Megabits to Megabytes
Convert megabits (Mb) to megabytes (MB). Both measure digital storage, and the conversion comes up in computing, storage, internet work.
The Formula
``
megabytes = megabits Ć 0.125
megabits = megabytes Ć 8
`
One megabit is 0.125 megabytes, and one megabyte is 8 megabits.
Conversion Table
| Megabits | Megabytes |
|---|---|
| 1 Mb | 0.125 MB |
| 2 Mb | 0.25 MB |
| 5 Mb | 0.625 MB |
| 10 Mb | 1.25 MB |
| 25 Mb | 3.125 MB |
| 50 Mb | 6.25 MB |
| 100 Mb | 12.5 MB |
| 500 Mb | 62.5 MB |
| 1,000 Mb | 125 MB |
The Other Direction
| Megabytes | Megabits |
|---|---|
| 1 MB | 8 Mb |
| 2 MB | 16 Mb |
| 5 MB | 40 Mb |
| 10 MB | 80 Mb |
| 25 MB | 200 Mb |
| 50 MB | 400 Mb |
| 100 MB | 800 Mb |
| 500 MB | 4,000 Mb |
| 1,000 MB | 8,000 Mb |
What Each Unit Is
Megabits (Mb) ā 1,000,000 bits. The unit internet plans are sold in ā deliberately, because it makes the number eight times larger.
Megabytes (MB) ā 1,000,000 bytes in decimal usage. The file-size unit of the CD-ROM era.
A Sense of Scale
HD streaming needs 5 Mbit/s- 100 Mbit/s downloads at about 12.5 MB/s
- An MP3 is 3ā5 MB
- A phone photo is 2ā5 MB
- A JS bundle should stay under 1 MB
Precision
The factor 0.125 is rounded. For engineering work carry more digits than the table above, and round only at the end ā rounding at each step compounds.
Watch Out For
- Mb is megabits, MB is megabytes. A 100 Mbps connection delivers roughly 12.5 MB/s, not 100.
In Code
`javascript
const megabitToMegabyte = (value) => value * 0.125;
``
Where This Conversion Comes Up
- Computing
- Storage
- Internet
- Media
- Backups
How Many Decimals Do You Need?
Rounding the factor costs accuracy, and how much depends on the factor. Converting 137 Mb with the factor truncated at each decimal place:
| Decimals kept | Factor | 137 Mb becomes | Error |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.0000% |
| 1 | 0.1 | 13.7 | 20.0000% |
| 2 | 0.13 | 17.81 | 4.0000% |
| 3 | 0.125 | 17.125 | ā |
| 4 | 0.125 | 17.125 | ā |
The right number of significant figures is set by your input, not by the converter. If you measured megabits to three significant figures, the answer in megabytes is only good to three ā writing more digits claims precision the measurement never had.