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Bandwidth Calculator

Two bandwidth questions in one tool. For a household, add up the streams and devices active at the same time to find the internet speed you need. For a website, turn monthly page views and page size into data transfer and the bandwidth to provision.

Quick examples

Counted at 15 Mbps each.

Counted at 5 Mbps each.

Video calls, gaming, browsing, smart-home gear.

Mbps
%
Your numbers stay in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Bandwidth in use34 Mbps
Speed to provision
42.5 Mbps
Monthly data transfer
—

Saved setups

Save a set of inputs you reuse — your usual rate, your loan, your room sizes — and load it back in one tap.

    Your recent calculations

    Results you calculate here are kept on this device so you can come back to them.

      Formula

      Household: bandwidth = 4K streams × 15 + HD streams × 5 + other devices × speed per device (Mbps)
      Speed to provision = bandwidth × (1 + headroom %)
      Website: monthly transfer = page views × average page size
      Average bandwidth (Mbps) = monthly transfer in bits ÷ seconds in 30 days ÷ 1,000,000
      Peak bandwidth = average bandwidth × peak factor

      How to use it

      1. Choose household or website.
      2. For a household, count what runs at the same time at your busiest hour, not everything you own.
      3. For a website, enter monthly page views, average page weight and a peak factor.
      4. Use the “speed to provision” figure when choosing a plan.

      Worked examples

      One 4K stream, two HD streams and three other devices at 3 Mbps, with 25% headroom

      Bandwidth in use
      34 Mbps
      Speed to provision
      42.5 Mbps

      A site with 100,000 page views a month at 2 MB each and a 3× peak factor

      Monthly data transfer
      200 GB
      Bandwidth in use
      0.62 Mbps
      Speed to provision
      1.85 Mbps

      The household figures

      Netflix recommends 15 Mbps for a 4K stream and 5 Mbps for 1080p HD, and other major services are similar. The per-device speed for everything else is adjustable: 3 Mbps covers an HD video call or online game with room to spare, while browsing and smart-home devices use far less.

      Upload speed is a separate limit. Video calls, cloud backups and live streaming depend on it, and many cable plans offer only a small fraction of their download speed.

      The website figures

      A steady 1 Mbps moves about 324 GB in a 30-day month, so sites with modest traffic need very little average bandwidth. Visitors do not arrive evenly, though, which is what the peak factor allows for. A content delivery network or caching can cut the transfer your own server handles dramatically.

      Questions people ask

      How many Mbps do I need for a family of four?

      One 4K stream, two HD streams and three other active devices come to about 34 Mbps in use; with 25% headroom, a plan of 50 Mbps or more is comfortable.

      Is 100 Mbps enough for 4K streaming?

      Yes. A 4K stream needs about 15 Mbps, so 100 Mbps carries several at once alongside normal household use.

      How much bandwidth does a website with 100,000 monthly page views need?

      At 2 MB a page that is 200 GB a month, an average of only 0.62 Mbps — about 1.85 Mbps at a 3× peak.

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