Packet Overhead Calculator
Measure transmitted bytes and payload efficiency from explicit packet components.
Quantify framing and protocol overhead
Each packet carries useful payload plus bytes used for protocol headers and trailers. This calculator adds the entered components, multiplies by packet count, separates total overhead from payload bytes, and reports payload efficiency as useful bytes divided by all entered transmitted bytes. It accepts explicit sizes instead of assuming one protocol stack or link type.
The defaults use 1400 payload bytes, 40 header bytes, 4 trailer bytes, and 100 packets. That produces 144400 total bytes, 4400 overhead bytes, 1444 bytes per packet, and 96.95 percent payload efficiency. Negative byte values and non-integer or zero packet counts are rejected.
Efficiency depends on what you include
The result includes only components you enter. Preambles, inter-packet gaps, acknowledgments, retransmissions, encryption tags, tunnels, and lower-layer framing may add more bytes or airtime. Calculation occurs entirely in your browser. Define the measurement boundary first, enter every relevant layer exactly for this comparison, and avoid comparing efficiency percentages built from different assumptions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is payload efficiency calculated?
Payload bytes across all packets are divided by total entered bytes, then multiplied by 100.
Are retransmissions included?
Only if you account for them in packet count; the calculator does not observe network traffic.
Should Ethernet preamble and inter-packet gap be entered?
Include them when measuring wire-time efficiency, but omit them when your boundary begins at the network packet.
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