Use the table below for pretty much any file. If you're after a specific scenario, like a named game or a movie file, the links further down go deeper on that one.
Download Time by File Size and Speed
These numbers already build in that 80 percent real-world buffer, applied the same way across every row. Need to convert Mbps to MB/s for something else? Our Mbps to GB converter handles that.
| File Size | 25 Mbps | 50 Mbps | 100 Mbps | 300 Mbps | 1,000 Mbps (Gigabit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 GB (small game/app) | ~33 min | ~17 min | ~8 min | ~3 min | ~50 sec |
| 10 GB | ~1 hr 7 min | ~33 min | ~17 min | ~6 min | ~2 min |
| 20 GB | ~2 hr 13 min | ~1 hr 7 min | ~33 min | ~11 min | ~3 min |
| 50 GB | ~5 hr 33 min | ~2 hr 47 min | ~1 hr 23 min | ~28 min | ~8 min |
| 100 GB | ~11 hr 7 min | ~5 hr 33 min | ~2 hr 47 min | ~56 min | ~17 min |
| 1 TB (1,000 GB) | ~4 days 15 hr | ~2 days 8 hr | ~1 day 4 hr | ~9 hr 16 min | ~2 hr 47 min |
Treat these as planning estimates, not guarantees. WiFi congestion, server-side speed limits during busy periods, and whatever else is running on your network at the time can all push a real download above or below this table.
One thing worth knowing: this table counts 1 TB as 1,000 GB, the same way ISPs advertise plans and caps. Game launchers and Windows itself usually count in binary, where 1 TB is actually 1,024 GB, so a file on your screen can look about 7 percent bigger than the math above suggests. Our 1000 vs. 1024 explainer gets into why the two systems don't agree.
Looking for a Specific Download?
Each of these gets its own deep dive with exact file sizes and scenario-specific advice:
- How Long to Download a 50GB Game?
- How Long to Download a 100GB Game?
- How Long to Download Call of Duty Warzone?
- How Long Does a Windows 11 Update Take to Download?
- How Long to Download a PS5 Game?
- How Long to Download a 4K Movie?
- How Long to Upload a Video to YouTube? (this one's about upload speed, a different number entirely)
Why Your Download Might Be Slower Than This Table Says
If something's crawling even after accounting for that 80 percent buffer, it's usually one of these three things:
- The server is limiting you, not your connection. Game and OS update servers often cap how fast any single account can pull data during a big launch, no matter how fast your home internet is.
- WiFi is quietly eating your speed. A device sitting two rooms from the router on 2.4GHz can knock a gigabit connection down to a fraction of what it's capable of. Our full guide to why WiFi runs slower than advertised breaks down exactly how much you lose by distance and band.
- Something else on the network is competing for bandwidth. A household member streaming 4K, a cloud backup running in the background, or a second download all cut into what's left for yours.
If you want to double check whether your plan is actually delivering what it promises, our speed-specific pages like 100 Mbps to GB and 300 Mbps to GB show exactly how much data that speed should move in an hour.