80 seconds, ignoring overhead.

Network overhead, congestion and hardware limits mean real transfers rarely reach the headline rate. The converter shows the ideal figure.

No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere, unless you choose Save, which keeps the result only on this device.

• Data-rate units (Wikipedia).
• Byte (Wikipedia).
• Bit rate (Wikipedia).