Plan a download. Check an upload.
How long will a file take to download or upload? Enter its size and your transfer speed to calculate the full-speed minimum, compare Mbps with MB/s, or model a lower usable speed.
Enter your values and select “Calculate transfer time” to see the result.
This is a calculation, not a live speed test. It does not download a file or contact a server. Actual transfers can take longer because speeds vary and setup, protocol overhead, server limits or disk work can add time.
File sizes describe an amount of data. Transfer speeds describe how quickly that data moves. Convert both to bits, then divide:
One byte contains eight bits. For example, a 1 GB file contains 8,000,000,000 bits. At a constant 100 Mbps, that gives 80 seconds: 1 minute 20 seconds. The calculator uses the same formula for uploads.
If you enter a usable-speed percentage, the calculator multiplies your speed by that percentage before dividing. For example, 80% of 100 Mbps is 80 Mbps. This is a scenario you choose, not a measured prediction of your connection.
A 100 Mbps connection has a full-speed equivalent of 12.5 MB/s because 100 ÷ 8 = 12.5. Capitalization matters: a small b means bits and a capital B means bytes.
Decimal and binary file units also differ. 1 GB is 1,000,000,000 bytes; 1 GiB is 1,073,741,824 bytes. A 1 GiB file therefore takes longer than a 1 GB file at the same speed. Some software displays a “GB” label while using a binary size; check how your application reports it if a precise comparison matters.
Read our Mbps vs MBps explanation for more on bits, bytes and download-speed displays.
These are calculated examples for decimal GB at a constant speed and 100% usable speed. They exclude setup time, overhead and any later installation or unpacking.
| File size | 50 Mbps | 100 Mbps | 1 Gbps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 2 min 40 sec | 1 min 20 sec | 8 sec |
| 10 GB | 26 min 40 sec | 13 min 20 sec | 1 min 20 sec |
| 50 GB | 2 hr 13 min 20 sec | 1 hr 6 min 40 sec | 6 min 40 sec |
| 100 GB | 4 hr 26 min 40 sec | 2 hr 13 min 20 sec | 13 min 20 sec |
The full-speed result assumes the entered speed stays constant for the entire transfer. A slower download server, shared connection, Wi-Fi interference, VPN routing, protocol overhead or storage limits can reduce the file-transfer rate. A game launcher may also spend time verifying, unpacking or installing files after downloading them. Use a recent measured speed rather than your plan’s advertised maximum for a more relevant estimate.
Yes. Enter the file size and your upload speed. The formula is identical. Upload speed may be much lower than download speed on your plan, so use the upload result from a speed test when estimating a cloud backup, video upload or file share.
A decimal 100 GB download takes a theoretical minimum of 8,000 seconds at a constant 100 Mbps: 2 hours 13 minutes 20 seconds. A 100 GiB download is larger and takes about 2 hours 23 minutes 10 seconds at that same speed. Installation time is additional.
Download speed measures data throughput; ping measures latency. More bandwidth can shorten large downloads without improving the route to a game server. If a download fills your connection, it may also interfere with a live game. Pause background transfers when comparing latency and connection stability.
Keep 100% to see the mathematical minimum at your entered speed. If you want to allow for a slower sustained transfer, choose your own percentage based on a known observation or scenario. For example, entering 75% asks what happens at three quarters of your stated speed; it does not mean that every connection loses 25% to overhead.
The calculation runs locally in your browser after you enter values. This widget does not run a speed test or transfer a test file. Loading the webpage itself still uses data, and other parts of the website may load their normal assets.
The example selector fills an editable size and the appropriate transfer direction. These are generic planning examples rather than live game install sizes. Use the download amount your launcher currently shows; installed size, patch size and free-space requirements can be different.
For an upload or cloud backup, enter only the data that needs transferring and your measured upload speed. A 50 GB backup at a constant 10 Mbps takes a mathematical minimum of 11 hours 6 minutes 40 seconds. Incremental backups may transfer less, while small-file processing, encryption and retries can add time.
A speed test measures a test route at one time; your game store or cloud provider may deliver a different rate. A chosen usable-speed percentage is your own scenario. This page does not inspect your files, connect to your cloud account, transfer data or guarantee a completion time.
Unit definitions follow NIST's explanation of SI and binary prefixes: one byte is eight bits, decimal GB and binary GiB are different quantities.