Byte Converter

Type a size in any unit to see it in every other unit at once. The byte converter lists decimal (KB, MB, GB) and binary (KiB, MiB, GiB) values side by side.

Updated
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Decimal (SI, powers of 1,000)

Bytes
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Kilobytes (KB)
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Megabytes (MB)
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Gigabytes (GB)
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Terabytes (TB)
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Petabytes (PB)
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Binary (IEC, powers of 1,024)

Kibibytes (KiB)
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Mebibytes (MiB)
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Gibibytes (GiB)
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Tebibytes (TiB)
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Pebibytes (PiB)
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Bits (1 byte = 8 bits)

Bits
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Kilobits (Kb)
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Megabits (Mb)
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Gigabits (Gb)
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How to use the Byte Converter

  1. Enter a Value. Decimals are allowed.
  2. Pick its Unit: bytes, an SI unit such as MB, a binary unit such as MiB, or a bit unit such as Mb.
  3. Press Convert. The decimal and binary tables fill in, with bit values underneath. Each value has its own copy button.

How it works

The value is first converted to bytes, then from bytes to every other unit.

SI unit      = 10^(3n) bytes
binary unit  = 2^(10n) bytes
bits         = bytes × 8
  • n: the step from bytes. 1 for KB and KiB, 2 for MB and MiB, 3 for GB and GiB, 4 for TB and TiB, 5 for PB and PiB.
  • SI units (KB, MB, GB): powers of 1,000, used by drive makers and macOS
  • Binary units (KiB, MiB, GiB): powers of 1,024, used for RAM and by Windows

The math uses exact decimal arithmetic, so sizes up to 10^18 bytes keep their precision. Results are shown with up to 10 significant digits.

Examples

  • 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes = 0.9313225746 GiB.
  • 500 GiB = 536,870,912,000 bytes = 536.870912 GB.
  • 1 TB = 931.3225746 GiB = 0.9094947018 TiB.

Decimal and binary units side by side

Decimal unitBytesBinary unitBytes
1 KB1,0001 KiB1,024
1 MB1,000,0001 MiB1,048,576
1 GB1,000,000,0001 GiB1,073,741,824
1 TB1,000,000,000,0001 TiB1,099,511,627,776
1 PB1,000,000,000,000,0001 PiB1,125,899,906,842,624

The gap grows with each step: about 2.4% at the kilo level and almost 10% at the tera level. The binary prefixes (kibi, mebi, gibi) were introduced in 1998 to tell the two systems apart. Drive makers and macOS use decimal units. RAM and Windows use binary values, although Windows still labels them KB, MB, and GB.

Limitations

  • Negative values give an error.
  • Fractions of a byte are shown when the input produces them. For example, 1 bit is 0.125 bytes.
  • Values are rounded to 10 significant digits for display.
  • Some programs label binary units as "KB" or "GB". This converter always shows KiB and GiB for binary values.

Frequently asked questions

Is 1 KB 1,000 or 1,024 bytes?

In the SI standard, 1 KB is 1,000 bytes. 1,024 bytes is 1 KiB (kibibyte). Some operating systems still label KiB as "KB", which causes the confusion.

Why does my 1 TB drive show about 931 GB?

The maker counts 1 TB as 10^12 bytes. Windows divides by 1,024³ and shows 931 "GB", which are really GiB.

What is the difference between bits and bytes?

A byte is 8 bits. Storage is usually measured in bytes (MB) and network speed in bits (Mbps).

Often used together with the Byte Converter.

  • Bytes to KB

    Converts bytes to kilobytes (KB) and kibibytes (KiB).

  • Bytes to MB

    Converts bytes to megabytes (MB) and mebibytes (MiB).