How to use the data storage converter
- Enter the amount you want to convert in the value box.
- Choose the unit you are starting from and the unit you want to convert to.
- Press Convert. The result appears immediately.
- The "In bytes" line shows the exact byte count behind your number, and the rate line shows how the two units relate.
The two numbering systems
Data storage has two rival measurement systems. The decimal system, used by hard-drive makers, counts in powers of 1000 — a kilobyte is 1000 bytes, a megabyte is 1,000,000 bytes. The binary system, used by memory chips and operating systems, counts in powers of 1024 — a kibibyte is 1024 bytes, a mebibyte is 1,048,576 bytes.
The difference matters. A 1 TB drive is 1,000,000,000,000 bytes, which a computer reports as roughly 931 GiB. The drive is not missing space — the two systems are simply measuring the same bytes with different-sized units.
Bytes per unit
| Unit | Bytes |
|---|---|
| Bit | 0.125 |
| Byte (B) | 1 |
| Kilobyte (KB) | 1,000 |
| Megabyte (MB) | 1,000,000 |
| Gigabyte (GB) | 1,000,000,000 |
| Terabyte (TB) | 1,000,000,000,000 |
| Kibibyte (KiB) | 1,024 |
| Mebibyte (MiB) | 1,048,576 |
| Gibibyte (GiB) | 1,073,741,824 |
| Tebibyte (TiB) | 1,099,511,627,776 |
Choosing the right unit
Pick a unit that keeps your numbers readable. A few hundred bytes are best written in bytes or kilobytes, a few million in megabytes, and a few billion in gigabytes. If you are working with memory, networking or the file sizes an operating system reports, the binary units are the accurate choice; if you are reading a drive specification or a data plan, the decimal units are what the vendor means. Converting between the two here removes the guesswork either way.
Bits versus bytes
A byte is eight bits. Network speeds are usually quoted in bits per second, while file sizes and storage are quoted in bytes, which is why a 100 Mbps internet connection downloads at roughly 12.5 megabytes per second in practice. This converter handles both, so you can move freely between bits and any byte-based unit.