Byte / Bit Converter

In binary (base-1024) mode, 1 KB = 1,024 bytes, 1 MB = 1,048,576 bytes, and so on. This is how operating systems and RAM report sizes. In decimal (base-1000) mode, 1 KB = 1,000 bytes, 1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes. Hard drive and SSD manufacturers typically use decimal units, which is why a "500 GB" drive shows less than 500 GB in your OS.

There are exactly 8 bits in 1 byte. A bit is the smallest unit of data (0 or 1), while a byte is a group of 8 bits and is the standard unit for measuring data storage.

Drive manufacturers measure in decimal (1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes), while your operating system measures in binary (1 GB = 1,073,741,824 bytes). A 1 TB drive contains 1,000,000,000,000 bytes, which is about 931 GB in binary. Use the decimal base in this tool to see what the manufacturer advertises and the binary base to see what your OS reports.

In binary mode, divide MB by 1,024. In decimal mode, divide MB by 1,000. For example, 2,048 MB = 2 GB (binary) or 2,048 MB = 2.048 GB (decimal). Just enter the value, select MB as the input unit and read the GB row.

A petabyte (PB) is 1,024 terabytes in binary or 1,000 terabytes in decimal. In binary terms that is roughly 1.125 quadrillion bytes. Petabytes are used to measure very large data sets such as data-centre storage, cloud services and scientific archives.