Data Units Converter

Reference

How do data unit conversions work?

Digital storage uses two measurement systems: decimal (SI) and binary (IEC). Decimal units use powers of 1,000: 1 KB = 1,000 bytes, 1 MB = 1,000 KB. Binary units use powers of 1,024: 1 KiB = 1,024 bytes, 1 MiB = 1,024 KiB. This distinction matters — a "500 GB" hard drive (decimal) holds about 465 GiB (binary), which is why your OS may report less space than advertised.

Unit reference

Decimal (SI): 1 KB = 1,000 B, 1 MB = 10⁶ B, 1 GB = 10⁹ B, 1 TB = 10¹² B, 1 PB = 10¹⁵ B — used by storage manufacturers, network speeds, and the SI standard. Binary (IEC): 1 KiB = 1,024 B, 1 MiB = 1,048,576 B, 1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 B, 1 TiB = 1,099,511,627,776 B — used by operating systems, RAM, and the IEC 80000-13 standard. Bit vs Byte: 1 byte = 8 bits. Network speeds are typically in bits (Mbps), storage in bytes (MB).

Common use cases

Storage planning — calculate how many photos, videos, or files fit in a given storage space. Network speeds — convert between Mbps (megabits) and MB/s (megabytes) for download speeds. Cloud storage — compare plans across providers using consistent units. Development — size API payloads, database tables, or file uploads. Hardware — understand why a "1 TB" drive shows as 931 GiB in your OS.

Privacy

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