Data Storage Converters
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Bytes to Kilobytes
KB = B ÷ 1024
Kilobytes to Bytes
B = KB × 1024
Kilobytes to Megabytes
MB = KB ÷ 1024
Megabytes to Kilobytes
KB = MB × 1024
Megabytes to Gigabytes
GB = MB ÷ 1024
Gigabytes to Megabytes
MB = GB × 1024
Gigabytes to Terabytes
TB = GB ÷ 1024
Terabytes to Gigabytes
GB = TB × 1024
Bits to Bytes
B = b ÷ 8
Bytes to Bits
b = B × 8
Megabits to Megabytes
MB/s = Mbps ÷ 8
Megabytes to Megabits
Mb = MB × 8
Gigabits to Gigabytes
GB = Gb ÷ 8
Gigabytes to Gigabits
Gb = GB × 8
Learn More About Data Storage
All articlesComplete Guide to Data Storage Unit Conversions
Digital storage units are uniquely confusing because two parallel systems coexist: binary (base-2, used by operating systems) and decimal (base-10, used by storage manufacturers). In binary, 1 GB = 1,024 MB = 1,073,741,824 bytes. In decimal, 1 GB = 1,000 MB = 1,000,000,000 bytes. This 7.4% difference explains why a "500 GB" hard drive shows only about 465 GB in your operating system. The IEC introduced unambiguous prefixes (kibibyte, mebibyte, gibibyte) in 1998 to resolve this, but they are rarely used outside technical documentation. Understanding both systems is essential when buying storage, evaluating bandwidth, or managing file sizes.
When to Use Data Storage Conversions
- Purchasing storage devices — understanding why advertised capacity differs from what your OS reports.
- Managing mobile data plans: knowing whether your plan uses decimal GB (carriers) or binary GB (your phone's OS).
- Estimating upload and download times based on file sizes and internet speed (note: ISPs advertise in megabits, not megabytes).
- Cloud storage management — calculating how many photos, documents, or videos fit within storage quotas.
Common Data Storage Conversion Mistakes
- 1Confusing megabits (Mb) with megabytes (MB). Internet speeds are advertised in megabits per second (Mbps). 100 Mbps = 12.5 MB/s, not 100 MB/s.
- 2Expecting a 1 TB drive to hold exactly 1,000 GB of files. After formatting and OS overhead, actual usable space is closer to 930 GB.
- 3Assuming 1 KB = 1,000 bytes in all contexts. Operating systems use 1 KB = 1,024 bytes, while networking and storage marketing uses 1,000.
- 4Ignoring file system overhead. NTFS, ext4, and APFS all reserve space for metadata, reducing usable capacity by 1–5%.