What is Mbps and how much do you need?

Mbps stands for megabits per second, which is a way to measure internet speed. It tells you how fast data moves from the internet to your device, like a phone, computer, or TV, with a higher Mbps meaning a faster internet connection for your home.  

Different online activities need different amounts of Mbps, so it’s important to know your speed so you can do everything you want to do online without issues. Watching a YouTube video in HD, for example, might require 5 Mbps, but streaming in 4K needs around 25 Mbps.  

 And if multiple people are using the internet at the same time, you’ll need a higher Mbps to keep everyone happy. That’s why internet plans with higher Mbps are better for larger households or heavy internet users. 

Mbps is used to measure your download and upload speed, two metrics that together determine how fast your broadband is:   

• Download speed is how fast data comes from the internet to your device, which affects things like streaming, browsing, and downloading files.  

• Upload speed is how fast data is sent from your device to the internet, which is important for video calls, online gaming, and uploading files to the cloud. 

Most internet providers offer higher download speeds than upload speeds because people usually download more than they upload.  

For example, when you stream a movie on Netflix or YouTube, your device is downloading data continuously to play the video smoothly. This requires a good download speed (usually around 5Mbps), but very little upload speed since you are not sending much data back.  

But if you’re video calling a colleague, you’ll need some upload speed to send your video and audio back to the internet so your colleague can receive it. You’ll still only need around 1-5 Mbps upload though, which most basic broadband packages should have.  

The Mbps you have with your broadband package can affect what it can the used for. The higher the mbps, the the more internet-intensive activities you'll be able to do without your internet slowing down. So if you want superfast broadband for all the family, you'll want a broadband package with a high Mbps of 100 mbps or more.

Here's a comparison of our speeds in Mbps and the different activities they're good for:

People often confuse Mbps (megabits per second) with MBps (megabytes per second), but they are different units that measure data in different ways. The difference is that 1 megabyte (MB) equals 8 megabits (Mb).  

This means that internet speeds advertised in Mbps (megabits per second) are actually eight times smaller when converted to MBps (megabytes per second). So, if you're downloading a file and your internet speed is 100 Mbps, your actual download speed is about 12.5 MB per second.  

This is important to understand when downloading files because most web browsers and apps display download speeds in MBps, while most broadband providers advertise speeds in Mbps. 

Testing your internet speed is easy! If you’re curious about your speed, use our helpful broadband speed checker to check both your download and upload speed in Mbps.  

Our tool also tells you your speed factors that can impact your online experience, like bandwidth, latency and jitter by mimicking your online activities and testing how long it takes. 

It really depends on what you use the internet for. Different online activities require different amounts of Mbps, and if multiple people in your home are online at the same time, you’ll need more Mbps to avoid slow connections and buffering. 

For basic internet use, 10–25 Mbps is usually enough, but for streaming, gaming, and working from home, you’ll want broadband speeds of 200-1000 Mbps+, depending on how many people use the internet. 

Here are some of the most common broadband uses with their recommended download and upload speeds for a single device:  

In the UK, fibre broadband is considered the fastest option available, offering speeds ranging from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps) or more. These high speeds make it easier to download large files, play online games with minimal lag, and stream high-definition content smoothly. 

If you have over 100 Mbps speed, you are in the fast broadband category, and you’ll likely enjoy a reliable, high-quality internet experience for most activities, depending on how many people you have at home.  

For someone looking for super-fast broadband, speeds over 500 Mbps or 1 Gbps are excellent, especially for larger households or gamers looking for the fastest broadband speeds they can get.  

1 Mbps (megabit per second) is equal to 1,000 Kbps (kilobits per second), "Mega" means one million bits, and "kilo" means one thousand bits, so if your internet speed is 1,000 Kbps, it’s the same as 1 Mbps. Most modern connections are measured in Mbps rather than Kbps as even the slowest of connections today are over 1 Mbps.  

1 gigabit (Gb) is equal to 1,000 megabits (Mb). So, if you have an internet speed of 1 Gbps, it means your connection can transfer 1,000 megabits per second. This is considered very fast for home internet, especially for activities like streaming 4K videos, gaming, and downloading large files.  

Got a need for speed? With Virgin Media, you can get average speeds of up to 1130 Mbps with our superfast gibibit broadband. Be sure to check out all our broadband deals and enter your postcode to see what’s available in your area.