Data Storage Converter
Convert between data storage units with support for both binary (1024-based) and decimal (1000-based) standards.
How to Use the Data Storage Converter
Converting between data storage units is simple:
- Enter a numeric value in the input field. You can use whole numbers or decimals.
- Select the source unit from the dropdown (Bit, Byte, KB, MB, GB, TB, or PB).
- Choose Binary or Decimal standard. Binary (1024) is used by operating systems; Decimal (1000) is used by drive manufacturers.
- View all conversions in the results table. Click Copy to copy any value.
About Data Storage Units
Digital data is measured in bits and bytes. A bit is the smallest unit, representing a single 0 or 1. A byte equals 8 bits and can represent one character of text. As data sizes have grown, larger units such as kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB), terabytes (TB), and petabytes (PB) have become standard.
Two competing standards exist: binary (base-1024, used by operating systems and RAM) and decimal (base-1000, used by storage manufacturers and networking). In binary, 1 KB = 1,024 bytes; in decimal, 1 KB = 1,000 bytes. This difference explains why a "500 GB" hard drive shows roughly 465 GB in your operating system. The IEC introduced terms like KiB, MiB, and GiB to distinguish binary units, but traditional notation remains widespread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Binary units use a base of 1024 (e.g., 1 KiB = 1024 bytes), as used by operating systems. Decimal units use a base of 1000 (e.g., 1 KB = 1000 bytes), as used by hard drive manufacturers. This is why a 1 TB drive shows less than 1 TB in your OS.
In decimal (SI), 1 GB = 1,000 MB. In binary (IEC), 1 GiB = 1,024 MiB. Most file managers use binary, while storage manufacturers use decimal.
There are exactly 8 bits in one byte. A bit is the smallest unit of data (0 or 1), while a byte can represent 256 different values (2^8).
Hard drive manufacturers measure in decimal (1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes), but operating systems display in binary (1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes). A 1 TB drive shows approximately 931 GiB in your OS.