Planning bandwidth for real users
Use a peak factor when demand is bursty, such as video calls starting at the top of the hour or many users syncing files at once. Add headroom so normal variation does not immediately turn into congestion.
Example
With 25 concurrent users at 4 Mbps each, baseline demand is 100 Mbps. A 1.5 peak factor raises that to 150 Mbps, and 25% headroom brings the planning estimate to 187.5 Mbps.
Common mistakes
Do not size bandwidth only from average use if users often stream, video call, upload files or run backups at the same time. Upload bandwidth can be the limiting factor even when download speed looks high.
Limitations
This calculator does not model Wi-Fi coverage, router capacity, latency, packet loss, QoS rules, cloud service throttling or ISP congestion.
Last reviewed: 2026-05-17