Common converters
Data Storage Converter
Convert bits, bytes and both decimal (kB) and binary (KiB) prefixes.
Result
1000 MB
1 GB = 1000 MB
Decimal prefixes (kB, MB, GB) count in powers of 1000. Binary prefixes (KiB, MiB, GiB) count in powers of 1024.
All units for this value
| Unit | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Bit | b | 8000000000 |
| Kilobit (10³ bits) | kb | 8000000 |
| Megabit (10⁶ bits) | Mb | 8000 |
| Gigabit (10⁹ bits) | Gb | 8 |
| Terabit (10¹² bits) | Tb | 0.008 |
| Kibibit (1024 bits) | Kib | 7812500 |
| Mebibit | Mib | 7629.39 |
| Gibibit | Gib | 7.45058 |
| Nibble (4 bits) | nibble | 2000000000 |
| Byte (8 bits) | B | 1000000000 |
| Kilobyte (10³ bytes) | kB | 1000000 |
| Megabyte (10⁶ bytes) | MB | 1000 |
| Gigabyte (10⁹ bytes) | GB | 1 |
| Terabyte (10¹² bytes) | TB | 0.001 |
| Petabyte (10¹⁵ bytes) | PB | 0.000001 |
| Kibibyte (1024 bytes) | KiB | 976563 |
| Mebibyte | MiB | 953.674 |
| Gibibyte | GiB | 0.931323 |
| Tebibyte | TiB | 0.000909495 |
| Pebibyte | PiB | 8.88178e-7 |
About this calculator
Digital storage is measured in bits and bytes, but confusingly, prefixes like kilo, mega, and giga can mean either a round power of ten or a power of two depending on convention. This converter handles both systems so you can translate between bits, bytes, decimal sizes like GB, and binary sizes like GiB accurately.
How it works in plain English
The smallest unit here is the bit, and eight bits make one byte, which is the base unit for almost every storage prefix. From there, two separate numbering systems take over. The decimal system, used for kB, MB, GB, and TB, scales by exactly 1000 at each step, matching how metric prefixes work everywhere else in measurement. The binary system, used for KiB, MiB, GiB, and TiB, scales by exactly 1024 at each step, because computer memory is naturally organized in powers of two.
This distinction matters because a storage device advertised using decimal gigabytes will report a smaller number when an operating system measures it in binary units instead, even though no data is missing. For example, a drive labeled '1 TB' contains exactly 1,000,000,000,000 bytes, but an operating system that reports sizes in gibibytes will show roughly 931 GiB, because dividing that same byte count by 1024 three times yields a smaller-looking figure than dividing by 1000 three times.
Select bits, bytes, or any decimal or binary prefix as your from and to units, enter a value, and the converted amount appears immediately alongside a full table of every unit at once. A precision control adjusts the number of decimal places, and a swap button reverses the two chosen units in a single click.
The formula
- 1 byte = 8 bits
- Decimal: 1 kB = 1,000 bytes; 1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes; 1 GB = 10^9 bytes; 1 TB = 10^12 bytes
- Binary: 1 KiB = 1,024 bytes; 1 MiB = 1,048,576 bytes; 1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes; 1 TiB = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes
- value_in_target = value_in_source × (source bytes) ÷ (target bytes)
Worked example
Suppose a manufacturer lists a drive as 1 TB and you want to know how that appears in GiB, the unit many operating systems use. First, 1 TB equals 1,000,000,000,000 bytes exactly, using the decimal definition. Then divide by the number of bytes in one GiB, 1,073,741,824, to get 1,000,000,000,000 ÷ 1,073,741,824 ≈ 931.32 GiB.
Entering 1 into the TB field with GiB selected as the target returns approximately 931.32 GiB immediately, matching the smaller number often seen on a computer's storage screen. The full unit table also shows the same 1 TB equals 1000 GB, 8,000,000,000,000 bits, and roughly 953,674 MiB, all from one entered figure.
Decimal vs binary storage prefixes
| Unit | Bytes |
|---|---|
| 1 bit | 0.125 |
| 1 byte | 1 |
| 1 kB (decimal) | 1,000 |
| 1 KiB (binary) | 1,024 |
| 1 MB (decimal) | 1,000,000 |
| 1 MiB (binary) | 1,048,576 |
| 1 GB (decimal) | 1,000,000,000 |
| 1 GiB (binary) | 1,073,741,824 |
| 1 TB (decimal) | 1,000,000,000,000 |
| 1 TiB (binary) | 1,099,511,627,776 |
IEC and SI prefix definitions
Frequently asked questions
Why does a 1 TB drive show up as only about 931 GB on my computer?
The drive is measured correctly using the decimal definition, where 1 TB equals exactly one trillion bytes. However, many operating systems report storage using binary gibibytes, which are larger units than decimal gigabytes because they're based on dividing by 1024 rather than 1000. No storage capacity is missing; it's simply displayed using a different counting convention.
What is the actual difference between a kilobyte and a kibibyte?
A kilobyte (kB) equals exactly 1,000 bytes under the decimal convention used for marketing and file sizes on many systems. A kibibyte (KiB) equals exactly 1,024 bytes under the binary convention that reflects how computer memory is organized internally. They're close in size but not identical, and mixing them up causes the discrepancies people notice on storage devices.
Which prefix system should I use for everyday file sizes?
It depends on what a given tool or device already uses; the converter itself doesn't change any files, it only translates numbers between systems. Many operating systems today label sizes with decimal names like MB or GB but calculate them using binary math, so checking against this table helps clarify which figure you're actually seeing.
How many bits are in a byte, and why does it matter?
There are exactly 8 bits in a byte, a convention used almost universally in computing. This matters because network speeds are often quoted in bits per second while file sizes are quoted in bytes, so converting between the two requires dividing or multiplying by 8, which this converter does automatically.
Can I convert directly between bits and gigabytes?
Yes. Choose bits as the from unit and GB or GiB as the to unit, and the converter applies the byte-to-bit factor and the chosen prefix scale in one step. There's no need to convert manually through bytes first, since the tool handles every unit pair directly.
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