This download time calculator will help you determine the time it will take to download a file at a given internet bandwidth. An internet bandwidth provides information about a network’s upload and download speed, and the faster the internet download speed is, the faster we obtain the file or data we need. Keep on reading to learn how long to download, let’s say, your favorite video clip.

Computer file sizes vary depending on the amount of data or information a computer file stores. When storing data, computers use what is called bits, an abbreviation of “binary digits.” A bit can save either a yes or a no, black or white, and so on. Data stored in bits are represented by 1’s and 0’s and can be combined with other bits to form useful files like texts, images, audio, or videos.

Storing more bits together means that more information is present in the file. Grouping 8 bits together forms what is called a byte. A single symbol or letter in a text file takes up approximately 1 byte of computer storage. Like any other unit of measurement, when we talk about large amounts of something, we can use prefixes to quickly show the scale we are dealing with. Trust us, this is much better than using a huge number and the same unit of measurement. In file sizes, we also use a set of prefixes to express large amounts of data, and you can see these prefixes in the table below.

Want to find out how long a download might take? Considering a broadband upgrade and want to see how much faster your internet speed could be?

In this guide, you can use our download time calculator to get an instant estimate of how long a transfer will take and learn more about downloading and uploading and improving your download speed.