Interfaces and speeds
Every interface on one axis, in gigabits per second. Pick groups, or two interfaces to compare. The numbers are theoretical maximums from the specifications – real-world transfers are always lower.
Checked:
USB and Thunderbolt
- USB 2.0 0.48 Gb/s 480 Mb/s · USB-IF
- USB 5Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 1) 5 Gb/s 5 Gb/s · USB-IF
- USB 10Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2) 10 Gb/s 10 Gb/s · USB-IF
- USB 20Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2×2) 20 Gb/s 20 Gb/s, USB-C only · USB-IF
- USB4 40Gbps 40 Gb/s 40 Gb/s · USB-IF
- USB4 v2.0 80Gbps 80 Gb/s 80 Gb/s · USB Promoter Group
- Thunderbolt 4 40 Gb/s 40 Gb/s (half of TB5, according to Intel) · Intel
- Thunderbolt 5 80 Gb/s 80 Gb/s bidirectional, Bandwidth Boost 120 Gb/s for video · Intel
Storage (SATA, NVMe)
- SATA III (6Gb/s) 6 Gb/s 6 Gb/s, 8b/10b encoding · SATA-IO
- PCIe 3.0 ×4 (NVMe) 31.5 Gb/s 8 GT/s × 4 × 128/130 ≈ 31.5 Gb/s ≈ 3.9 GB/s · calculated from PCI-SIG
- PCIe 4.0 ×4 (NVMe) 63 Gb/s 16 GT/s × 4 × 128/130 ≈ 63 Gb/s ≈ 7.9 GB/s · calculated from PCI-SIG
- PCIe 5.0 ×4 (NVMe) 126 Gb/s 32 GT/s × 4 × 128/130 ≈ 126 Gb/s ≈ 15.8 GB/s · calculated from PCI-SIG
Video (HDMI, DisplayPort)
- HDMI 2.0 18 Gb/s 18 Gb/s · HDMI Forum
- HDMI 2.1 48 Gb/s 48 Gb/s (Ultra High Speed cable) · HDMI LA
- HDMI 2.2 96 Gb/s 96 Gb/s (Ultra96 cable) · HDMI Forum
- DisplayPort 1.4 32.4 Gb/s 4 × 8.1 Gb/s = 32.4 Gb/s · VESA
- DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR10 40 Gb/s 4 × 10 Gb/s, DP40 cable · VESA
- DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR20 80 Gb/s 4 × 20 Gb/s, DP80 cable · VESA
How it calculates
The values come from specifications or official announcements: USB-IF and USB Promoter Group (USB 2.0 to USB4 v2.0), Intel (Thunderbolt 5 and Thunderbolt 4 derived from it), SATA-IO (SATA 6 Gb/s), PCI-SIG (PCIe lane rates), HDMI Forum and HDMI LA (HDMI 2.0, 2.1, 2.2), VESA (DisplayPort 1.4 and 2.1).
For PCIe we calculated the speed for a ×4 drive: number of lanes × lane rate in GT/s × 128/130 (the encoding of PCIe 3.0 to 5.0). For PCIe 5.0, PCI-SIG quotes “up to 128 GB/s at ×16” – that is the total of both directions. In one direction and at ×4 that gives roughly 15.8 GB/s, which corresponds to 126 Gb/s on our axis.
Bytes and bits: 1 byte = 8 bits. So 10 Gb/s is at most 1.25 GB/s – and less once overhead is subtracted.
Everything is worked out in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere and nothing is saved, not even in browser storage.
Notes and sources
- USB-IF: USB 3.2 Specification – 5, 10 and 20 Gb/s speeds
- USB-IF: USB4 Specification
- USB Promoter Group: USB4 Version 2.0 – announcement (up to 80 Gb/s)
- Intel: Intel Introduces Thunderbolt 5 (80 Gb/s, Bandwidth Boost 120 Gb/s)
- SATA-IO: Fast Just Got Faster: SATA 6Gb/s (white paper)
- PCI-SIG (press release): PCI Express 5.0 – 32 GT/s, up to 128 GB/s at ×16
- PCI-SIG: PCI Express 6.0 Specification
- HDMI Forum: HDMI Forum Releases Version 2.0 (up to 18 Gb/s)
- HDMI Licensing Administrator: Ultra96 and Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable (96 and 48 Gb/s)
- audioXpress (report on HDMI 2.2): HDMI Forum Releases HDMI Version 2.2
- VESA: VESA Publishes DisplayPort Standard Version 1.4
- VESA: VESA Releases DisplayPort 2.1 Specification (UHBR10/UHBR20, DP40/DP80 cables)
We opened every link above and compared the figures on 12 October 2026. The pages belong to their publishers and can change after that date.