Bandwidth / Download Time
Estimate how long it takes to download or transfer a file given your connection speed and file size.
Results
What is it?
This calculator converts a file size and network speed into a download or upload duration. ISPs advertise speeds in Megabits per second (Mbps) while file sizes are displayed in Megabytes (MB) — that 8x factor is the single biggest source of confusion.
How to use
Enter your file size and select the unit (MB, GB, or TB). Then enter your connection speed and choose Mbps, Gbps, or Kbps. The calculator converts everything to Megabits and divides to give you time in seconds, minutes, and hours.
Example scenario
You want to download a 50 GB game on a 200 Mbps fibre connection. Set file size to 50 GB and speed to 200 Mbps. Result: ~2,000 seconds ~33 minutes — at a perfect theoretical rate. Real-world speeds are typically 60-80% of the rated value.
Pro tip
Internet speeds are in bits (b, lowercase), file sizes in bytes (B, uppercase). 1 MB = 8 Mb. A 100 Mbps line delivers a maximum of 12.5 MB/s. Overhead from TCP/IP headers, encryption (VPN, HTTPS), and Wi-Fi contention typically reduce real-world throughput to 70-90% of the rated speed.