Digital Storage Converter
1000MB
1 GB = 1000 MB exact
- 1 x 1000000000 1000000000 byte
- 1000000000 / 1000000 1000 megabyte
In every digital storage unit
| Unit | Value |
|---|---|
| bits | 8000000000 bit |
| bytes | 1000000000 B |
| kilobytes | 1000000 kB |
| megabytes | 1000 MB |
| gigabytes | 1 GB |
| terabytes | 0.001 TB |
| kibibytes | 976562.5 KiB |
| mebibytes | 953.6743164 MiB |
| gibibytes | 0.9313225746 GiB |
| tebibytes | 0.0009094947018 TiB |
This page converts a digital storage from one unit into another. Every value passes through the byte, the SI unit digital storage is held in, and digital storage stays digital storage: a unit only converts inside its own dimension.
How do you convert digital storage between bytes, KB, MB and GB?
Pick the unit you have, pick the unit you want, and type the value. The page multiplies by the factor between the two and prints the arithmetic under the result, so the answer and the working are the same object.
In short
1 GB is 1 000 000 000 bytes and 1 GiB is 1 073 741 824 bytes. Decimal prefixes step by 1000 and binary prefixes step by 1024, which is why the two disagree.
- Choose the unit your value is in. This page opens on the gigabyte.
- Choose the unit you want it in. This page opens on the megabyte.
- Type the value, or the value with its units, such as 1 GB to MB. The result and the factor behind it appear together.
- Read the working. It converts into the byte first and out again, which is the same two lines you would write by hand.
Bits, bytes and gibibytes measure digital storage only, so to convert units of measurement for time, count or anything else, start from the full list.
Digital Storage Conversion Table
One row per unit this page offers, each measured against the byte. The last column says whether the factor is a definition or a reading of one.
| Unit | Symbol | In the SI unit | Exact? |
|---|---|---|---|
| bit | bit | 0.125 | exact |
| byte | B | 1 | exact |
| kilobyte | kB | 1000 | exact |
| megabyte | MB | 1000000 | exact |
| gigabyte | GB | 1000000000 | exact |
| terabyte | TB | 1000000000000 | exact |
| kibibyte | KiB | 1024 | exact |
| mebibyte | MiB | 1048576 | exact |
| gibibyte | GiB | 1073741824 | exact |
| tebibyte | TiB | 1099511627776 | exact |
Worked Examples
The question the bank ranked highest for this page, answered with the working.
How many megabytes is 1 GB?
- 1 x 1000000000 1000000000 byte
- 1000000000 / 1000000 1000 megabyte
1 GB = 1000 MB
Where These Factors Come From
Every factor above is read from the knowledge base rather than typed for the page, and every result is worked from those factors. These are the statements it holds for digital storage.
- One byte is 8 bits. Storage prefixes come in two families: kB, MB and GB are powers of ten, so 1 kB is 1000 B, while KiB, MiB and GiB are powers of two, so 1 KiB is 1024 B.
- A drive sold as 1 TB holds 1 000 000 000 000 bytes. An operating system that reports in tebibytes shows 0.909 TiB for the same drive: nothing is missing, the two prefixes count differently.
- This page scales a quantity of storage. Rewriting the same value in another base, such as binary or hexadecimal, is a different job with its own tools.
- How this page reports a result result in the target storage unit; decimal (kB) and binary (KiB) prefixes are listed as separate units
SI prefixes on this page
| Prefix | Symbol | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| tera | T | 10^12 |
| giga | G | 10^9 |
| mega | M | 10^6 |
| kilo | k | 10^3 |
Binary prefixes on this page
| Prefix | Symbol | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| yobi | Yi | 2^80 = 1208925819614629174706176 |
| zebi | Zi | 2^70 = 1180591620717411303424 |
| exbi | Ei | 2^60 = 1152921504606846976 |
| pebi | Pi | 2^50 = 1125899906842624 |
| tebi | Ti | 2^40 = 1099511627776 |
| gibi | Gi | 2^30 = 1073741824 |
| mebi | Mi | 2^20 = 1048576 |
| kibi | Ki | 2^10 = 1024 |
Converters for One Pair of Units
Each common pair of storage units has a converter of its own, which opens on that pair and prints the decimal and binary answers side by side.
| Decimal rule | Binary rule | Converter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 kB = 0.001 MB | 1 KiB = 0.0009765625 MiB | KB to MB |
| 1 MB = 1000 kB | 1 MiB = 1024 KiB | MB to KB |
| 1 MB = 0.001 GB | 1 MiB = 0.0009765625 GiB | MB to GB |
| 1 GB = 1000 MB | 1 GiB = 1024 MiB | GB to MB |
| 1 kB = 0.000001 GB | 1 KiB = 9.5367431640625 x 10^-7 GiB | KB to GB |
| 1 GB = 1000000 kB | 1 GiB = 1048576 KiB | GB to KB |
| 1 GB = 0.001 TB | 1 GiB = 0.0009765625 TiB | GB to TB |
| 1 TB = 1000 GB | 1 TiB = 1024 GiB | TB to GB |
| 1 bit = 0.125 B | one reading: no prefix | bits to bytes |
| 1 B = 8 bit | one reading: no prefix | bytes to bits |
KB or KiB?
Decimal prefixes step by a thousand and binary prefixes step by a power of two, so a kilobyte and a kibibyte are different sizes. They are listed here as separate units rather than two spellings of one, which is why a drive and an operating system can disagree about the same disk.
- Windows File Explorer labels sizes counted in steps of a power of two as KB, MB and GB, so its figures match the binary units on this page rather than the decimal ones.
- A lowercase b counts bits and an uppercase B counts bytes, so a speed in Mbps and a size in MB differ by the bits in a byte.
The rule behind this factor is the same for every unit - what k, M and m multiply by.
Decimal and binary prefixes are separate units on this page - where KB and KiB come from.
A connection speed is counted in bits and a file size in bytes - megabits against megabytes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between KB and KiB?
A kilobyte is 1000 bytes; a kibibyte is 1024 bytes.
Why does a 1 TB drive show as less than 1 TB?
A 1 TB drive holds 1 000 000 000 000 bytes. An operating system reporting in tebibytes shows 0.909 TiB for the same drive.
How many bits are in a byte?
8 bits.
How many bytes are in a gigabyte?
1 000 000 000 bytes as a decimal gigabyte; 1 073 741 824 bytes as a gibibyte.
Related Conversions
The rest of the family sits on pick another quantity to convert.