Data Storage Unit Converter
Convert between bits, bytes and every storage unit — decimal (KB, MB, GB, TB) and binary (KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB) — instantly, with copy-to-clipboard.
| Unit | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Bit (b) | 8,000,000,000 | |
| Byte (B) | 1,000,000,000 | |
| Kilobyte (kB, 1000) | 1,000,000 | |
| Megabyte (MB, 1000) | 1,000 | |
| Gigabyte (GB, 1000) | 1 | |
| Terabyte (TB, 1000) | 0.001 | |
| Petabyte (PB, 1000) | 0.000001 | |
| Kibibyte (KiB, 1024) | 976,562.5 | |
| Mebibyte (MiB, 1024) | 953.674316 | |
| Gibibyte (GiB, 1024) | 0.931323 | |
| Tebibyte (TiB, 1024) | 0.000909 | |
| Pebibyte (PiB, 1024) | 8.8818e-7 |
Bits vs bytes
A bit is a single 0/1; a byte is 8 bits. Storage (files, disks, RAM) is measured in bytes; network and bus speeds are usually measured in bits — which is why a “100 Mbps” connection downloads at only ~12.5 MB/s. Mixing the two is the single most common data-unit mistake.
Decimal (SI) vs binary (IEC)
There are two parallel families of multiples, and the gap widens at every step:
| Decimal (×1000) | Binary (×1024) | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 kB = 1,000 B | 1 KiB = 1,024 B | 2.4% |
| 1 MB = 10⁶ B | 1 MiB = 1,048,576 B | 4.9% |
| 1 GB = 10⁹ B | 1 GiB ≈ 1.074×10⁹ B | 7.4% |
| 1 TB = 10¹² B | 1 TiB ≈ 1.1×10¹² B | 10.0% |
Why your “1 TB” drive looks smaller
Drive manufacturers advertise in decimal (1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes) because the numbers are bigger. Windows reports capacity in binary but labels it “GB”, so the same drive shows as ≈931 “GB” (really GiB). No space is missing — it's the same byte count shown in two unit systems. macOS and Linux modern tooling use decimal, matching the box.
Quick rules of thumb
- ÷8 to go from bits to bytes (Mbps → MB/s); ×8 the other way.
- RAM is sold in binary (a “16 GB” stick is 16 GiB); storage and bandwidth are decimal.
- For exact work, always state which system you mean — use the unambiguous KiB / MiB / GiB notation when it matters.