This tool calculates the time it takes to transfer data across a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface.
- Enter the amount of data to be transferred (GB/MB/kB)
- Select the type of USB interface
Example Calculation
To transfer 1 Terabyte of data it takes:
- 61 days, 17 hours, 28 minutes, and 53 seconds over USB 1
- 4 hours, 37 minutes, and 47 seconds over USB 2
- 26 minutes, and 40 seconds over USB 3
- 3 minutes, and 20 seconds over USB 4
Background
USB transfer speeds vary depending on the USB version and the types of devices connected. Here is an overview of the common USB standards and their maximum theoretical transfer speeds:
- USB 1.0:
- Low Speed: 1.5 Mbps (Megabits per second)
- Full Speed: 12 Mbps
- USB 2.0 (High Speed):
- Maximum transfer speed: 480 Mbps
- USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed USB):
- Maximum transfer speed: 5 Gbps (Gigabits per second)
- USB 3.1 (SuperSpeed+):
- Gen 1: Up to 5 Gbps
- Gen 2: Up to 10 Gbps
- USB 3.2:
- Gen 1×1: Up to 5 Gbps
- Gen 2×1: Up to 10 Gbps
- Gen 2×2: Up to 20 Gbps
- USB4:
- Version 1: Supports transfer speeds up to 40 Gbps with compatible devices. It’s important to note that USB4 also incorporates Thunderbolt 3 technology, offering improved data transfer rates and compatibility with Thunderbolt 3 devices.
The actual data transfer speed can be lower than these maximum theoretical values due to several factors, including the type of device connected, the quality of cables and connectors, the presence of other data transfers occurring simultaneously, and the performance of the computer and peripheral device’s hardware.
USB standards are backward compatible, but connecting a device using an older USB standard to a port with a newer standard will limit transfer speeds to the slowest standard involved.
USB Speed Table
| USB Interface | Speed or Bandwidth |
|---|---|
| USB 1 | 1.5 Mbps |
| USB 1.1 | 12 Mbps |
| USB 2 | 480 Mbps |
| USB 3 | 5 Gbps |
| USB 3.1 | 10 Gbps |
| USB 3.2 | 20 Gbps |
| USB 4 | 40 Gbps |
| USB 4 v2 | 80 Gbps |
- Mbps = Megabit per second
- Gbps = Gigabit per second
Related Converters
- Mbps to Gbps
- Mbps to kbps
- Mbps to bps
- Megabit per second to Megabyte per second
- Gbps to Mbps
- Gbps to kbps
- Gbps to bps
- kbps to Mbps
Related Calculators
- Network transfer speed
- PCIe Bandwidth
- Data Transfer Rate
- File Transfer time