Data Storage Converter

KB (Kilobyte) uses the decimal system where 1 KB = 1,000 Bytes (10³). KiB (Kibibyte) uses the binary system where 1 KiB = 1,024 Bytes (2¹⁰). The KiB unit was introduced by the IEC in 1998 to eliminate ambiguity. Hard drive manufacturers typically use decimal units (KB, MB, GB), while operating systems and RAM measurements often use binary units (KiB, MiB, GiB) even though they may label them as KB, MB, GB.

This is a common confusion caused by the difference between decimal and binary measurement standards. Hard drive manufacturers advertise capacity using decimal units: 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 Bytes. However, your operating system typically reports using binary units: 1 TiB = 1,099,511,627,776 Bytes. So a "1 TB" drive actually contains about 0.909 TiB (or ~931 GiB), which is what your OS displays. The drive hasn't lost space — it's just being measured differently.

In the decimal standard (used by storage manufacturers): 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 Bytes (10⁹ Bytes).
In the binary standard (often used in computing): 1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 Bytes (2³⁰ Bytes).

This ~7.4% difference becomes more significant at larger scales — a 1 TB drive shows as ~931 GiB in your OS.

From smallest to largest:
Bit (b) → Byte (B) → Kilobyte (KB) / Kibibyte (KiB) → Megabyte (MB) / Mebibyte (MiB) → Gigabyte (GB) / Gibibyte (GiB) → Terabyte (TB) / Tebibyte (TiB) → Petabyte (PB) / Pebibyte (PiB) → Exabyte (EB) / Exbibyte (EiB) → Zettabyte (ZB) / Zebibyte (ZiB) → Yottabyte (YB) / Yobibyte (YiB).

Each step up in decimal is ×1,000; each step up in binary is ×1,024.

Use this converter tool above! Simply enter your value, select the source unit, and all equivalent values appear instantly. For manual conversion using the decimal system (1000): multiply or divide by 1,000 at each step. For the binary system (1024): multiply or divide by 1,024. For example, to convert 5 GB to MB (decimal): 5 × 1,000 = 5,000 MB. To convert 5 GiB to MiB (binary): 5 × 1,024 = 5,120 MiB.

Decimal standard: 1 GB = 1,000 MB.
Binary standard: 1 GiB = 1,024 MiB.

This is why a file that's 1 GB on a hard drive label may appear as ~953 MiB in some software — the software might be mixing standards or using binary measurements.

A Bit (binary digit) is the smallest unit of data in computing, representing a single 0 or 1. A Byte consists of 8 Bits. This 8-bit relationship is universal and doesn't change between decimal and binary standards. So 1 Byte = 8 Bits, 1 KB = 8,000 Bits, 1 KiB = 8,192 Bits, and so on. Data transfer speeds (like internet bandwidth) are typically measured in bits per second (bps), while file sizes are measured in Bytes.

The binary system (1024) originates from how computers address memory — powers of 2 are natural in binary computing (2¹⁰ = 1024). Historically, "Kilobyte" meant 1024 Bytes. The decimal system (1000) aligns with the International System of Units (SI) where "kilo-" always means 1,000. Storage manufacturers adopted decimal to make capacities appear larger. In 1998, the IEC introduced binary prefixes (KiB, MiB, GiB, etc.) to resolve the ambiguity, but both standards remain in widespread use today.