Understanding The Difference Between Mbps And MBps
Megabits per second measure the speed of a connection, while megabytes per second measure the speed with which a file can upload or download.
What’s the difference between Mbps vs. MBps?
The main distinction between the two terms is between bits and bytes. The first, Mbps (lowercase "b"), stands for megabits per second, while the second, MBps (capital "B") stands for megabytes per second.
"Megabits per second" (Mbps) is a unit of measurement for download and upload speed, also known as bandwidth. For example, your favorite HD movie could be 12 GB in size, and downloading it on a 10 Mbps internet connection would take nearly three hours. With a 500 Mbps internet plan, however, you'd have your movie in about three minutes.
The term "megabytes per second" (MBps) refers to the speed with which a file is downloaded or uploaded. For example, we recommend 25 Mbps for live TV streaming, which does not require downloading and saving a file. However, when downloading a video game, the file may be downloaded at a rate of 100 MBps.
Bit versus byte
1 byte contains 8 bits for context. A bit, in essence, measures data speed. In fact, all internet service provider speeds will be in bits, such as 100 Mbps. A byte, on the other hand, measures storage capacity, so consider a 4 MB pdf.
A quick reference guide to data measurements
Don't let these abbreviations confuse you! From smallest to largest, here are some other common data measures that denote file size/data amounts:
1 byte = 8 bits
1 Kilobyte (kB) = 1,024 Bytes.
1 Megabyte (MB) = 1,024 Kilobytes.
1 Gigabyte (GB or Gig) = 1,024 Megabytes.
1 Terabyte (TB) = 1,024 Gigabytes.
Bits and megabytes
1 byte = 8 bits
1 Mbps = 1,000,000 bits = 125,000 Bytes
1 MB = 1,000,000 Bytes or 8,000,000 bits
What effect do Mbps and MBps have on my online activities?
As previously stated, both Mbps and MBps are important when downloading things from the internet, including everything from loading a webpage to downloading music and movies to streaming TV.
The time it takes to download will vary depending on the size of the file and the speed of your internet connection. Other factors that can affect download times include whether you are using an Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi, as well as whether you are connected to residential or business internet.
