What is the difference between Mbps and Kbps?
You may have heard of "binary language," which encodes data using 1s and 0s. All the data you access on the internet is measured in binary digits, shortened to "bits" when talking about internet speed.
Regardless of the type of internet connection you have, its speed will always be calculated in bits. Todays internet speeds are much faster compared to the early days of the internet. The smallest unit commonly used was the kilobit (Kb), which equals 1,000 bits. Today, with faster internet, we often use megabits (Mb), where 1 megabit equals 1,000 kilobits (or 1 million bits).
When shopping for home internetyou'll typically see internet speed measured as Megabits per second (Mbps) or Kilobits per second (Kbps). These units tell you how much data can be transferred each second. Faster speeds usually cost more, so it’s important to choose a plan that matches your needs.
Here is what you need to know about Mbps and Kbps and how they affect data transfer speeds and internet service.
Megabits and Kilobits vs. Megabytes and Kilobytes
It's easy to confuse bits with another common unit of measurement, bytes. While bits contain only 1s and 0s, bytes can also contain letters and symbols.
The key difference is that 1 byte is equivalent to 8 bits So, if you have 8,000 bits, that is equivalent to 1,000 bytes. Both terms use the prefixes kilo (1,000) and mega (1 million) to make measuring easier.
Internet speed is usually measured in bits, while bytes are used to measure file size and memory. There are also subtle differences in the abbreviations. Mb refers to megabits, while MB (both letters capitalized) is for megabytes. The same applies to kilobits (Kb) and kilobytes (KB).
Sometimes, bytes can be used to describe the download and upload speeds of a file. These measurements show the volume of data that a connection can handle. For example, a lower KBps speed means that uploading large files can take longer and slow down other tasks.
When choosing internet speed, however, focus on bits (Kbps or Mbps) that best fits your needs.
How do Mbps relate to Kbps?
As mentioned earlier, 1 Mbps is 1,000 times faster than 1 Kbps. While Mbps speeds are more commonly used, but there may be instances where you need to convert one unit to the other to compare internet speeds or speed requirements for specific activities. To do this, both figures must be the same unit.
The conversion is simple:
- To convert Mbps to Kbps, multiply the Mbps by 1000
- To convert Kbps Mbps, divide the Kbps by 1000
When converting from Mbps to Kbps, the product is usually a very large number with decimals. That's why many people prefer to measure internet speed in Mbps because the numbers are smaller and easier to read, but either unit works as long as you're consistent.
What’s faster: Mbps or Kbps?
Mbps is faster than Kbps. Unless the Kbps valueis more than 1,000 or the Mbps is less than one, you can automatically assume that Mbps is faster.
The important thing to know is how much speed you need. For basic tasks, like email and browsing the internet speeds measured in Kbps might be enough. For most other tasks, anything less than 5 Mbps will likely be too slow.
Why should you know the difference between Kbps and Mbps?
To determine what is a good internet speed will depend on how you use the internet.
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) provides general guidelines in Mbps for different tasks:
- Browsing and email: At least 1 Mbps
- Music streaming: 0.5 Mbps (500 Kbps)
- Telecommuting and online study: At least 5 Mbps
- Video streaming: 5 Mbps for HD, 25 Mbps for 4K
These recommendations are based on a single user. If multiple people are online at the same time, you will need to get a higher speed.If your internet speed is too slow, you may experience network strain. This occurs when multiple users or programs demand more speed than your connection can handle, leading to lag, disconnections, and other issues.
Activities like 4K streaming, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) software, and online gaming, can increase the strain.
When choosing an internet service provider, look for one that offers speeds to meet your needs and flexible plans so you can upgrade or downgrade as needed.
Reviewed By:
Verizon Editorial Team
Last Reviewed:
10.23.2025
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