What's the difference between a bit and a byte?

A byte is 8 bits — bits are the fundamental binary unit, and bytes group 8 of them together as the basic unit most storage is measured in.

Does this use 1000 or 1024 as the conversion factor?

1024 — the binary convention most commonly used in computing for KB, MB, GB, and TB.

What's the technically correct term for 1024 bytes?

A kibibyte (KiB) under the IEC's 1998 standard, which reserves 'kilobyte' (KB) for exactly 1000 bytes — this tool uses the older, still widely used KB-as-1024 convention rather than the newer KiB terminology.

How many bits are in a byte?

8 — the standard, universal grouping used across virtually all modern computing hardware and software.

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Converters

Data Storage Converter

Bits, bytes, KB, MB, GB, and TB, converted together.

🔒 Runs entirely in your browser — nothing here is ever uploaded

About the Data Storage Converter

Converts a data size between bits, bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, and terabytes, using the standard binary (1024-based) convention common in computing.

How to use it

Enter a Value.
Select its current Unit.
Read the equivalent size in every other unit in the readout.

Formula

Each unit is 1024 times the previous one: 1 KB = 1024 bytes, 1 MB = 1024 KB, and so on. 1 byte = 8 bits.

This follows the common computing convention of using KB/MB/GB for binary (1024-based) multiples. The IEC's 1998 standard (Amendment 2 to IEC 60027-2) formally assigns that meaning instead to distinct binary-prefix units — KiB, MiB, GiB — reserving KB/MB/GB for decimal (1000-based) multiples, though the older binary usage this tool follows remains very common in everyday computing.

Worked example

1 GB converts to 1,024 MB, 1,048,576 KB, and roughly 8.59 billion bits.

Recommendations

• Storage manufacturers sometimes use 1000-based units for marketing, while operating systems typically report 1024-based units — why a '1TB' drive often shows as slightly less than 1TB in your OS.
• For everyday file sizes, the gap between 1000- and 1024-based units is small at KB/MB scale but grows more noticeable at TB scale.
• Network speeds are usually quoted in megabits, not megabytes — easy to mix up with file sizes.

Frequently asked questions

Manufacturers typically use decimal (1000-based) units for marketing, while your OS displays binary (1024-based) units — the same physical capacity, reported two different ways.

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Sources

IEC — Prefixes for binary multiples — accessed 2026-08-20