Free tool

Transfer time calculator.

Enter a file size and your connection speed. The calculator converts the units for you and shows what the transfer takes at the full line, and at the speeds you are more likely to actually get.

= 12.5 MB/s (megabits ÷ 8 = megabytes)

Best case, using the full line11h 6m
If you get 75% of the line14h 48m
If you get half the line22h 13m

Real transfers rarely hold the full line: standard TCP uploads lose speed over distance, other traffic shares the connection, and disks have limits too. Measure your real speed at speed.cloudstud.io and it can prefill this calculator. Calculations use decimal units (1 GB = 1,000 MB).

Reference

Common shoots at common speeds

Size50 Mbps100 Mbps500 Mbps1 Gbps
50 GB2h 13m1h 6m13m 20s6m 40s
250 GB11h 6m5h 33m1h 6m33m 20s
1 TB1d 20h22h 13m4h 26m2h 13m
4 TB7d 9h3d 16h17h 46m8h 53m

Best-case times at the full line, decimal units. Distance, shared connections, and disks push real times higher.

FAQ

Transfer time questions

How do I calculate file transfer time?

Divide the file size in megabytes by your speed in megabytes per second. Internet speeds are quoted in megabits, so divide the Mbps figure by 8 first: a 100 Mbps line moves about 12.5 MB per second, so an 80 GB file takes roughly 1 hour 47 minutes at best.

Why is my real transfer slower than the calculator says?

The calculator shows the ceiling for your line. Standard TCP uploads lose speed as distance to the destination grows, other traffic shares your connection, and slow disks can cap throughput. That is why the calculator also shows 75% and 50% scenarios.

What is the difference between Mbps and MB/s?

Mbps is megabits per second, how internet plans are sold. MB/s is megabytes per second, how file sizes and copy speeds are shown. One byte is 8 bits, so divide Mbps by 8 to get MB/s.

How long does it take to upload 1 TB of footage?

At 100 Mbps about 22 hours best case; at 500 Mbps about 4.5 hours; at 1 Gbps about 2.2 hours. Long distances and shared connections push real times higher, which is where accelerated transfer tools earn their keep.

When the math does not fit the deadline

Move footage faster.

CloudStudio transfers use UDP acceleration to hold speed over distance, resume interrupted uploads, and verify every file on arrival. Measure your line at speed.cloudstud.io first.