Data Transfer Rate Converter

This data transfer rate converter changes speeds between bits per second (bit/s, kbps, Mbps, Gbps), decimal bytes per second (B/s, KB/s, MB/s, GB/s) and binary bytes per second (KiB/s, MiB/s, GiB/s). The data transfer rate converter uses this formula: 1 B/s = 8 bit/s; decimal MB/s = Mbit/s / 8. One byte is 8 bits, so Mbps to MB/s is a division by 8: a 100 Mbps connection moves at most 12.5 MB/s.

How to use the data transfer rate converter

1. Enter the speed, for example 300 from an internet plan in Mbps.
2. Choose its unit and the target unit, such as Mbps to MB/s.
3. Read the result: 300 Mbps = 37.5 MB/s.

For Mbps to MB/s, divide by 8; for MB/s to Mbps, multiply by 8. For Gbps to MB/s, multiply by 125.

What is data transfer rate?

Data transfer rate is how much data moves per second. Internet speeds are quoted in bits per second (Mbps, Gbps), while file downloads often show bytes per second (MB/s). Divide megabits per second by 8 to get megabytes per second.

Conversion formula

The data transfer rate converter stores every unit as a multiple of the base unit, the bit per second (bit/s). To convert:

value in target unit = value × (factor of source unit ÷ factor of target unit)

where each factor is the size of the unit in bits per second.

Common data transfer rate conversions

Data transfer rate converter worked example

Convert 25 megabits per second to megabytes per second:

1. Factor of Mbit/s = 1,000,000 bit/s
2. Factor of MB/s = 8,000,000 bit/s
3. 25 × 1,000,000 ÷ 8,000,000 = 3.125 MB/s

Data transfer rate unit reference

Reverse factors for each data transfer rate unit

The data transfer rate converter reference table gives each unit in bit per seconds. To go the other way, divide by that factor; the list below does the division for you.

• Kilobit per Second (kbit/s), Bits (decimal): 1 kbit/s = 1,000 bit/s, so 1 bit/s = 0.001 kbit/s.
• Megabit per Second (Mbit/s), Bits (decimal): 1 Mbit/s = 1,000,000 bit/s, so 1 bit/s = 1 × 10⁻⁶ Mbit/s.
• Gigabit per Second (Gbit/s), Bits (decimal): 1 Gbit/s = 1 × 10⁹ bit/s, so 1 bit/s = 1 × 10⁻⁹ Gbit/s.
• Byte per Second (B/s), Bytes (decimal): 1 B/s = 8 bit/s, so 1 bit/s = 0.125 B/s.
• Kilobyte per Second (decimal) (KB/s), Bytes (decimal): 1 KB/s = 8,000 bit/s, so 1 bit/s = 0.000125 KB/s.
• Megabyte per Second (decimal) (MB/s), Bytes (decimal): 1 MB/s = 8,000,000 bit/s, so 1 bit/s = 1.25 × 10⁻⁷ MB/s.
• Gigabyte per Second (decimal) (GB/s), Bytes (decimal): 1 GB/s = 8 × 10⁹ bit/s, so 1 bit/s = 1.25 × 10⁻¹⁰ GB/s.
• Kibibyte per Second (KiB/s), Bytes (binary): 1 KiB/s = 8,192 bit/s, so 1 bit/s = 0.0001220703 KiB/s.
• Mebibyte per Second (MiB/s), Bytes (binary): 1 MiB/s = 8,388,608 bit/s, so 1 bit/s = 1.19209 × 10⁻⁷ MiB/s.
• Gibibyte per Second (GiB/s), Bytes (binary): 1 GiB/s = 8.58993 × 10⁹ bit/s, so 1 bit/s = 1.16415 × 10⁻¹⁰ GiB/s.

Download time at common speeds

Time = size in bits ÷ speed in bit/s. Ideal times, before protocol overhead and congestion:

Real downloads usually run somewhat slower than the line rate.

Interface speeds in Mbps and MB/s

Interfaces are rated in bits per second; file managers show bytes per second. Line rates converted at 8 bits per byte:

Encoding and protocol overhead lower usable throughput below these figures. MB/s here means 10⁶ bytes; a MiB/s is 1,048,576 bytes per second, about 4.9% larger. Use the data storage converter for file sizes and the bandwidth calculator for planning.

Related converters and calculators

Related tools:

• Data storage converter: MB, GB, GiB
• Bandwidth calculator: download time
• SI prefix converter: kilo, mega, giga
• Scientific notation calculator: powers of ten
• Number base converter: binary and hex

Sources

The data transfer rate converter is based on these sources: BIPM: SI Brochure; USB-IF: USB specifications; IEC: Prefixes for binary multiples.

Questions about this calculator