5G NR Throughput Estimator

Calculate theoretical and practical throughput for 5G New Radio deployments.

Frequency Band

Channel Configuration

MIMO & Modulation

Frame Configuration

5G NR Speed Reference

Band Type Typical BW Peak DL Practical
Low-band (n28)10-20 MHz~300 Mbps50-150 Mbps
Mid-band (n78)100 MHz~2 Gbps300-1000 Mbps
mmWave (n257)400 MHz~8 Gbps1-4 Gbps

Based on 4x4 MIMO, 256-QAM, TDD 4:1

5G NR Throughput Formula

3GPP Formula (TS 38.306)

Throughput = J * v * Qm * f * Rmax * (NRB * 12 / Tslot) * (1-OH)
J = carriers, v = layers, Qm = mod order, f = scaling, Rmax = code rate, NRB = PRBs

5G NR throughput depends on bandwidth (PRBs), MIMO layers, modulation, coding rate, and frame structure. TDD ratio significantly affects DL vs UL split.

Key Parameters

  • Numerology: SCS determines slot duration and PRB count
  • 256-QAM: 8 bits/symbol for peak rates
  • MIMO: Up to 8 layers DL, 4 layers UL
  • Overhead: 10-25% for control and reference signals