Softonic

Data Storage Converter

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Type a size in any unit, from bits and bytes to petabytes, and the converter shows its equivalent in the unit you pick, switching between the decimal convention (1 KB = 1,000 bytes) and the binary one (1 KB = 1,024 bytes). Handy for reading a SaaS usage dashboard, sizing a backup, comparing a ‘1 TB’ drive with the 931 GB shown by Windows, or converting a ls -l byte count into something a client will understand.

How to convert storage units

  1. 1

    Type a value

    Any positive number, decimals allowed. The calculator accepts very large inputs: terabytes and petabytes both work.

  2. 2

    Pick the source unit

    Bits, bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB or PB. The same unit names are used in both modes; only the multiplier changes.

  3. 3

    Pick a target unit

    The result updates in real time, rounded to sensible precision for the magnitudes involved.

  4. 4

    Switch families if needed

    Flipping between decimal and binary shows where the famous "missing gigabytes" on a hard drive actually go.

Decimal vs. binary: the 1000 vs 1024 story

There are two competing conventions. Both are correct; they mean different things.

Decimal (SI) Value Binary (IEC) Value
1 KB 1,000 bytes 1 KiB 1,024 bytes
1 MB 1,000,000 bytes 1 MiB 1,048,576 bytes
1 GB 10⁹ bytes 1 GiB 2³⁰ bytes
1 TB 10¹² bytes 1 TiB 2⁴⁰ bytes
1 PB 10¹⁵ bytes 1 PiB 2⁵⁰ bytes

The difference grows with size: a 1 TB drive is really 1,000,000,000,000 bytes, which equals 931.32 GiB, that is why your new 1 TB SSD shows up as “931 GB” in Windows Explorer (Windows displays binary sizes but labels them “GB” instead of the correct “GiB”).

Who uses which

  • Drive manufacturers, networking, most APIs: decimal (1 KB = 1,000 B).
  • Linux and macOS defaults, RAM modules, most OS file managers: binary (1 KB often means 1,024 B, sometimes labelled correctly as KiB).
  • Windows: binary, but with the decimal label. This is the single biggest source of confusion.

Quick sanity checks

  • A 4K movie at reasonable bitrate: 50–80 GiB for a 2-hour film.
  • One hour of raw 4:2:2 10-bit ProRes video: ~265 GiB.
  • A typical JPEG photo at 24 MP: 6–12 MiB.
  • A 2-hour 1080p Netflix stream: ~6 GiB.
  • A MySQL row of user data: 500 bytes to a couple of KB, depending on fields.
  • 1 TB of spinning-rust disk today: around 20–30 USD retail.

Bits vs bytes

Storage is quoted in bytes, bandwidth in bits. 100 Mbps ≠ 100 MB/s. Divide by 8 (and then by 1,024 once for the binary penalty) to get real-world throughput: 100 Mbps ≈ 11.92 MiB/s theoretical, typically 10–11 MiB/s in practice after protocol overhead.

Frequently Asked Questions

The drive really is 1 terabyte using the decimal definition, 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. Windows displays the size using binary counting (dividing by 1024 each step) but labels it “GB”. The correct label would be “GiB”. No bytes are missing; it is a labelling mismatch.

Match the audience. If you are talking to developers and system admins, binary (KiB/MiB/GiB) is unambiguous. If you are talking to consumers or writing marketing copy, decimal (KB/MB/GB) matches what they see on packaging and in app stores.

No. 1 byte = 8 bits, so 1 MB = 8 Mb. ISPs quote speeds in megabits (Mbps), storage is quoted in megabytes (MB). Divide a Mbps figure by 8 to get the matching MB/s throughput.

Exabyte (EB), zettabyte (ZB), yottabyte (YB). Global data creation is measured in zettabytes per year. Individual storage arrays today top out in the single-digit petabytes.

The value you enter is transmitted only to perform the conversion on our server. It is not stored, logged or shared, and nothing is kept once you close the page.

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