Data Storage Converter

What is Data Storage and Why Do We Convert It?

Data storage units measure the amount of digital information a device can hold or transfer. From a tiny text file of a few bytes to a 4K movie of dozens of gigabytes — understanding storage units is essential in the modern digital world. As storage technology evolves, units have grown from kilobytes (KB) to terabytes (TB) and beyond. Accurate conversion between these units is critical for IT professionals, developers, data engineers, and everyday users managing their devices.

Data Storage Unit Conversion Chart

The standard base-10 (SI) storage units and their relationships:

Byte (B) = 8 bits

Kilobyte (KB) = 1,000 bytes

Megabyte (MB) = 1,000 KB = 1,000,000 bytes

Gigabyte (GB) = 1,000 MB = 1,000,000,000 bytes

Terabyte (TB) = 1,000 GB = 10¹² bytes

Petabyte (PB) = 1,000 TB = 10¹⁵ bytes

Binary Units (IEC Standard)

Operating systems often use binary (base-2) units, which is why a "1 TB" hard drive shows as less in Windows:

Kibibyte (KiB) = 1,024 bytes

Mebibyte (MiB) = 1,024 KiB = 1,048,576 bytes

Gibibyte (GiB) = 1,024 MiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes

Tebibyte (TiB) = 1,024 GiB = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes

Common Data Storage Conversions — Reference Chart

From	To	Multiply By
Gigabyte (GB)	Megabyte (MB)	1,000
Terabyte (TB)	Gigabyte (GB)	1,000
Megabyte (MB)	Kilobyte (KB)	1,000
Gigabyte (GB)	Byte (B)	1,000,000,000
Kilobit (Kbit)	Kilobyte (KB)	0.125
Megabit (Mbit)	Megabyte (MB)	0.125
Gigabyte (GB)	Gibibyte (GiB)	0.931323
Terabyte (TB)	Tebibyte (TiB)	0.909495

Real World Examples of Data Storage

Text file: 1 page of plain text ≈ 2–3 KB
MP3 song: ~3–5 MB (128 kbps, 3-minute song)
HD photo: ~3–8 MB (12 megapixel JPEG)
HD movie: ~4 GB (1080p, 2-hour film)
4K movie: ~15–60 GB (uncompressed 4K footage)
Smartphone: 128 GB storage = ~30,000 photos or ~20,000 songs
Internet speed: 100 Mbps = 12.5 MB/s download speed (bits ÷ 8 = bytes)

Bits vs Bytes — The Important Difference

Unit	Symbol	Size	Used For
Bit	b (lowercase)	Smallest unit	Network speeds (Mbps)
Byte	B (uppercase)	8 bits	File sizes, storage
Kilobit	Kbit or kb	1,000 bits	Internet speed
Kilobyte	KB	1,000 bytes = 8,000 bits	Small files
Megabit	Mbit or Mb	1,000,000 bits	Broadband speed
Megabyte	MB	1,000,000 bytes	Files, images

Frequently Asked Questions

How many MB in 1 GB?

In the decimal (SI) system: 1 GB = 1,000 MB. In the binary system used by operating systems: 1 GiB = 1,024 MiB. This is why a "1 TB" hard drive shows as ~931 GB in Windows.

Why does my 1 TB hard drive show less than 1 TB?

Hard drive manufacturers use decimal (1 TB = 10¹² bytes), but Windows measures in binary (1 TiB = 2⁴⁰ bytes = 1.0995 × 10¹² bytes). So 1 TB drive = ~909 GiB as shown by Windows — no storage is lost, just a unit difference.

What is the difference between Mbps and MB/s?

Mbps = Megabits per second (used for internet speed). MB/s = Megabytes per second (used for file transfer speed). Since 1 byte = 8 bits: 100 Mbps internet = 100 ÷ 8 = 12.5 MB/s download speed.

How many GB is 1 TB?

1 TB = 1,000 GB (decimal/SI). In binary: 1 TiB = 1,024 GiB.

What is a petabyte?

1 petabyte (PB) = 1,000 terabytes = 1,000,000 gigabytes. To put it in perspective: 1 PB can store approximately 250,000 HD movies or 500 billion pages of standard text.

How many bits in 1 byte?

1 byte = 8 bits. This is the fundamental relationship in digital computing — a byte is the standard unit for representing a single character of text.

All conversions (enter a value above)

All Data Storage Conversion Pairs