How speed unit conversion works
ISPs advertise speed in bits per second (Mbps), but file managers and download bars show bytes per second (MB/s). Since 1 byte = 8 bits, every value is first converted to bits per second, then divided by the target unit's own bits-per-second ratio.
- factor_from — selected "from" unit's ratio to bits/second
- factor_to — selected "to" unit's ratio to bits/second
Common values
| Value (Mbps) | Result |
|---|---|
| 10 Mbps | 1.25 MB/s |
| 25 Mbps | 3.125 MB/s |
| 50 Mbps | 6.25 MB/s |
| 100 Mbps | 12.5 MB/s |
| 150 Mbps | 18.75 MB/s |
| 200 Mbps | 25 MB/s |
| 300 Mbps | 37.5 MB/s |
| 500 Mbps | 62.5 MB/s |
| 1,000 Mbps | 125 MB/s |
More detail
Why Mbps and MB/s differ by 8×
A "100 Mbps" plan is 100 megabits per second — divide by 8 to get the actual byte-based transfer speed you'll see in a download manager: 12.5 MB/s. This 8x gap is the single most common source of "why is my internet slower than advertised" confusion.
Practical tip. To sanity-check any ISP-advertised Mbps figure, divide by 8 to estimate real MB/s throughput — then subtract another 10–20% for real-world protocol overhead.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my download speed in MB/s so much lower than my Mbps plan?
Because ISPs advertise bits per second (Mbps) while download managers show bytes per second (MB/s), and 1 byte = 8 bits. A 100 Mbps plan tops out around 12.5 MB/s — enter 100 Mbps → MB/s above to see the exact figure for your speed.
How do I convert Mbps to MB/s?
Divide the Mbps value by 8: 100 Mbps ÷ 8 = 12.5 MB/s. This converter applies the same 8x factor for any pair of bit- and byte-based units you select above.
What's the difference between Kbps, Mbps, and Gbps?
They're decimal (1000-based) multiples of bits per second: 1 Mbps = 1,000 Kbps, and 1 Gbps = 1,000 Mbps — the same SI prefixes used across networking equipment and ISP plans.
Does this use 1000 or 1024 for the unit prefixes?
1000 (decimal SI), matching ITU-T networking convention and ISP speed labeling — not the 1024-based binary prefixes (KiB/MiB) used for file sizes.