Byte Converter
Free online byte converter — convert B, KB, MB, GB, TB, PB and binary KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB, PiB. Side-by-side chart for all supported digital storage units.
About This Calculator
The Byte Converter is a free online digital storage conversion tool that converts between all major units of digital information. Whether you are a student learning about computer storage, an IT professional managing server capacity, or a shopper comparing hard drive sizes, this converter helps you instantly translate between decimal and binary unit systems.
This converter supports 12 units: bytes (B), kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB), terabytes (TB), petabytes (PB) using the decimal prefix system (powers of 1000), and kibibytes (KiB), mebibytes (MiB), gibibytes (GiB), tebibytes (TiB), and pebibytes (PiB) using the binary prefix system (powers of 1024). Simply enter a value, select the source and target units, and the conversion is computed instantly using standard conversion factors.
Digital storage units are used everywhere — from measuring smartphone storage (typically 64 GB to 512 GB), to laptop SSDs (256 GB to 2 TB), to cloud storage plans (100 GB to unlimited), and enterprise data centers (petabytes and beyond). Understanding the difference between decimal and binary units is especially important because a 1 TB hard drive advertised by the manufacturer equals 1,000,000,000,000 bytes, but your operating system will likely display this as about 931 GiB due to binary reporting.
The conversion formula is straightforward: each source value is first converted to bytes using its defined multiplier, then divided by the target unit's multiplier. The comparison chart displays the entered value side-by-side in every supported unit, making it easy to visualize relationships between units. For example, 1 MB equals 1,000 KB in decimal or 1,024 KiB in binary — a small difference that grows exponentially at larger scales.
Regional Notes
Digital storage units are standardized globally by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International System of Units (SI), so the same conversion factors apply in India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and worldwide. The binary prefix system (kibi-, mebi-, gibi-) was introduced by the IEC in 1998 to resolve the confusion between decimal and binary interpretations of traditional prefixes. While the United States and India commonly use the decimal system for hard drive marketing and the binary system for RAM specifications, the UK and Europe also follow the same IEC and SI standards. This converter supports both systems so you can compare values accurately regardless of which standard your software or hardware uses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a byte?
A byte is the most common unit of digital information used in modern computing. A byte corresponds to 8 bits and is capable of storing 256 different combinations. Bytes are the basis of digital computing — every character on your screen is encoded by one or more bytes.
What is the difference between decimal and binary units?
Decimal multiples use prefixes like kilo, mega, and giga with powers of 1000 (KB = 1000 bytes, MB = 1,000,000 bytes). Binary multiples use prefixes like kibi, mebi, and gibi with powers of 1024 (KiB = 1024 bytes, MiB = 1,048,576 bytes). Hard drive manufacturers typically use decimal units while operating systems often report in binary units.
How many kilobytes is 1000 bytes?
1000 bytes are exactly 1 kilobyte (KB). The kilobyte is a decimal multiple of the byte. Do not confuse it with the kibibyte (KiB), the binary multiple that equals 1024 bytes. Kilobyte and kibibyte differ by only 2.4% at the KB level, but this difference grows exponentially at higher orders of magnitude.
Why does my hard drive show less space than advertised?
Hard drive manufacturers use decimal units (1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes), while operating systems typically display capacity using binary units (1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes). This means a 500 GB hard drive actually has 500,000,000,000 bytes, which the OS reports as approximately 465 GiB, not 500 GB.
How many megabytes are in a gigabyte?
In the decimal system, 1 GB equals 1000 MB. In the binary system, 1 GiB equals 1024 MiB. Use this byte converter to switch between the two systems and see the difference for any value.
What is the largest unit supported by this converter?
This converter supports up to petabytes (PB) and pebibytes (PiB), covering all commonly used digital storage units for personal and enterprise use — from bytes up to 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes.
How do I convert between units using this calculator?
Enter a numeric value, select the source unit from the From dropdown, select the target unit from the To dropdown, and click Convert. The result shows the converted value and a comparison chart displaying your value across all supported units at once.
What is a petabyte used for?
A petabyte (PB) equals 1000 terabytes or 1,000,000 gigabytes. Petabytes are used to measure massive data storage — large data centers, cloud storage providers, scientific research facilities like CERN, and major video streaming platforms operate at petabyte scale.