Question 1

How do you calculate the time?

Accepted Answer

We convert the file size to megabits by multiplying by 8, then divide by your line speed. For example, 1 GB is 8,000 megabits, so it takes 80 seconds at 100 Mbps.

Question 2

Why do downloads take longer than the calculator says?

Accepted Answer

The calculator assumes the server sends at your line's full speed and that nothing else is using your connection. In practice the server may be slower, or you may be sharing speed with other devices.

Question 3

What's the difference between megabits and megabytes?

Accepted Answer

One megabyte equals 8 megabits. Speeds are written in megabits, file sizes in megabytes.

Approximate time to download 1, 10 and 100 GB
Speed	1 GB	10 GB	100 GB
10 Mbps	13 min	2 hr 13 min	22 hr
30 Mbps	4 min	44 min	7 hr 24 min
50 Mbps	3 min	27 min	4 hr 27 min
100 Mbps	1 min	13 min	2 hr 13 min
200 Mbps	40 sec	7 min	1 hr 7 min
500 Mbps	16 sec	3 min	27 min

Download and upload time calculator