Mbps to MB/s Converter
Bits and bytes differ by a factor of eight. Convert any speed instantly, and see how long a real file transfer will take.
Speed unit converter
Pure arithmetic — this does not measure your connection.
12.5
Mbps versus MB/s
Internet speeds are advertised in megabits per second (Mbps). File sizes and download managers use megabytes (MB). One byte is eight bits, so divide by eight to convert:
100 Mbps ÷ 8 = 12.5 MB/s
That is why a "100 megabit" connection downloads at roughly 12 megabytes per second in your browser, and why a 1 GB file takes around 80 seconds rather than 10.
Decimal and binary units
There are two conventions, and both appear in software:
- MB (decimal megabyte) — 1,000,000 bytes. Used by storage manufacturers, most operating systems and ISPs.
- MiB (mebibyte) — 1,048,576 bytes. Used by some tools and by Windows under the "MB" label.
The difference is about 4.9% at the megabyte level, which explains small discrepancies between what a download manager reports and what a simple conversion predicts. The converter above shows both.
Quick reference
| Mbps | MB/s | 1 GB file, in theory |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1 | ~17 minutes |
| 25 | 3.1 | ~5.3 minutes |
| 50 | 6.25 | ~2.7 minutes |
| 100 | 12.5 | ~1.3 minutes |
| 300 | 37.5 | ~27 seconds |
| 1000 | 125 | ~8 seconds |
Real transfers are slower than the arithmetic because of protocol overhead, the server's upload capacity and the ramp-up at the start of each connection.