File Transfer Time Calculator
Estimate how long a file transfer will take across internet, Wi-Fi, USB, LAN or external drive connections.
How it works
The File Transfer Time Calculator works the same way as the download time calculator, but is intended for any kind of file transfer — not just internet downloads.
Typical use cases: estimating the time to copy a file over a LAN, time to back up to an external drive, or time to move data over a Wi-Fi link. The math is identical: divide the file size by the throughput in bytes per second.
Common transfer speeds
- USB 2.0: ≈ 30 MB/s real
- USB 3.0: ≈ 300 MB/s real
- USB 3.1 / 3.2 Gen 2: ≈ 800 MB/s real
- Thunderbolt 3/4: up to 2,500 MB/s real
- Gigabit Ethernet: ≈ 110 MB/s real
- Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac): ≈ 30–80 MB/s real
- Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax): ≈ 80–200 MB/s real
Examples
Time to transfer a 10 GB file:
- USB 2.0 (30 MB/s): about 5 minutes 41 seconds
- USB 3.0 (300 MB/s): about 34 seconds
- Gigabit Ethernet (110 MB/s): about 1 minute 33 seconds
- Wi-Fi 5 (50 MB/s): about 3 minutes 25 seconds