Mbps vs. Gbps: Do You Need Gigabit Internet?

Internet providers would simply love for you to sign up for their fastest plan available. But let’s get real here, folks: You don’t need Gigabit internet if all you do is check email and post pictures of your latest culinary efforts on social media. Heck, you definitely don’t need it in a household of five. Gigabit internet and faster is best for running a public web server, transferring large files to and from a remote network, or livestreaming gameplay to Twitch.

So, what’s the difference between megabits and gigabits? Is one internet speed faster than the other? We’ll break down the technical details as simply as possible so you can determine if you need gigabit internet speeds or a slower connection.

Mbps vs. Gbps: What’s the difference?

The difference between megabits per second (Mbps) and gigabits per second (Gbps) is the number of bits you can send and receive each second.

In the days of dial-up, modem speeds were usually measured in kilobits per second (Kbps), like 28.8k and 56k. Modern-day broadband speeds are now measured in Mbps or Gbps. Here’s how the bits stack up:

• 1,000 bits = 1 kilobit
• 1,000 kilobits = 1 megabit (or 1 million bits)
• 1,000 megabits = 1 gigabit (or 1 billion bits)

Internet speed in Mbps or Gbps doesn’t mean data travels at specific speeds like cars zooming down a freeway—all data on the same type of connection travels at the same speed. Internet speed is more about the amount of data sent along the line in any given second. The higher the bit count per second, the faster you can download a file.

Look at it this way. Imagine your internet connection is a faucet, and your provider cranks down on the knob. The water (data) trickles in a thin stream (1Mbps) into your sink. When your sink finally fills, you swear an entire decade has passed. That’s your slow-as-snails internet connection.

Now your provider has turned up the knob, and your data flows like a waterfall (1,000Mbps). You’re using the same faucet, only the sink fills up faster with more water (data) going in, so you’ve only aged a few seconds versus ten long, agonizing years. That translates to a fast internet connection.

Do you need gigabit internet speeds?

Your need for gigabit internet speeds squarely depends on what you do online and how many devices you have accessing the internet at one time.

For now, Gigabit internet is probably overkill for most homes because the chances of all five family members streaming Netflix in 4K to their devices simultaneously—which adds up to only 125Mbps anyway—is rare at best. You definitely don’t need Gigabit internet if all you do is check email and browse the internet.

If anything, Gigabit internet is nice to have if you need to download large files fast, like full digital games and their chunky updates. The type of internet connection matters, too, as livestreamers get more upload bandwidth using fiber than they do with cable internet.

Here are some online activities where you won’t notice much of a difference with Gigabit internet and some where you will.

Streaming video

Streaming high-resolution video is one of the most bandwidth-intensive things you can do online. If you have people streaming on multiple devices in your home, the speed requirements can add up fast. Take a look:

To help, video services like Netflix and Hulu have a lot of tricks for keeping your viewing experience smooth, such as preloading (buffering) video in the background and lowering the video quality if your connection can’t handle the load. But even Netflix can’t help much if too many people try to stream at the same time.

Theoretically, Gigabit internet has enough bandwidth for 20 people to stream 4K content at the same time—and use only half of the available bandwidth. This is why Gigabit internet is overkill for most homes until 8K content streaming becomes the norm.

If you want to know the nitty-gritty details of speed requirements for video services, see how much speed you need to stream video.

Video chat

Video chat requires a decent amount of speed, just like streaming 4K video. The big difference is that while Netflix needs a fast download speed, video chat needs both its upload and download speeds to be fast. This is where the type of connection becomes more important.

Gigabit cable internet has enough upload speed for a stable video call, but a Gigabit fiber connection runs at gigabit speeds both ways. This makes it ideal for video chat like Zoom and Skype, as well as livestreaming on sites like Twitch.

If you want to find out more, check out what makes a good download and upload speed.

Gaming online

Gaming online doesn’t require a lot of bandwidth. Speed is still important for having your game play smoothly, but it’s latency, rather than bandwidth, that is most important. The higher your latency, the more lag you will experience when playing. Most gigabit connections (especially fiber) have really low latency—but you can often get the low-latency connection you need for online games without splurging on the fastest plan available.

Streaming games

Game streaming is different from online gaming. Services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and Amazon Luna stream games to your devices from the cloud, similar to how movies and TV shows stream from Netflix and Hulu. However, because games are interactive, you need good download and upload speeds for smooth gameplay.

Xbox Cloud Gaming, for instance, requires a constant download speed of at least 10Mbps on smartphones and 20Mbps on tablets, consoles, and computers. That’s less than what you need to stream Netflix on 4K, but you’ll probably see issues on a 100Mbps connection if other household members are using the internet, too.

To find out more about Gigabit internet, check out the consumer’s guide to internet speed.

Which providers offer Gigabit internet and faster?

“Gigabit” internet plans are 940Mbps or 1,000Mbps, depending on the provider and the hardware they use. Nearly all cable and fiber internet providers offer gigabit speeds.

There’s no official name for speeds between 1,001–1,999Mbps (Intel calls it Gig+), although these speeds are generally associated with multi-gig internet. For now, the fastest cable internet plan you can get today is 1,500Mbps and upload speeds typically reach up to 50Mbps.

The fastest fiber internet plan you can get is 10,000Mbps, but some major internet providers like Google Fiber and Optimum only top out at 8,000Mbps for now—AT&T at 5,000Mbps. Fiber connections generally have identical download and upload speeds, although we’ve seen a few instances where providers are still working to match their upload speeds with their downloads.

Bits vs. Bytes: What’s the difference?

Although internet speed is generally measured in bits per second, you might also see terms like “megabytes” and “gigabytes.” Bits and bytes are both units of data, but they’re used in different circumstances.

• 1 bit = a single unit of data that is either a “1” or a “0”
• 1 byte = 8 bits

The term “bit” is typically associated with hardware and software. For instance, a 64-bit processor can handle a single data unit containing 64 bits. The term “byte” is typically associated with file size and storage because 100GB is easier to remember and shorter to write than 800,000Mb.

The bottom line is:

• Internet speed is measured in bits: megabits (Mb) and gigabits (Gb)
• Storage and file size are measured in bytes: megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB).

Note the use of the lower-case “b” for speed and the upper-case “B” for size.

If you want to know more, check out our article on the difference between bits and bytes.

How to convert between Mbps and Gbps

Because data rates are metric, converting between data rates is pretty easy. To move from one metric prefix to the next, you multiply or divide by 1,000. In other words, you just have to add or remove three zeros at the end of the number (or shift the decimal point by three places).

For example, to find how fast a 1,200Mbps internet connection is in kbps, you would multiply by 1,000:

1,200 × 1,000 = 1,200,000kbps

To convert this same speed to gigabits per second, you would divide by 1,000:

1,200 ÷ 1,000 = 1.2Gbps

You don’t normally have to convert between bits and bytes (unless you’re trying to manually estimate how long a download would take), but to do so, just multiply the number of bytes by eight or divide the number of bytes by eight.

150MB × 8 = 1,200Mb

1,200Mb ÷ 8 = 150MB

The verdict: Gigabit internet is overkill for most homes

You don’t need a gigabit connection if all you do is surf the internet, check your email, and stream low-quality music. Gigabit plans aren’t exactly cheap, so there’s no need for the added expense if you’ll never utilize the boost in speed.

Consider your online activities before taking the gigabit plunge. Livestreaming and lossless audio streaming require a wider data pipeline than watching cat videos on YouTube. Knowing the difference between megabits and gigabits is a great tool for gauging what you need against all the hype surrounding gigabit connectivity—now that you know, you can pay for gigabit internet only if you truly need it.

Related content

• Cable vs. Fiber: Which Internet Type Is Right for You?
• Ethernet vs. Wi-Fi: Is It Really Better to Go Wireless?
• Is My Wi-Fi Slow Because of My Router or My ISP?
• What Is a Good Download and Upload Speed?
• How to Choose an Internet Service Provider

FAQ about Gigabit internet