Average Throughput
Calculate the average data throughput over a transfer session or time window.
About Average Throughput
Average throughput measures the effective rate of data transfer by dividing the total volume moved by the elapsed time, providing a single number that summarizes performance over a session, test, or reporting window. Unlike instantaneous speed test readings, this figure smooths out momentary fluctuations and is often what matters for judging a completed transfer, backup job, or billing period.
Formula
Average throughput
throughput = total_data_transferred / time_period
- D
- Total data transferred
- t
- Time period
Worked example
With the default values below, Average Throughput returns Average Throughput of 44.44 Mbps. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Total Data Transferredminimum 0 GB
- 10 GB
- Time Periodminimum 0.01 minutes
- 30 minutes
Results
- Average Throughput
- 44.44 Mbps
- Throughput
- 44.44 Mbps
- Throughput
- 5.56 MBps
- Time Period
- 1,800.0 s
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Average throughput
- 3Average Throughput= 44.44 Mbps
- 4Throughput= 44.44 Mbps
- 5Throughput= 5.56 MBps
- 6Time Period= 1,800.0 s
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is throughput different from bandwidth?
Bandwidth is the theoretical maximum capacity of a link (e.g. a 1 Gbps port), while throughput is the actual, measured rate of successful data transfer achieved over a real transfer, which is always equal to or lower than the bandwidth due to overhead, contention, and inefficiency.
Why does my measured throughput look lower than my link speed?
Protocol overhead (TCP/IP headers, retransmissions), application-layer inefficiency, and competing traffic on the same link all reduce the useful data rate below the underlying link's rated bandwidth, which is why measured throughput and rated bandwidth rarely match exactly.
What time period should I use for a meaningful average?
For steady, sustained transfers (large file copies, backups) a short window works fine, but for bursty application traffic, average over a longer period (an hour, a day) to avoid a single spike or lull skewing the result unrepresentatively.