Convert MB/s to Mbps

Content last reviewed:

A 12.5 MB/s download is 100 Mbps, because you multiply megabytes by 8 to get megabits. Convert a number copied from the Chrome or Firefox download window with Binary (1024), because these browsers count a megabyte as 1,048,576 bytes.

MB/s
Mbps
Unit standard

Decimal (1000): 1 MB/s is one million bytes per second, as in the SI. Binary (1024): how Chrome and Firefox show download speed.

to

How many Mbps is 1 MB/s?

One megabyte per second is 8 megabits per second. Every byte is made of eight bits[1], so you multiply a speed in MB/s by 8: Mbps = MB/s × 8. You see megabytes per second in a download window, while copying files and on a drive spec sheet, and megabits per second in your internet plan and in speed tests. Only after converting can you compare the two.

A few downloads show how it works. A 5 MB/s download equals 40 Mbps, 12.5 MB/s equals 100 Mbps, and 125 MB/s is 1,000 Mbps, which is 1 Gbps.

Convert a reading from the Chrome or Firefox download window with Binary (1024). Both browsers divide bytes by 1,024 and still label the result MB/s[2][3], so their 1 MB/s is 8.39 Mbps.

To turn a plan speed in megabits into megabytes, use the Mbps to MB/s converter.

What is a megabyte per second, and how many bits are in a byte?

A megabyte per second tells you how many million bytes of a file arrive or get copied each second. A byte is eight bits, and a bit is a single 0 or 1[1]. Any number of bits can be turned into bytes with the bits to bytes converter.

In the SI system the prefix mega means a million, so 1 MB/s is 1,000,000 bytes per second. A mebibyte per second, written MiB/s, uses a binary prefix and is 1,048,576 bytes per second[1].

A megabit per second is eight times smaller than a megabyte per second, and a kilobit per second is a thousand times smaller again. Slower rates such as a music bitrate or a video call can be turned into megabits with the kbps to Mbps converter.

Black USB flash drive with its USB-A plug with a blue insert slid out, on a white background
A black USB flash drive with its USB-A plug slid out lies on a white background. The copy window shows the write speed to a drive like this in MB/s, and the converter turns it into megabits per second, the unit used for connection speeds. Photo: Sara Kurfeß, Unsplash.

MB/s to Mbps conversion table

The table lists 37 speeds from 0.1 to 1,250 MB/s. The first column counts a megabyte as a million bytes, and the second matches what Chrome and Firefox show. Results are rounded to three decimal places.
Speed in MB/sMbps (decimal MB)Mbps (download window MB, 1024)
0.1 MB/s0.8 Mbps0.839 Mbps
0.25 MB/s2 Mbps2.097 Mbps
0.5 MB/s4 Mbps4.194 Mbps
1 MB/s8 Mbps8.389 Mbps
1.5 MB/s12 Mbps12.583 Mbps
2 MB/s16 Mbps16.777 Mbps
2.5 MB/s20 Mbps20.972 Mbps
3 MB/s24 Mbps25.166 Mbps
4 MB/s32 Mbps33.554 Mbps
5 MB/s40 Mbps41.943 Mbps
6 MB/s48 Mbps50.332 Mbps
7.5 MB/s60 Mbps62.915 Mbps
8 MB/s64 Mbps67.109 Mbps
10 MB/s80 Mbps83.886 Mbps
12.5 MB/s100 Mbps104.858 Mbps
15 MB/s120 Mbps125.829 Mbps
20 MB/s160 Mbps167.772 Mbps
25 MB/s200 Mbps209.715 Mbps
30 MB/s240 Mbps251.658 Mbps
37.5 MB/s300 Mbps314.573 Mbps
40 MB/s320 Mbps335.544 Mbps
50 MB/s400 Mbps419.43 Mbps
60 MB/s480 Mbps503.316 Mbps
62.5 MB/s500 Mbps524.288 Mbps
75 MB/s600 Mbps629.146 Mbps
80 MB/s640 Mbps671.089 Mbps
100 MB/s800 Mbps838.861 Mbps
110 MB/s880 Mbps922.747 Mbps
118 MB/s944 Mbps989.856 Mbps
125 MB/s1,000 Mbps1,048.576 Mbps
150 MB/s1,200 Mbps1,258.291 Mbps
200 MB/s1,600 Mbps1,677.722 Mbps
250 MB/s2,000 Mbps2,097.152 Mbps
300 MB/s2,400 Mbps2,516.582 Mbps
500 MB/s4,000 Mbps4,194.304 Mbps
1,000 MB/s8,000 Mbps8,388.608 Mbps
1,250 MB/s10,000 Mbps10,485.76 Mbps

How do I switch Steam from MB/s to Mbps?

Steam shows game download speed in MB/s, but one setting switches it to megabits per second, the unit internet plans use. The names below come from the English Steam client.

  1. Open Steam settings

    Click the Steam menu and choose Settings[4].

  2. Go to the Downloads tab

    In the settings window, click Downloads[4].

  3. Turn on bits

    Tick Display download rates in bits per second[4]. From then on Steam labels the speed Mbps instead of MB/s[5].

  4. Compare it with your plan

    You can now compare the Mbps figure directly with your plan and your speed test, with no converting. If you prefer to keep MB/s, type the reading into the converter field to multiply it by 8.

Which port can handle a given download speed?

A TCP download uses at most 94.93% of an Ethernet port’s speed. A frame with the largest amount of data occupies 1,538 bytes on the wire[6], and IPv4 and TCP headers take at least 40 of its 1,500 data bytes[7][8]. The last column gives the slowest of the 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps, 5 Gbps and 10 Gbps ports that reaches that download speed.
Yellow network cable ending in a clear RJ45 plug on a blue background
A yellow network cable ends in a clear RJ45 plug. The port this plug goes into is rated in megabits per second, so a download read in MB/s has to be multiplied by 8 before you compare it with the port. Photo: Markus Spiske, Unsplash.
Download in MB/sMultiplied by 8Port speed with TCP and Ethernet headersSlowest port that is enough
1 MB/s8 Mbps8.4 Mbps100 Mbps
5 MB/s40 Mbps42.1 Mbps100 Mbps
10 MB/s80 Mbps84.3 Mbps100 Mbps
11.8 MB/s94.4 Mbps99.4 Mbps100 Mbps
12.5 MB/s100 Mbps105.3 Mbps1 Gbps
25 MB/s200 Mbps210.7 Mbps1 Gbps
50 MB/s400 Mbps421.4 Mbps1 Gbps
100 MB/s800 Mbps842.7 Mbps1 Gbps
118 MB/s944 Mbps994.4 Mbps1 Gbps
125 MB/s1,000 Mbps1,053.4 Mbps2.5 Gbps
250 MB/s2,000 Mbps2,106.8 Mbps2.5 Gbps
295 MB/s2,360 Mbps2,486.1 Mbps2.5 Gbps
300 MB/s2,400 Mbps2,528.2 Mbps5 Gbps
500 MB/s4,000 Mbps4,213.7 Mbps5 Gbps
590 MB/s4,720 Mbps4,972.2 Mbps5 Gbps
600 MB/s4,800 Mbps5,056.4 Mbps10 Gbps
1,000 MB/s8,000 Mbps8,427.4 Mbps10 Gbps
1,180 MB/s9,440 Mbps9,944.3 Mbps10 Gbps
1,250 MB/s10,000 Mbps10,534.2 Mbpsfaster than 10 Gbps
The figures assume full-size frames, headers without options and a decimal megabyte. To turn a port speed in megabits into gigabits, use the Mbps to Gbps converter, and to see which USB or Thunderbolt port keeps up with a drive, the data transfer rate converter.

What MB/s formats does this converter accept?

The field accepts and converts every one of these formats, so there is nothing to fix before you paste. The converter itself calculated the results with Decimal (1000) selected.
What you typeWhat the converter showsNote
12.5100 MbpsA plain number counts as megabytes per second, so the field multiplies it by 8 straight away.
12.5 MB/s100 MbpsThe field reads a speed copied from a download window with its unit and keeps just the number.
2.2 MB/sec17.6 MbpsThis is how Firefox in English writes the speed, and the field reads it like MB/s.
1,25010,000 MbpsIn English a comma separates thousands, so the field reads 1250. A note under the field says: Read as 1250. If you meant 1.25, type 1.25.
12,5100 MbpsA decimal comma gives the same result as 12.5.
850 KB/s6.8 MbpsKilobytes from a slow download are turned into 0.85 MB/s, and the field says so below.
3.2 GB/s25,600 MbpsGigabytes from a drive spec sheet are turned into 3,200 MB/s, and the field says so below.
100 Mbps100 MbpsMegabits from Steam or your plan are turned into 12.5 MB/s, and the field says so below, so the result comes back as 100 Mbps.

Convert other units to Megabits/s

kbps to MbpsGbps to Mbps

Sources

  1. Prefixes for binary multiples — National Institute of Standards and Technology
  2. Chromium source code: speed formatting (bytes_formatting.cc) — The Chromium Authors
  3. Firefox source code: DownloadUtils.sys.mjs — Mozilla
  4. Steam client strings: steamui_english.json — Steam client translation files, SteamTracking archive
  5. Steam client strings: shared_english.json — Steam client translation files, SteamTracking archive
  6. Ethernet frame — Wikipedia
  7. RFC 791: Internet Protocol — IETF
  8. RFC 9293: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) — IETF

Every figure in the tables was computed from the unit definitions and checked arithmetically before publication. Historical values and the names of local units come from the sources listed above.

Content last reviewed: · written and checked by the Arteon team

Frequently asked questions about MB/s and Mbps

Is 10 MB/s 10 Mbps or 80 Mbps?

It is 80 Mbps. The capital B in MB/s stands for byte, and every byte has eight bits[1].

How many Mbps do I need to download 1 GB per minute?

One gigabyte per minute is 1,000 MB in 60 seconds, or 16.67 MB/s. Multiplied by 8 that is 133.3 Mbps, and with TCP and Ethernet headers added you need a port of at least 140.5 Mbps.

How many Mbps is a USB drive’s copy speed?

Multiply the copy speed in MB/s by 8, just as you would a download speed. Copying at 100 MB/s equals 800 Mbps, so sending that over a network needs a 1 Gbps port.

How can I convert MB/s to Mbps in my head?

Multiply by 8, which is easiest as three doublings. 15 MB/s becomes 30, then 60, then 120, so 120 Mbps.

Arteon free tool screenshot: Convert MB/s to Mbps

Got a question or suggestion?

Write to us if you would like to convert another speed unit or spot a value in the tables that needs fixing.