Download Time Calculator
Work out how long a download will take at your connection speed. Converts Mbps to MB/s with real times for AAA game installs and 4K files.
Why downloads take longer than the maths suggests
The most common surprise is the unit mismatch. Connections are sold in megabits per second and files are measured in megabytes. There are eight bits in a byte, so a 100 Mbps line downloads at about 12.5 MB/s at best.
seconds = file size (MB) ÷ (connection Mbps ÷ 8 × efficiency)
The other end matters too
Your line is only one part of the path. Game stores throttle per-connection speed, content delivery networks vary by region and time of day, and a popular launch day means everyone is pulling from the same servers at once. It is entirely normal for a gigabit connection to download a game at 200 Mbps.
Your storage can be the bottleneck
Above roughly 500 Mbps a hard drive starts to limit you, particularly for game installs where the client is decompressing while it writes. Steam and the Epic launcher both do significant CPU work during installation, so on very fast connections the processor sometimes becomes the limit rather than the network. Compare drive types with the SSD Speed Comparison.
Wi-Fi rarely delivers its rating
A Wi-Fi 6 router advertising 1200 Mbps is quoting a theoretical figure across all streams and bands. Real throughput on a single device, through a wall, with neighbours' networks nearby, is often a third of that. For large downloads, a cable is worth the inconvenience.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a 100GB game take to download?
On a 100 Mbps connection at 85% efficiency, roughly 2 hours 40 minutes. On 500 Mbps about 32 minutes, and on gigabit about 16 minutes - assuming the game server can actually supply data that fast.
Why is my download slower than my internet speed?
Usually the units: megabits versus megabytes gives a factor of eight. Beyond that, server throttling, Wi-Fi, network congestion and your drive speed all reduce the real figure below the advertised one.
Does a faster internet plan make games install faster?
Up to a point. Beyond about 500 Mbps you are usually limited by the game store's servers or by your own storage and CPU during decompression, not by the connection.
Is it worth pausing other downloads?
Yes. Bandwidth is shared, so two downloads at once each get roughly half. On a slower connection, queuing them one after another finishes both sooner than running them together.