The exact equivalent
Divide by 8. There are eight bits in a byte, so a connection quoted in bits per second delivers an eighth as many bytes.
1 Mbps = 0.125 MB/s
1 MB/s = 8 Mbps
How to convert it by hand
Just multiply by the conversion factor. To go from megabits per second to megabytes per second, multiply by 0.125; to come back, divide by that same number or multiply by 8.
For example: 25 Mbps × 0.125 = 3.125 MB/s.
A tip that saves mistakes: check the result goes the way you expect. If megabytes per second are a smaller unit than megabits per second, the number has to come out bigger. If it comes out smaller, you divided when you should have multiplied.
Conversion table
| Mbps | MB/s |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.125 |
| 2 | 0.25 |
| 5 | 0.625 |
| 10 | 1.25 |
| 20 | 2.5 |
| 50 | 6.25 |
| 100 | 12.5 |
Reference points to picture it
| Reference | Equals |
|---|---|
| A 100 Mbps line | 12.5 MB/s |
| A 600 Mbps line | 75 MB/s |
| A 1 Gbps line | 125 MB/s |
| 1 MB/s | 8 Mbps |
The trick for doing it in your head
Divide by 8. For 300 Mbps: 37.5 MB/s. If a download looks eight times slower than advertised, this is why.
It is fine for getting by without a phone, but not for anything that depends on precision: in a recipe, on a building site or in a dose, use the exact conversion.