Data Rate Unit Converter
Convert between any pair of data-rate units — bits per second, bytes per second, kbps, Mbps, Gbps, MB/s, MiB/s and more — using factors aligned with IEC 80000-13, IEEE 802.3 Ethernet, and ITU-T transmission standards. Type a value and the result updates instantly.
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What is data rate, and why so many units?
Data rate is the speed at which information is transmitted over a channel, expressed as bits or bytes per second. The base SI-style unit is the bit per second (bps): one bit of information delivered every second. Real systems span fourteen orders of magnitude — from a 300 bps modem on a 1980s telephone line to an 800 Gbps coherent optical link in a modern data centre — so engineers attach SI prefixes to keep numbers readable: kbps (10³), Mbps (10⁶), Gbps (10⁹), Tbps (10¹²).
The hardest part of data-rate conversion is not arithmetic but vocabulary. Networks count in bits (because each clock tick carries one signal); storage and applications count in bytes (because computers move data eight bits at a time). One byte is eight bits, so 1 MB/s = 8 Mbps and 1 Gbps = 125 MB/s. On top of that, two prefix systems coexist: SI decimal prefixes (kilo = 1 000, mega = 1 000 000) used universally for network speeds, and binary prefixes (kibi = 1 024, mebi = 1 048 576) introduced by IEC 80000-13 for memory and file sizes. This page uses both — Mbps for ISP plans and MiB/s when you really mean 2²⁰ bytes — and lets you convert between them precisely.
The data-rate units, explained
Bit per second (bps) and decimal multiples — the network world
The bit per second is the SI-coherent unit of data rate. ISPs, Ethernet (IEEE 802.3), Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11), 4G/5G mobile and fibre transports (PON, OTN) all use decimal SI prefixes: 1 kbps = 1 000 bps, 1 Mbps = 10⁶ bps, 1 Gbps = 10⁹ bps, 1 Tbps = 10¹² bps. When you read '100 Mbps fibre' on your bill, that means 100 × 10⁶ bits per second, period — there is no '128' or '1024' factor hiding.
Byte per second (B/s) and decimal multiples — file transfers
Operating systems, browsers, FTP clients and download managers count file size in bytes (8 bits) and report transfer speed in B/s, KB/s, MB/s, GB/s. The conversion is exactly 1 byte = 8 bits, so 1 MB/s = 8 Mbps and 1 GB/s = 8 Gbps. A 100 Mbps internet plan therefore caps file downloads near 12.5 MB/s — not 100 MB/s, which is the most common confusion.
Binary prefixes (KiB/s, MiB/s, GiB/s) — the IEC 80000-13 standard
Because computers naturally count in powers of two, file sizes have historically used 1 KB = 1 024 bytes, 1 MB = 1 048 576 bytes — clashing with SI's decimal kilo/mega. IEC 80000-13 (2008) cleaned this up by introducing kibi (Ki = 2¹⁰), mebi (Mi = 2²⁰), gibi (Gi = 2³⁰) for the binary meanings. So 1 KiB/s = 1 024 B/s = 8 192 bps, 1 MiB/s ≈ 1.049 MB/s. Linux and macOS report file sizes with binary prefixes, Windows historically used KB/MB to mean the binary values, and most network gear uses pure decimal.
Why ISPs always use decimal Mbps
Network signalling is naturally decimal: a 1 Gbps Ethernet PHY emits exactly 10⁹ bits per second by clock design, not 2³⁰. IEEE 802.3 specifications (10/100/1000/10G/100G/400G/800G Ethernet) are all decimal. ISPs, mobile carriers, and ITU-T G-series transport standards follow the same convention. There is no marketing trick — kilo and mega in network land have always meant 10³ and 10⁶.
Symbols matter — kbps vs KBps vs KiBps
Lowercase b = bit, uppercase B = byte. Lowercase k = kilo (10³). 'kbps' (kilobit/s) is decimal. 'KBps' (kilobyte/s) is also decimal but eight times larger. 'KiBps' (kibibyte/s) is binary and 2.4% larger than KBps. Mixing them up is the single biggest source of bug reports in network monitoring tools.
Real-world applications and what speeds to expect
- Home internet plans: Typical 2026 fibre plans run 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps. A 1 Gbps fibre link delivers up to 125 MB/s of file transfer; a 100 Mbps plan tops out near 12 MB/s; a 50 Mbps DSL line near 6 MB/s.
- Wi-Fi standards: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) maxes around 3.5 Gbps PHY rate, real-world ~600–900 Mbps. Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) maxes 9.6 Gbps PHY, real-world 1–2 Gbps on a clean channel. Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) maxes 46 Gbps PHY in lab conditions.
- Mobile data: 4G LTE delivers 20–100 Mbps in normal cell conditions. 5G mid-band (sub-6 GHz) delivers 200–1 000 Mbps; 5G mmWave can briefly exceed 2 Gbps. The 3GPP peak rate spec for 5G NR is 20 Gbps downlink.
- Streaming bandwidth: YouTube/Netflix recommended bitrates: SD 480p ≈ 1.5 Mbps, HD 1080p ≈ 5 Mbps, 4K HDR ≈ 25 Mbps, 8K ≈ 80 Mbps. Cloud gaming (GeForce Now, Xbox Cloud) targets 35–45 Mbps for 4K@60fps.
- Storage interfaces: SATA 3 = 6 Gbps (≈600 MB/s after 8b/10b overhead). NVMe Gen4 ×4 = 64 Gbps (≈8 GB/s). USB 3.2 Gen 2 ×2 = 20 Gbps (≈2.5 GB/s). Thunderbolt 4 = 40 Gbps.
- Data-centre networking: Top-of-rack switches typically run 100–400 Gbps uplinks in 2026. 800 Gbps Ethernet (IEEE 802.3df, 2024) is being deployed in AI clusters. A single 400G QSFP-DD optic moves 50 GB/s.
- Submarine cables: A modern transatlantic cable carries multiple fibre pairs at 200–400 Gbps each, totalling tens of Tbps. The MAREA cable system advertises 224 Tbps design capacity.
How much is 1 unit of each in bits per second?
| Unit | Value in bits per second (bps) |
|---|---|
| 1 bps (Bit per second) | 1 Pa |
| 1 kbps (Kilobit per second) | 1000 Pa |
| 1 Mbps (Megabit per second) | 1000000 Pa |
| 1 Gbps (Gigabit per second) | 1000000000 Pa |
| 1 Tbps (Terabit per second) | 1000000000000 Pa |
| 1 B/s (Byte per second) | 8 Pa |
| 1 KB/s (Kilobyte per second) | 8000 Pa |
| 1 MB/s (Megabyte per second) | 8000000 Pa |
| 1 GB/s (Gigabyte per second) | 8000000000 Pa |
| 1 KiB/s (Kibibyte per second) | 8192 Pa |
| 1 MiB/s (Mebibyte per second) | 8388608 Pa |
| 1 GiB/s (Gibibyte per second) | 8589934592 Pa |
Frequently asked questions about data rates
Why does my ISP say 100 Mbps but downloads max out at 12 MB/s?
Because 1 byte = 8 bits. 100 Mbps = 100 / 8 = 12.5 MB/s of usable file-transfer speed before protocol overhead. There's no fraud — the 'big' number on the marketing page is bits, but your download manager shows bytes. To convert: divide Mbps by 8 to get MB/s, multiply MB/s by 8 to get Mbps.
Is 1 Gbps the same as 1 GB/s?
No. 1 Gbps = 10⁹ bits per second = 125 MB/s. 1 GB/s = 10⁹ bytes per second = 8 Gbps. The byte version is eight times faster. A 1 Gbps fibre line will not give you 1 GB/s of disk-write speed; it will give you about 125 MB/s — already excellent for home use, but bottlenecked by the byte/bit factor of 8.
How much bandwidth does 4K Netflix actually need?
Netflix recommends 25 Mbps sustained for 4K (UHD), 15 Mbps for 1080p, 5 Mbps for 720p. Their actual encode is variable but typically 15–18 Mbps for 4K HDR with new AV1 codec, lower than the recommendation, because modern codecs are more efficient. A 100 Mbps plan can stream 4K to 4–5 simultaneous devices.
What is the real-world difference between Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5?
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac, 2013) tops at 3.5 Gbps PHY in the spec, ~600–900 Mbps in real use. Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax, 2019) tops at 9.6 Gbps PHY, with practical 1–2 Gbps on a clean 6 GHz channel. The bigger win is OFDMA and MU-MIMO, which keep latency low when many devices share an access point.
Are KB/s and KiB/s the same thing?
No, they differ by 2.4%. 1 KB/s = 1 000 B/s = 8 000 bps (decimal kilo). 1 KiB/s = 1 024 B/s = 8 192 bps (binary kibi). Linux and macOS file managers use binary prefixes. Most networking gear uses decimal. The difference grows with each prefix step: 1 GiB/s is about 7.4% larger than 1 GB/s.
Why are Ethernet speeds always decimal multiples?
Because the line clock is decimal by design. 10 Mbit Ethernet emits 10 × 10⁶ Manchester-encoded transitions per second; 1 Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T) clocks at 125 MHz × 8 = 1 Gbps; 100 Gigabit Ethernet uses 25 Gbps lanes × 4. The IEEE 802.3 standard only ever defines decimal rates — there is no '1024' factor in any Ethernet spec.
What is overhead, and how much real throughput do I lose?
Every protocol adds headers and acknowledgements that reduce useful throughput. TCP/IPv4 adds 40 bytes per packet (~3% of a 1500 byte MTU). Wi-Fi adds another 10–25% for management frames and CSMA backoff. So a 1 Gbps connection in TCP delivers roughly 940 Mbps of payload, and a 1.2 Gbps Wi-Fi 6 link delivers roughly 800 Mbps of HTTP throughput in good conditions.
How do I convert Mbps to GB per hour?
Multiply by 0.45 (approximately). For example, 25 Mbps = 25 / 8 = 3.125 MB/s × 3600 s/h = 11 250 MB/h ≈ 11.25 GB/h. Streaming 4K at 25 Mbps for 2 hours uses ~22.5 GB. Useful for capped data plans.
How precise are the conversion factors here?
All factors are exact integers. 1 byte = 8 bits exactly; 1 kbps = 1 000 bps exactly; 1 KiB/s = 1 024 × 8 = 8 192 bps exactly. There is no rounding in the multiplication itself. Display is rounded to ten significant digits, which is more than enough for any networking purpose.
Can I share a link to a specific conversion?
Yes. The URL updates as you change units and values, so you can copy the address bar after any conversion. Example: ?from=Mbps&to=MBps&x=100.
References
- IEC 80000-13:2008 — Quantities and units, Part 13: Information science and technology (defines bit, byte, kibibyte, mebibyte and the binary prefixes)
- IEEE 802.3 — Ethernet standards (specifies signalling rates from 10 Mbps to 800 Gbps using SI decimal multipliers)
- ITU-T G-series Recommendations — Transmission systems and media, digital systems and networks (G.984 GPON, G.987 XG-PON, etc.)
- NIST Special Publication 811 — Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI)
Dedicated converter pages
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