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Download time calculator

Enter a file size and your speed in Mbps to see how long a download or upload takes.

Calculate download time

Don't know your speed? Run the speed test first, then come back and type it in.

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How long common downloads take

Download time by file size and connection speed
File size25 Mbps100 Mbps300 Mbps500 Mbps1 Gbps
1 GB5 min 20 s1 min 20 s27 s16 s8 s
10 GB53 min 20 s13 min 20 s4 min 27 s2 min 40 s1 min 20 s
50 GB4 h 26 min1 h 6 min22 min 13 s13 min 20 s6 min 40 s
100 GB8 h 53 min2 h 13 min44 min 27 s26 min 40 s13 min 20 s
150 GB13 h 20 min3 h 20 min1 h 6 min40 min20 min

A 100 GB game takes about 2 hours 13 minutes at 100 Mbps and under 15 minutes at gigabit speed. These are best-case figures at your full speed.

Mbps vs MB/s

Divide Mbps by 8 to get MB/s. A 100 Mbps connection downloads at most 12.5 megabytes per second.

Mbps to MB/s
Plan speedBest-case file download speed
25 Mbps3.1 MB/s
100 Mbps12.5 MB/s
300 Mbps37.5 MB/s
500 Mbps62.5 MB/s
1,000 Mbps125 MB/s

Internet plans use bits because network gear counts bits; file managers and browsers count bytes. That is why a 100 Mbps plan shows about 12 MB/s in your browser.

Questions

How do I calculate download time?

Multiply the file size in gigabytes by 8 to get gigabits, multiply by 1,000 to get megabits, then divide by your speed in Mbps. A 10 GB file at 100 Mbps is 10 × 8 × 1,000 ÷ 100 = 800 seconds, about 13 minutes.

Why is my real download slower than the calculator says?

The calculator assumes your full speed for the whole transfer. Real downloads also lose time to protocol overhead, Wi-Fi, other devices on the connection and the speed of the server you download from.

What is the difference between Mbps and MB/s?

Mbps is megabits per second, which is how internet plans are sold. MB/s is megabytes per second, which is what file downloads show. One byte is eight bits, so divide Mbps by 8 to get MB/s: 100 Mbps is 12.5 MB/s.

Does the calculator use 1,000 or 1,024 for a gigabyte?

It uses 1 GB = 1,000 MB = 1,000,000,000 bytes, the way file sizes are advertised. Operating systems that count in 1,024 show slightly larger sizes, which changes the time by only a few percent.

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