What is download time?

Download time is how long it takes to receive a file from a server onto your device, for example a game, a video, a software update, or a large archive. It depends mostly on the size of the file and on your download speed.

Tool description

This calculator estimates how long a file will take to download. Select a file, enter your download speed, and the tool works out the time from the exact size of the file. It is handy when you already have the file, or a copy of it, and want to know how long fetching it would take on a given connection. The file is only read locally in your browser to get its size; nothing is uploaded.

Examples

File size Download speed Estimated time
100 MB 100 Mbps 8 s
1 GB 100 Mbps 1 m 20 s
50 GB 100 Mbps 1 h 6 m 40 s
50 GB 1 Gbps 6 m 40 s

Features

  • Pick a file with the file selector or drag and drop it
  • Choose a metric (1000), binary (1024), or mixed measurement system, like the manual Download Time Calculator
  • Speed units from bits and bytes up to petabits and petabytes per second
  • Results update instantly when you change the file, speed, or unit

How it works

The tool divides the file size in bytes by your speed converted to bytes per second. Speeds in bits are divided by 8 to get bytes. Internet providers use metric units (multiples of 1000), so that is the best choice for connection speeds, while binary units (multiples of 1024) match how some operating systems show file sizes.

Tips

  • Internet plans are advertised in megabits per second (Mbps), while file sizes are shown in megabytes (MB), so a 100 Mbps connection moves at most 12.5 MB per second
  • Check your real download speed with a speed test, since it can differ from the advertised value
  • Real downloads are usually slower than the estimate because of protocol overhead, Wi-Fi quality, server limits, and other devices on your network
  • Download managers and wired connections can help large downloads finish closer to the estimate