Internet speed guides
Short, worked explanations of the numbers on your internet bill, your speed test and your download window. Each guide answers one question first and shows the arithmetic behind it.
The units, in plain terms
Megabits per second explained, with what common plan speeds handle in practice.
What is MB/s?Megabytes per second explained: downloads, file copies, drive and port speeds.
Mbps vs MB/sWhy plans say Mbps, download apps say MB/s, and how to compare the two.
Bits vs bytesWhat bits and bytes are, why a byte is 8 bits, and decimal vs binary prefixes.
How long downloads and uploads take
Download times for a 1 GB file at every common plan speed, with the formula.
Download 10 GBDownload times for 10 GB at common speeds, and the speed you need for a deadline.
Download 100 GBDownload times for a 100 GB game at common speeds, and why launchers often take longer.
Steam download speedConvert Steam's MB/s to Mbps, judge whether it's using your plan, and fix slow downloads.
Upload vs downloadWhat upload and download carry, why upload runs out first, and backup times.
Whether your plan is fast enough
What a 100 Mbps plan runs at once, how long downloads take, and when it falls short.
Is 300 Mbps enough?What a 300 Mbps plan runs at once, who it suits, and when 500 Mbps or gigabit is worth it.
Is gigabit worth it?Gigabit vs 300 and 500 Mbps: what changes, what does not, and who benefits.
Speed by activityMbps per stream, call and game from official sources, with GB per hour.
Why it feels slower than it should
Ping targets for gaming, cloud gaming, calls and browsing, and what actually lowers ping.
Latency vs bandwidthPing targets for games and calls, and why more Mbps does not lower latency.
How speed is measuredWhat a speed test actually measures, why results vary, and how to test fairly.
4K streaming data useGB per hour for 4K, 1080p and 720p video, monthly totals, and how long a data cap lasts.
Which guide answers your question
- "My download shows a smaller number than my plan." Start with Mbps vs MB/s; for game launchers specifically, Steam download speed. The unit primers what is Mbps, what is MB/s and bits vs bytes cover the basics.
- "How long will this take?" 1 GB, 10 GB and 100 GB have tables for every common plan.
- "Is my plan enough?" Is 100 Mbps fast?, is 300 Mbps enough? and is gigabit worth it? give a verdict per household; internet speed by activity lists what each activity uses, and upload vs download speed explains the side that often runs out first.
- "Why does it feel slow?" What is a good ping and latency vs bandwidth cover delay; how internet speed is measured explains what a speed test does and doesn't tell you.
- "How much data will we use?" How much data 4K streaming uses covers the biggest item on most bills.
Where the numbers come from
Unit conversions are exact arithmetic with decimal network prefixes (1 Mbps = 1,000,000 bits per second, 1 byte = 8 bits). Activity figures come from what Netflix, YouTube, Zoom, NVIDIA and Twitch publish, and our own estimates are labelled as such; the methodology lists every source. To run the numbers for your own case, use the bytes to Mbps converter, the download time calculator or the internet speed calculator.