Checking a broadband speed
A 500 Mbps plan tops out at 62.5 MB/s. A browser download showing 55 MB/s on that line is running at about 88% of the theoretical maximum, which is normal once protocol overhead is accounted for.
Data Transfer
Convert mb/s to mbps
1 megabyte per second equals 8 megabits per second. Enter a value below to convert instantly.
Megabytes per second to megabits per second multiplies by eight. It is the conversion you need to compare an observed download speed against the figure on a broadband contract, since transfers are reported in bytes and connections are sold in bits.
1 MB/s
8 Mbit/s
Multiply the number of megabytes per second by 8 to get megabits per second. How this is calculated
Need the other direction? Convert megabit per second to megabyte per second →
Formula
Multiply the number of megabytes per second by 8 to get megabits per second.
Step by step
- Start with 1 MB/s.
- Multiply by the conversion factor 8.
- 1 × 8 = 8 Mbit/s.
Megabytes per Second to Megabits per Second conversion table
| Megabytes per Second (MB/s) | Megabits per Second (Mbit/s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 8 |
| 2 | 16 |
| 5 | 40 |
| 10 | 80 |
| 50 | 400 |
| 100 | 800 |
| 500 | 4,000 |
| 1,000 | 8,000 |
Where megabytes per second and megabits per second are used together
Estimating a download time
A 4 GB file on a 100 Mbps connection needs 4,000 MB ÷ 12.5 MB/s ≈ 320 seconds at best. Real transfers take longer because of overhead, server limits and contention.
Video streaming requirements
Streaming services publish requirements in Mbps — typically 5 Mbps for HD and 15–25 Mbps for 4K. That is 0.6 MB/s and 1.9–3.1 MB/s of actual data, which is how you estimate monthly usage against a data cap.
Storage and network interfaces
A 1 Gbps Ethernet port carries at most 125 MB/s, which is slower than any modern SSD. Interface specifications mix the two conventions freely, so converting is the only way to compare them.
Everyday megabytes per second worth knowing
Values people actually look up, with the reason each one comes up. Every figure is calculated with the same engine as the converter above.
| Megabyte per Second (MB/s) | Megabit per Second (Mbit/s) | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | The base conversion |
| 3 | 24 | A 4K stream's actual data rate |
| 6.25 | 50 | A 50 Mbps line at full speed |
| 12.5 | 100 | A 100 Mbps line at full speed |
| 25 | 200 | A 200 Mbps line at full speed |
| 62.5 | 500 | A 500 Mbps line at full speed |
| 125 | 1,000 | A gigabit line at full speed |
| 500 | 4,000 | A fast SSD's sustained write speed |
How these two units are defined
A bit is a single binary digit; a byte is eight bits. Network and link speeds are quoted in bits per second by long-standing convention, written Mbps or Mbit/s with a lower-case b. File sizes and transfer rates are in bytes, written MB/s with an upper-case B. Both use decimal SI prefixes here, so 1 Mbps is 1,000,000 bits per second and 1 MB/s is 1,000,000 bytes per second — meaning the conversion is exactly a factor of eight, with no binary-prefix complication.
Rounding and precision
The factor of eight is exact. What is not exact is the relationship between a link speed and an observed transfer rate: TCP/IP, Ethernet framing and encryption all consume bandwidth, so real throughput typically lands at 85–95% of the theoretical figure even on an otherwise idle line. Treat the converted number as a ceiling rather than a prediction.
Mistakes people make with this conversion
-
Reading Mbps as MB/s
The case of the 'b' carries the whole meaning. 100 Mbps is 12.5 MB/s; reading it as 100 MB/s overstates the connection eightfold.
-
Expecting to hit the contracted speed exactly
Protocol overhead alone accounts for several percent. A line delivering 90% of its rated speed under load is performing normally.
-
Applying 1,024 to network units
Network and transfer units are decimal. Dividing by 1,048,576 instead of 1,000,000 introduces a 4.9% error on top of the bit/byte factor.
Read more about these units
Sources for this page
- Definitions of the SI units: The binary prefixes
- SI Brochure — The International System of Units (SI), 9th edition
Content on this page last reviewed 12 August 2026. Spotted an error? Report it — see also how these values are calculated.
Convert Megabyte per Second to other data transfer units
1 MB/s expressed in every other data transfer unit on this site.
- Bit per Second bit/s 8,000,000
- Kilobit per Second kbit/s 8,000
- Megabit per Second Mbit/s 8
- Gigabit per Second Gbit/s 0.008
- Terabit per Second Tbit/s 0.000008
- Byte per Second B/s 1,000,000
- Kilobyte per Second KB/s 1,000
- Megabyte per Second MB/s 1
- Gigabyte per Second GB/s 0.001
- Terabyte per Second TB/s 0.000001
- Kibibit per Second Kibit/s 7,812.5
- Mebibit per Second Mibit/s 7.6293945
- Gibibit per Second Gibit/s 0.0074505806
- Kibibyte per Second KiB/s 976.5625
- Mebibyte per Second MiB/s 0.95367432
- Gibibyte per Second GiB/s 0.00093132257
- Megabyte per Minute MB/min 60
- Gigabyte per Hour GB/h 3.6
- Gigabyte per Day GB/d 86.4
- T1 (DS1) T1 5.1813472
- T3 (DS3) T3 0.1788269
- E1 E1 3.90625
- E3 E3 0.23277467
- OC-1 OC-1 0.15432099
- OC-3 OC-3 0.051440329
- OC-12 OC-12 0.012860082
- OC-48 OC-48 0.0032150206
- OC-192 OC-192 0.00080375514
- OC-24 OC-24 0.0064300412
- OC-768 OC-768 0.00020093879
- STS-1 (payload) STS-1 payload 0.16161616
- STS-3 (payload) STS-3 payload 0.053214134
- STS-24 (signal) STS-24 0.0064300412
- Virtual Tributary 1 (signal) VT1 4.6296296
- Virtual Tributary 2 (signal) VT2 3.4722222
- Virtual Tributary 6 (signal) VT6 1.2674271
- Virtual Tributary 6 (payload) VT6 payload 1.3333333
- T0 (payload) T0 142.85714
- T0 (B8ZS payload) T0 B8ZS 125
- T1 (payload) T1 payload 5.952381
- T1C (signal) T1C 2.5380711
- T1C (payload) T1C payload 2.9761905
- T2 (signal) T2 1.2674271
- T3 (payload) T3 payload 0.21258503
- T3Z (payload) T3Z payload 0.1860119
- T4 (signal) T4 0.029178338
- E.P.T.A. 1 (payload) EPTA1 payload 4.1666667
- E.P.T.A. 2 (signal) EPTA2 0.9469697
- E.P.T.A. 2 (payload) EPTA2 payload 1.0416667
- E.P.T.A. 3 (payload) EPTA3 payload 0.26041667
- H0 H0 20.833333
- H11 H11 5.2083333
- H12 H12 4.1666667
- ISDN (single channel) ISDN 1B 125
- ISDN (dual channel) ISDN 2B 62.5
- Ethernet (10BASE-T) Ethernet 0.8
- Ethernet (fast) Fast Ethernet 0.08
- USB 1.1 (full speed) USB 0.66666667
- FireWire (IEEE-1394) FireWire 0.02
- Modem (110) 110 baud 72,727.273
- Modem (300) 300 baud 26,666.667
- Modem (1200) 1200 baud 6,666.6667
- Modem (2400) 2400 baud 3,333.3333
- Modem (9600) 9600 baud 833.33333
- Modem (14.4k) 14.4k 555.55556
- Modem (28.8k) 28.8k 277.77778
- Modem (33.6k) 33.6k 238.09524
- Modem (56k) 56k 142.85714
- SCSI (Async) SCSI async 0.66666667
- SCSI (Sync) SCSI sync 0.2
- SCSI (Fast) SCSI fast 0.1
- SCSI (Fast Ultra) SCSI fast ultra 0.05
- SCSI (Fast Ultra Wide) SCSI fast ultra wide 0.025
- SCSI (Ultra-2) SCSI Ultra-2 0.0125
- SCSI (Ultra-3) SCSI Ultra-3 0.00625
- IDE (PIO mode 0) PIO 0 0.3030303
- IDE (PIO mode 1) PIO 1 0.19230769
- IDE (PIO mode 2) PIO 2 0.12048193
- IDE (PIO mode 3) PIO 3 0.09009009
- IDE (PIO mode 4) PIO 4 0.060240964
- IDE (DMA mode 0) DMA 0 0.23809524
- IDE (DMA mode 1) DMA 1 0.07518797
- IDE (DMA mode 2) DMA 2 0.060240964
- IDE (UDMA mode 1) UDMA 1 0.04
- IDE (UDMA mode 2) UDMA 2 0.03030303
- IDE (UDMA mode 3) UDMA 3 0.02
- IDE (UDMA mode 4) UDMA 4 0.015151515
About the megabyte per second
The megabyte per second (MB/s) is a Metric unit of data transfer.
About the megabit per second
The megabit per second (Mbit/s) is a Metric unit of data transfer.
Related conversions
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert MB/s to Mbps?
Multiply by 8. A download running at 12.5 MB/s corresponds to 100 Mbps, which is how you check an observed transfer against a contracted line speed.
What is the fastest a gigabit connection can go?
1,000 Mbps is 125 MB/s in theory. In practice, Ethernet framing and TCP/IP overhead put sustained real-world transfers closer to 110–118 MB/s.
Do these units use 1,000 or 1,024?
1,000. Network and transfer-rate units use decimal SI prefixes, which is why the conversion between Mbps and MB/s is exactly eight with no binary-prefix adjustment.
How many megabits per second are in a megabyte per second?
One megabyte per second equals 8 megabits per second.
How do you convert megabytes per second to megabits per second?
Multiply the number of megabytes per second by 8 to get megabits per second.
What is 1 megabit per second in megabytes per second?
One megabit per second equals 0.125 megabytes per second.
When would I convert megabytes per second to megabits per second?
This conversion is common when internet speeds, downloads, and networking.