Data storage converter
Bits, bytes, KB, MB, GB and TB converted in real time, in both the decimal system (×1000) and the binary system (×1024) used by operating systems.
Enter an amount to see every conversion.
| Decimal (×1000) | Binary (×1024) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| bit | byte | ||
| KB | KiB | ||
| MB | MiB | ||
| GB | GiB | ||
| TB | TiB |
Why does a 1 TB drive show "only" 931 GB?
It's not a defect and nobody is cheating you — it's a units issue. Hard drive and SSD manufacturers use the decimal system, where 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. Windows, however, measures space with the binary system (a Windows "GB" is really a gibibyte, i.e. 1,073,741,824 bytes): divide a trillion bytes by that figure and you get exactly 931 GiB. All the space is there — only the ruler used to measure it changes. macOS and Linux, on the other hand, have shown decimal GB since 2009, matching the number on the box.
Bits vs. bytes: watch out for internet plans
A byte is made of 8 bits, and the difference trips up plenty of people shopping for an internet plan: "gigabit" fiber runs at 1 gigabit per second, which is about 125 megabytes per second. A 4 GB movie, under ideal conditions, therefore downloads in roughly half a minute — not in 4. Rule of thumb: network speeds are quoted in bits (Mbps, Gbps), file sizes in bytes (MB, GB). This converter puts them side by side so you never mix them up.