Convert between bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB, PB with binary vs decimal comparison
| Unit | Decimal (SI) | Binary (IEC) | Difference |
|---|
GB uses decimal (1 GB = 10⁹ bytes). GiB uses binary (1 GiB = 2³⁰ bytes). A 500 GB drive shows ~465 GiB in your OS.
Manufacturers use decimal units while OS uses binary. A 1 TB drive = ~931 GB in Windows.
Decimal: 1 GB = 1,000 MB. Binary: 1 GiB = 1,024 MiB. The difference grows with larger units.
A byte is 8 bits, the basic unit of digital information. One character of text is typically 1 byte.
~500 hours of HD video, 250,000 photos, or 6.5 million document pages.
A bit is the smallest unit (0 or 1). A byte = 8 bits. Storage is in bytes, network speed in bits/sec.
Use our estimator: enter count and type to get total storage needed in decimal and binary.
Yes, it shows both decimal (manufacturer) and binary (OS) values for accurate comparison.