Bandwidth For Users Calculator

Work out bandwidth for users instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Bandwidth For Users Calculator

Sizing an access link starts from concurrency, not headcount: 250 users at 30 percent concurrency means 75 active streams. Multiplying by per-user demand gives raw need, and a 20 percent allowance covers TCP and IP headers, retransmissions and short bursts that would otherwise queue. Provisioning for every user simultaneously wastes most of the circuit.

Formula

Bandwidth demand

active users = users x concurrency; required = active x per-user rate x (1 + overhead)

Worked example

With the default values below, Bandwidth For Users Calculator returns Link bandwidth required of 270.0. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Concurrent usersminimum 1: 250
Bandwidth per active userminimum 0.001 Mbps: 3 Mbps
Share active at the same timeaccepts 0.1–100 %: 30 %
Protocol and burst overheadaccepts 0–200 %: 20 %

Results

Link bandwidth required: 270.0 Mbps
Simultaneously active users: 75
Raw application demand: 225.0 Mbps
Average allocation per provisioned user: 1,080 Kbps

Step by step

1Values used
2Bandwidth demand
3Link bandwidth required= 270.0 Mbps
4Simultaneously active users= 75
5Raw application demand= 225.0 Mbps
6Average allocation per provisioned user= 1,080 Kbps

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 1 decimal place, 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

What concurrency should I assume?

It depends on the application. Office productivity work sits around 20 to 40 percent; a call centre with always-on voice approaches 100 percent.

Why add overhead rather than round up?

Because the overhead is proportional. Headers, ACKs and retransmissions scale with traffic, so a percentage allowance tracks demand better than a fixed margin.