Skip to content

Data Storage Converter

Convert between bits, bytes, decimal units (KB, MB, GB) and binary units (KiB, MiB, GiB).

Result

How to Use

  1. Enter a value and choose the unit you're converting from.
  2. Choose the unit you want to convert to — decimal units (kB, MB, GB...) and binary units (KiB, MiB, GiB...) are listed separately so you never mix them up by accident.
  3. The result updates instantly as you type — there's no Convert button to press.
  4. Use the swap button to reverse the conversion direction.

Formula

value_in_target_unit = value × (from_unit_to_bytes ÷ to_unit_to_bytes). Decimal units scale by powers of 1000; binary units scale by powers of 1024. Every unit converts through bytes as the common base.

Worked Example

Convert an "8 GB" RAM stick's decimal capacity to binary GiB (what an operating system typically reports).

  1. 8 GB = 8 × 1,000,000,000 bytes = 8,000,000,000 bytes.
  2. 1 GiB = 1,024³ bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes.
  3. 8,000,000,000 ÷ 1,073,741,824 ≈ 7.4506 GiB.

Result: 7.4506 GiB

Conversion Table

Unit Symbol
Bits b
Bytes B
Kilobytes (decimal, 1000-based) kB
Megabytes (decimal, 1000-based) MB
Gigabytes (decimal, 1000-based) GB
Terabytes (decimal, 1000-based) TB
Petabytes (decimal, 1000-based) PB
Kibibytes (binary, 1024-based) KiB
Mebibytes (binary, 1024-based) MiB
Gibibytes (binary, 1024-based) GiB
Tebibytes (binary, 1024-based) TiB
Pebibytes (binary, 1024-based) PiB

About This Tool

What this tool does

Converts a data size between bits, bytes, the SI decimal scale (kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte, petabyte — each 1000× the last), and the IEC binary scale (kibibyte, mebibyte, gibibyte, tebibyte, pebibyte — each 1024× the last).

When to use it

Use it whenever a decimal-labeled spec (like a drive advertised in decimal GB) needs to be compared with a binary-reported value (like an operating system showing GiB but often still labeling it "GB") — or any other time bits, bytes, or a size prefix need converting.

What the result means

The result is the equivalent size in the target unit. Because decimal (1000-based) and binary (1024-based) prefixes grow apart at larger sizes, a decimal GB and a binary GiB of the "same" data are never quite the same number — that gap is the entire reason storage sizes sometimes look smaller once an OS reports them.

Assumptions & limitations

Decimal units (kB, MB, GB, TB, PB) follow the SI standard exactly: each is 1000× the previous. Binary units (KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB, PiB) follow the IEC 80000-13 standard exactly: each is 1024× the previous. This tool never uses "KB" to mean 1024 bytes — that historical ambiguity (still common in some software) is exactly what the separate KiB unit exists to resolve.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between a decimal GB and a binary GiB?
A decimal gigabyte (GB) is exactly 1,000,000,000 bytes. A binary gibibyte (GiB) is exactly 1,073,741,824 bytes (1024³). A GiB is about 7.4% larger than a GB — which is why an "8 GB" drive shows up as roughly "7.45 GiB" in an operating system that reports binary sizes but still labels them "GB."
Why do drives seem smaller than advertised once I plug them in?
Storage manufacturers advertise capacity in decimal units (GB = 1000³ bytes), which is also the correct SI usage. Many operating systems calculate the displayed size in binary units (technically GiB = 1024³ bytes) but still print the label "GB" — so the same drive reports a smaller number without actually losing any capacity.
How many bits are in a byte?
8 bits make one byte, always — that relationship doesn't change between the decimal and binary scales.