MB to Mbit Converter

1. How many MegaBits equal one MegaByte?
2. Difference between MB and Mbit
3. How to convert MegaBytes to MegaBits
4. MB to Mbit conversion table

    How many MegaBits equal one MegaByte?

In the binary definition of the megabyte as 2²⁰ bytes 8.3886 megabits equal 1 megabyte. Using the decimal definition, adopted by the International System of Units (SI) in which a megabyte is 10⁶ bytes exactly 8 megabits equal one megabyte.

While both definitions use 8-bit bytes, both use the same term - megabyte, and same symbol - MB, to describe different quantities of bytes. There is no wrong or right, though the binary definition is more widespread, while the decimal one is adopted by more organizations like the IEE, IEC, NIST, ISO. Make sure you know which definition of the megabyte you need to use in your particular situation, and simply flip the SI switch to the right position in our MB to mbit converter above.

    Difference between MB and Mbit

The major difference is in the amount of information (data) each unit represents, with the megabyte representing significantly more data (~8 times more) than the megabit, depending on the definition of the MB you use. The second difference is in application: where MB are mostly used when talking about data stored on a drive or in computer memory, the mbit is used to describe bandwidth - the capacity of a connection to transfer a given amount of data in a given slice of time. It is wrongly called "internet speed" in common language.

    How to convert MegaBytes to MegaBits

To convert from megabytes to megabits under the SI convention you simply multiply by 8. In the binary convention you multiply by 8.388608. Both operations are not easy to do in your mind, so having a converter handy is recommended, especially if more than one calculation is needed.

An alternative calculation route is to convert one of the metrics to bits, for example the megabits, and then, using your chosen MB convention, to convert the bits to MBs. More examples and a conversion table are below for your convenience.

MB to Mbits conversion example

Sample task: convert 32 megabytes to megabits (binary, also MiB to Mbits). Solution:

Formula:
MB * 8.388608 = Mbits
Calculation:
32 MB * 8.3886 = 268.435456 Mbits
End result:
32 MB is equal to 268.435456 Mbits

Sample task: convert 32 megabytes to megabits (SI). Solution:

Formula:
MB * 8 = Mbits
Calculation:
32 MB * 8 = 256 Mbits
End result:
32 MB is equal to 256 Mbits

    MB to Mbit conversion table