From Engadget · Alec Hively · · 1m 20s
Mbps vs MB/s: what your internet speed really means
Internet providers advertise in megabits per second, but file transfers use megabytes per second. Understanding the difference matters when you shop for broadband.
In brief
Internet providers advertise in megabits per second, but file transfers use megabytes per second. Understanding the difference matters when you shop for broadband. Megabits per second measure internet speed while megabytes per second measure file transfer speed. Dividing megabits by eight converts to megabytes…
Bits and bytes are not the same
Bits are the basic unit of computing, measuring the ones and zeros that make up code. Bytes are groups of eight bits, the typical amount to produce a single letter, symbol or number.
Mbps measures internet speed
Megabits per second, or M b p s, measures how quickly data transfers across the internet.
American internet speeds have surged
According to internet speed test company Ookla, the median download and upload speeds for American households in August twenty twenty-six was three hundred seven M b p s and sixty three M b p s…
MB/s measures file transfer speed
Megabytes per second, or M B slash s, describes how fast large data transfers happen to and from storage devices, such as uploading files to the cloud or moving data from a hard disk.
Convert between the two easily
To convert M b p s to M B slash s, divide by eight.If your internet uploads at one hundred M b p s, that equals twelve point five M B slash s.
The takeaway
Megabits per second measure internet speed while megabytes per second measure file transfer speed. Dividing megabits by eight converts to megabytes.
