IOPS ↔ MB/s ↔ GB/day converter
Convert storage IOPS to throughput and daily data volume at any block size — the missing step when a spec sheet quotes IOPS but your sizing is in MB/s (or vice versa).
Throughput = IOPS × block size. A 4 KiB block at 1,000 IOPS = ~3.9 MiB/s; the same MB/s at 64 KiB blocks is far fewer IOPS. Always convert at the block size your workload actually uses.
IOPS and MB/s are two views of the same thing
Random workloads (databases, virtualisation) are IOPS-bound — limited by how many small operations the storage can do per second. Sequential workloads (backups, media) are throughput-bound — limited by MB/s. The bridge between them is the block size: throughput = IOPS × block size. A device doing 50,000 IOPS at 4 KiB moves ~195 MiB/s; at 64 KiB the same MB/s would be far fewer IOPS.
That is why our RAID calculator reports IOPS and throughput separately — and why a RAIDZ vdev (≈ one drive's IOPS) can still stream good sequential MB/s. Convert at the block size your workload really uses.
Common questions
How do I convert IOPS to MB/s?
Multiply IOPS by the block size: throughput = IOPS × block size. For example, 1,000 IOPS at a 4 KiB block is about 3.9 MiB/s (4 MB/s decimal). The conversion is meaningless without a block size, because the same IOPS moves very different amounts of data at 4 KiB vs 64 KiB.
What block size should I use?
Use the block size your workload actually issues: ~4–8 KiB for databases and virtualisation (random, IOPS-bound), 64 KiB–1 MiB for backups, media and sequential transfers (throughput-bound). Many storage benchmarks default to 4 KiB random for IOPS and larger blocks for MB/s.
What is the difference between MiB/s and MB/s?
MiB/s is binary (1 MiB = 2²⁰ = 1,048,576 bytes); MB/s is decimal (1 MB = 10⁶ bytes). MiB/s is the smaller-looking number for the same data rate. We show both so you can match whatever your tool reports.