Data transfer rate Converter

This data transfer rate converter features 34 units of data transfer rate. This makes it possible to convert freely between data transfer rates with decimal and binary prefixes (IEC prefixes). The data rate values are converted in real time and displayed with up to 20 decimal places, ensuring sufficient accuracy.

Two Steps to Your Result

Our data transfer rate converter offers several input fields, each displaying the current unit symbol (for example, Mbit/s, bit/s or Gbit/s). To change a unit, simply click on the unit symbol and select your preferred measurement from the dropdown menu.

Once you have selected the desired units in the data transfer rate converter, simply enter the value you want to convert. You can input numbers into any of the available fields. As soon as you enter a value in one field, all other fields will automatically update and display the converted results. Both the entered value and the calculated results are automatically rounded to the predefined number of decimal places.

At the bottom of the data transfer rate converter, you will find two green buttons. The button on the right resets the converter to its default state. This restores all units, values, and decimal settings to their original configuration. The button on the left clears the current inputs by setting all values to zero, while keeping your selected units and decimal settings unchanged.

Conversion table for data transfer rate units

The data transfer rate is also referred to as the data transfer speed or data rate, and it indicates the speed at which a certain amount of data is transferred within a given time interval. The data transfer rate is always specified with a value and the corresponding unit. A conversion table can be used to determine the value of the known data transfer rate in a different unit. For example: How many gigabits per second [Gbit/s] are in 1 megabit per second [Mbit/s]?. In the majority of cases, a conversion table is used to determine the calculation method for converting a data rate into another unit. However, these tables can be difficult for inexperienced users to understand, as they are very extensive and contain data transfer rates with decimal and binary prefixes.

The following tool provides a remedy for this problem, allowing the appropriate calculation methods to be queried directly from the conversion table. In total, the conversion table comprises 34 units with decimal and binary prefixes.

Converting data transfer rates in everyday life

There are many units of measurement for data transfer rates that are rarely used in everyday life. These include, for example, kibibits per second [Kibit/s], yobibits per second [Yibit/s] or yobibytes per second [YiB/s] are among these. It is also rather unlikely that a very small unit of measurement will be converted into zettabytes per second [ZB/s]. For this reason, it is not necessary to memorize all conversion values. However, there are units of measurement for data transfer rates that are used very frequently in everyday life. For example, megabytes per second [MB/s], bits per second [bit/s] or megabits per second [Mbit/s]. With these units of measurement, it can be very helpful to know the calculation method and the conversion value by heart.

Convert gigabytes per second and megabytes per second

Megabytes per second [MB/s] and gigabytes per second [GB/s] can be converted very easily, as they both use a prefix from the decimal system. A conversion value of 1,000 is used for the conversion. The value in gigabytes per second [GB/s] multiplied by 1,000 gives the value in megabytes per second [MB/s]. Dividing the value in megabytes per second [MB/s] by 1,000 gives the value in gigabytes per second [GB/s].

• Megabytes per second [MB/s] = gigabytes per second [GB/s] * 1,000
• Gigabytes per second [GB/s] = megabytes per second [MB/s] ÷ 1,000

Convert gigabits per second and megabytes per second

The conversion between megabytes per second [MB/s] and gigabits per second [Gbit/s] is done using a conversion factor of 125. The value in gigabits per second [Gbit/s] multiplied by 125 gives the value in megabytes per second [MB/s]. Dividing the value in megabytes per second [MB/s] by 125 gives the value in gigabits per second [Gbit/s].

• Megabytes per second [MB/s] = gigabits per second [Gbit/s] * 125
• Gigabits per second [Gbit/s] = megabytes per second [MB/s] ÷ 125

Convert megabits per second and megabytes per second

The conversion between megabits per second [Mbit/s] and megabytes per second [MB/s] is done using a conversion factor of 8. The value in megabytes per second [MB/s] multiplied by 8 gives the value in megabits per second [Mbit/s]. Dividing the value in megabits per second [Mbit/s] by 8 gives the value in megabytes per second [MB/s].

• Megabits per second [Mbit/s] = megabytes per second [MB/s] * 8
• Megabytes per second [MB/s] = megabits per second [Mbit/s] ÷ 8

Convert terabytes per second and gigabytes per second

A conversion factor of 1,000 is used to convert between terabytes per second [TB/s] and gigabytes per second [GB/s]. The value in terabytes per second [TB/s] multiplied by 1,000 gives the value in gigabytes per second [GB/s]. Dividing the value in gigabytes per second[GB/s] by 1,000 gives the value in terabytes per second[TB/s].

• Gigabytes per second [GB/s] = terabytes per second [TB/s] * 1,000
• Terabytes per second [TB/s] = gigabytes per second [GB/s] ÷ 1,000

Confusion when converting due to different prefixes

Bits and bytes are essential units of measurement for describing data volumes, the speed of Internet connections, or the capacity of storage media.The number of bits and bytes can quickly run into the millions or even billions, making the resulting values difficult to understand. To improve clarity, prefixes such as kilo, mega, or giga are used, whereby, for example, 1,000,000 bytes per second can be abbreviated as 1 megabyte per second, which significantly increases readability. However, a common misunderstanding arises when converting between different units, as the prefixes used are based on powers of ten in the decimal system. This system uses the ten Arabic numerals (0 to 9) to represent all numbers.

However, computers work with the binary system, which is based on powers of two and uses only the digits 0 and 1 to express all possible values. These digits are called binary numbers, with "bit" being short for "binary digit". A single bit can only take the value 0 or 1. Thus, a bit can distinguish between two states: yes/no, 1 or 0, low/high, true/false. The two possible states are referred to as binary decisions. When multiple bits are combined, the number of possible decisions increases. For example, 2 bits already offer 4 different combinations, while 6 bits create 64 possibilities. Combining 8 bits creates a byte that can represent a total of 256 different binary decisions.

Due to the differences between the decimal and binary systems, the use of decimal prefixes is unsuitable for computer systems. In the early years of computer technology, large numbers were often abbreviated using decimal prefixes. When referring to 1 kilobyte per second, this often did not mean 1,000 bytes per second, but rather 1,024 bytes per second. A difference of 2.4%. Consequently, 1 megabyte per second did not mean 1,000,000 bytes per second, but 1,048,576 bytes per second, which already results in a difference of approximately 4.86%.

While the discrepancies are less significant at low data transfer rates, they become quite significant at higher data rates. The following table shows the percentage differences resulting from the use of binary and decimal prefixes.

In the 1990s, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) introduced new prefixes for the binary system to reduce confusion between traditional decimal prefixes such as kilo, mega, and giga. Instead, terms such as kibi, mebi, and gibi should be used, with the syllable "bi" referring to the binary basis of the data quantities. The IEC recommends the use of binary prefixes because they allow for a more accurate representation of data transfer rates and storage capacities. Despite these efforts, binary prefixes have not yet become fully established, leading to ongoing confusion among hardware and software manufacturers, computer scientists, and the general population.

Convert to bytes per second with decimal prefixes (SI prefixes)

1. 1 B/s = 1 B/s
2. 1 kB/s = 1,000 B/s
3. 1 MB/s = 1,000,000 B/s
4. 1 GB/s = 1,000,000,000 B/s
5. 1 TB/s = 1,000,000,000,000 B/s
6. 1 PB/s = 1,000,000,000,000,000 B/s
7. 1 EB/s = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 B/s
8. 1 ZB/s = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 B/s
9. 1 YB/s = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 B/s

Convert to bytes per second using binary prefixes (IEC prefixes)

1. 1 KiB/s = 1,024 B/s
2. 1 MiB/s = 1,048,576 B/s
3. 1 GiB/s = 1,073,741,824 B/s
4. 1 TiB/s = 1,099,511,627,776 B/s
5. 1 PiB/s = 1,125,899,906,842,624 B/s
6. 1 EiB/s = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 B/s
7. 1 ZiB/s = 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 B/s
8. 1 YiB/s = 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176 B/s