Data Storage Converter (bits, bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB, PB)
Convert between all common data storage units — from bits and bytes up to petabytes — in one click. Supports both decimal units (kB, MB, GB, TB, PB) and binary units (KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB, PiB).
Universal data storage converter
Conversions are performed with exact factors: decimal prefixes use powers of 10 (kB = 10³ bytes, MB = 10⁶ bytes), while binary prefixes use powers of 2 (KiB = 2¹⁰ bytes, MiB = 2²⁰ bytes, etc.). 1 byte is always exactly 8 bits.
Converted values
| Unit | Symbol | Value | Notes |
|---|
How this data storage converter works
This tool converts your input into a common internal unit (bytes) and then back out to all the supported units: bits, bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, petabytes, and their binary counterparts (KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB, PiB).
The core relationship is:
\[ 1\ \text{byte} = 8\ \text{bits} \]
Decimal (SI) data storage units
These are based on powers of 10 and are common in networking and storage marketing:
- 1 kilobyte (kB) = \(10^3\) bytes = 1,000 bytes
- 1 megabyte (MB) = \(10^6\) bytes = 1,000,000 bytes
- 1 gigabyte (GB) = \(10^9\) bytes = 1,000,000,000 bytes
- 1 terabyte (TB) = \(10^{12}\) bytes = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes
- 1 petabyte (PB) = \(10^{15}\) bytes = 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes
Binary (IEC) data storage units
These are based on powers of 2 and are often used by operating systems:
- 1 kibibyte (KiB) = \(2^{10}\) bytes = 1,024 bytes
- 1 mebibyte (MiB) = \(2^{20}\) bytes = 1,048,576 bytes
- 1 gibibyte (GiB) = \(2^{30}\) bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes
- 1 tebibyte (TiB) = \(2^{40}\) bytes
- 1 pebibyte (PiB) = \(2^{50}\) bytes
Examples
-
Example 1 – 16 GB to bytes (decimal)
\[ 16\ \text{GB} = 16 \times 10^9\ \text{bytes} = 16,000,000,000\ \text{bytes} \] -
Example 2 – 16 GiB to bytes (binary)
\[ 16\ \text{GiB} = 16 \times 2^{30}\ \text{bytes} = 17,179,869,184\ \text{bytes} \] -
Example 3 – 1 TB to GB
\[ 1\ \text{TB} = 1,000\ \text{GB} \] (decimal prefixes)
Why disk sizes look smaller in your operating system
Most storage vendors advertise capacity using decimal units (1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes), while many operating systems display sizes using binary units (1 TiB = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes). As a result, a “1 TB” drive may show up as about “931 GiB” in your OS:
\[ \text{GiB} = \frac{1{,}000{,}000{,}000{,}000}{2^{30}} \approx 931.32\ \text{GiB} \]
Common use cases
- Comparing storage advertised by vendors with what your OS reports.
- Planning disk space for backups, databases, or virtual machines.
- Estimating how many photos, videos, or files can fit on a drive.
- Converting between bits and bytes in networking and bandwidth calculations.
FAQ: Data storage conversions
Should I use GB or GiB in documentation?
For technical documentation, it is safer to use the binary IEC units (GiB, TiB) when you refer to powers of 2, and decimal SI units (GB, TB) when you explicitly mean powers of 10. Always explain which convention you are using.
Are network speeds measured in bits or bytes?
Network speeds are almost always expressed in bits per second (b/s), typically with prefixes such as Mb/s or Gb/s. Storage capacity, on the other hand, is almost always expressed in bytes. This is why dividing a link speed by 8 gives a rough upper bound of how many bytes per second you can transfer.
Does compression change these conversions?
No. The conversion between bits, bytes, and their multiples is purely mathematical and independent of compression. Compression only changes how much information you can store in a given number of bytes, not the unit relationships.