What is the Mbps to GB per Hour Calculator?
Internet speeds are advertised in megabits per second (Mbps), but data caps and usage are measured in gigabytes (GB). This calculator bridges the two by showing exactly how many gigabytes a continuous connection of a given speed would transfer in one hour. It is ideal for estimating streaming usage, planning around a monthly data cap, or sizing a metered or mobile data plan.
How to use it
Enter the speed in Mbps — this can be your full connection speed for a sustained download, or the bitrate of a video stream (for example, Netflix HD uses about 5 Mbps and 4K about 25 Mbps). The calculator instantly returns the data used per hour in GB, along with per-minute and total MB figures.
The formula explained
There are 8 bits in a byte, so we divide Mbps by 8 to get megabytes per second (MB/s). An hour contains 3,600 seconds, so we multiply by 3,600 to get MB per hour. Finally we divide by 1,000 to convert megabytes to gigabytes (using decimal SI units, where 1 GB = 1,000 MB):
$$\text{GB per Hour} = \frac{\text{Speed (Mbps)}}{8} \times \frac{3600}{1000}$$
Worked example
Suppose you stream 4K video at 25 Mbps. First, \(25 \div 8 = 3.125\) MB/s. Over an hour: \(3.125 \times 3600 = 11{,}250\) MB. Converting to gigabytes: \(11{,}250 \div 1000 =\) 11.25 GB per hour. A two-hour movie would therefore use roughly 22.5 GB.
FAQ
Does this use 1024 or 1000 MB per GB? It uses 1,000 MB per GB (decimal units), the convention used by internet providers and most data-cap reporting. Using 1,024 (binary GiB) would give slightly smaller numbers.
Is my full speed always used? No. This shows usage at a sustained rate. Real streaming adapts bitrate, and browsing is bursty, so actual usage is usually lower than your maximum line speed.
How do I find data per day? Multiply the GB-per-hour result by the number of hours you stream or download each day.
