Does 1 GB equal 1000 MB or 1024 MB?

Both answers exist, and that is the whole confusion. On the decimal (SI) scale a manufacturer uses, 1 GB = 1000 MB = 1,000,000,000 bytes. On the binary scale your operating system once used, the same prefix meant 1024 MB = 1,073,741,824 bytes. The modern fix is to call the binary one a gibibyte: 1 GiB = 1024 MiB exactly. This tool shows both columns so 1 GB and 1 GiB never get blurred together.

What is the difference between KB and KiB?

KB (kilobyte) is the decimal unit: 1 KB = 1000 bytes. KiB (kibibyte) is the binary unit standardized by the IEC: 1 KiB = 1024 bytes. The gap is small here, about 2.4 percent, but it compounds: by the terabyte level a TB is roughly 9 percent smaller than a TiB. Storage vendors print KB/MB/GB (1000), while many file managers print KiB/MiB/GiB (1024). Always check which one a number uses before you compare.

Why does my 1 TB hard drive only show 931 GB?

The drive really holds 1 TB by the maker's count: 1,000,000,000,000 bytes (decimal, powers of 1000). Windows then divides that by 1024 three times to display gibibytes but mislabels them as GB. So 1,000,000,000,000 / 1024 / 1024 / 1024 = about 931, and you see 931 GB that is really 931 GiB. No space is missing; the two systems just count the same bytes with different prefixes. This tool shows the 931 GiB figure right next to the 1000 GB figure.

Why is internet speed measured in bits when files are in bytes?

Networks have always counted in bits per second, so a plan sold as 100 Mbps moves 100 megabits each second. A byte is 8 bits, so divide by 8: 100 Mbps is about 12.5 MB/s of actual download, before overhead. That is why a '100 meg' connection downloads a 1 GB file in roughly 80 seconds, not 10. Watch the lowercase b (bits) versus uppercase B (bytes); mixing them up causes an 8x error every time.

Where does the 1024 number come from?

Computers address memory in binary, so the round numbers are powers of two, not powers of ten. 2 to the 10th power is 1024, the closest power of two to 1000, so early engineers borrowed the kilo prefix for it. That is why 1 KiB = 1024 bytes, 1 MiB = 1024 KiB = 1,048,576 bytes, and 1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes. The decimal 1000-based prefixes came from the metric system and match how drives and bandwidth are sold.

Read a hard drive or SSD spec without surprises

You buy a 2 TB SSD and Windows reports 1.81 TB free. Nothing is broken: the box counts 2,000,000,000,000 bytes (decimal TB) and the OS divides by 1024 three times to get TiB but prints "TB". Drop 2 into the TB field and the tool shows about 1862 GiB / 1.819 TiB right beside it, so you know the missing space is just two counting systems, not a defect or a scam.

Size a file upload or storage quota in code

An API rejects files over 25 MB and you need the byte limit for a validation check. Is that 25,000,000 or 26,214,400 bytes? Enter 25 MB and read the exact byte count for both bases, then hard-code the one your platform actually uses. AWS S3, for instance, bills in binary GiB while labeling it GB, so picking the right base avoids off-by-7-percent quota math.

Convert internet speed to real download time

Your ISP sells 300 Mbps and you want to know how long a 4 GB game takes. Convert 300 megabits to bytes per second (about 37.5 MB/s), then divide the file size. The tool's bit support lets you move between Mbps and MB/s without the 8x mistake that makes people think their connection is broken when a download "only" hits 37 MB/s.

Compare cloud storage tiers priced in different units

One provider quotes 500 GB, another quotes 0.5 TB, a third quotes 512 GiB. Are they the same? Put each into the tool and line up the byte counts: 500 GB and 0.5 TB are identical (500,000,000,000 bytes), but 512 GiB is about 550,000,000,000 bytes, roughly 10 percent more. Now you can compare price per actual byte instead of per label.

Data Storage Converter — Bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB + Binary KiB/MiB/GiB

Convert bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB and bits — decimal (1000) and binary (1024, KiB/MiB/GiB) side by side, with the hard-drive 931 GiB gotcha explained — browser-only

Runs locally
Category Format Converter
Best for Checking file type, size, metadata, and obvious mismatch signals before sharing.

Type a value and a unit; every storage unit fills in at once. Decimal (SI, 1000) units — KB, MB, GB — sit beside binary (IEC, 1024) units — KiB, MiB, GiB. 8 bits make 1 byte. The base-mode switch only changes how the note below reads KB/MB; both columns always stay visible.

ValueUnit

Base mode

Decimal mode: KB/MB/GB mean 1000-based, the way drive makers and networks count. 1 KB = 1000 bytes.

Decimal (SI · 1000)

1,000,000,000B

1,000,000KB

1,000MB

1GB

0.001TB

0.000001PB

Binary (IEC · 1024)

976,562.5KiB

953.6743MiB

0.931323GiB

0.000909TiB

8.8818e-7PiB

Bits

8,000,000,000bit

Why a 1 TB drive shows ~931 GB: the maker counts 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes (decimal). The OS divides by 1024 three times and prints "GB" but really means GiB — so 1,000,000,000,000 ÷ 1024³ ≈ 931 GiB. No space is lost; the two systems just label the same bytes differently.

What this tool does

Free data storage unit converter that takes one value and shows it in every unit at once: bit, Byte, KB, MB, GB, TB, PB on the decimal (SI, 1000) scale, plus KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB, PiB on the binary (IEC, 1024) scale. The thing that trips everyone up is that 1 KB is not always 1024 bytes. Drive makers and networks count in powers of 1000, while operating systems and RAM count in powers of 1024, so a 1 TB disk (1,000,000,000,000 bytes) shows up as about 931 GiB in Windows. This tool keeps both columns visible so you never mix them up. It also handles bits: 8 bits make 1 byte, which is why a 100 Mbps link tops out near 12.5 MB/s. Pick a base mode to label what KB/MB mean for your context, copy any result with one click, and share a URL that reopens your exact value and unit. Everything runs locally in your browser, nothing is uploaded.

Tool details

Input: Numbers; The page exposes text boxes, numeric controls, file pickers, or structured inputs depending on the tool.
Output: Live result + Copy; The result area focuses on usable output, with copy, download, or preview actions when supported.
Privacy: Browser-side processing; The main tool logic does not call an external API, so inputs normally stay in the current tab.
Save / share: Shareable URL state; Key settings are encoded in the URL so another person can reopen the same setup.
Performance budget: Initial JS <= 9 KB; No WASM budget is declared, keeping the tool quick to open on mobile.
Best fit: Format Converter · Developer; Category and role tags drive related tools, internal links, and quick fit checks.

How to use

1. Input

Paste or drop your content into the tool panel.
2. Process

Click the button. All processing is local in your browser.
3. Copy / Download

Copy the result or download to disk in one click.

How Data Storage Converter fits into your work

Use it before upload, handoff, archive, support review, or any moment where a file needs one local check before it leaves your machine.

File jobs

Checking file type, size, metadata, and obvious mismatch signals before sharing.
Preparing mixed folders for upload, archive, intake, or review.
Keeping sensitive files in the browser instead of sending them to an account-based service.

File checks

Do not treat the extension alone as proof of the real file type.
Review metadata before a file goes to customers, vendors, or a public page.
Keep the original file until the copied, converted, or exported result is verified.

Good next steps

These links move the current task into a more complete workflow.

Real-world use cases

Read a hard drive or SSD spec without surprises
You buy a 2 TB SSD and Windows reports 1.81 TB free. Nothing is broken: the box counts 2,000,000,000,000 bytes (decimal TB) and the OS divides by 1024 three times to get TiB but prints "TB". Drop 2 into the TB field and the tool shows about 1862 GiB / 1.819 TiB right beside it, so you know the missing space is just two counting systems, not a defect or a scam.
Size a file upload or storage quota in code
An API rejects files over 25 MB and you need the byte limit for a validation check. Is that 25,000,000 or 26,214,400 bytes? Enter 25 MB and read the exact byte count for both bases, then hard-code the one your platform actually uses. AWS S3, for instance, bills in binary GiB while labeling it GB, so picking the right base avoids off-by-7-percent quota math.
Convert internet speed to real download time
Your ISP sells 300 Mbps and you want to know how long a 4 GB game takes. Convert 300 megabits to bytes per second (about 37.5 MB/s), then divide the file size. The tool's bit support lets you move between Mbps and MB/s without the 8x mistake that makes people think their connection is broken when a download "only" hits 37 MB/s.
Compare cloud storage tiers priced in different units
One provider quotes 500 GB, another quotes 0.5 TB, a third quotes 512 GiB. Are they the same? Put each into the tool and line up the byte counts: 500 GB and 0.5 TB are identical (500,000,000,000 bytes), but 512 GiB is about 550,000,000,000 bytes, roughly 10 percent more. Now you can compare price per actual byte instead of per label.

Common pitfalls

Mixing bits and bytes. A 100 Mbps link is megabits, not megabytes — divide by 8 to get about 12.5 MB/s. Treating the lowercase b as a byte overstates download speed by 8x and makes a normal connection look broken.
Assuming KB always means 1024 bytes. Drive and network specs use 1000-based KB/MB/GB; operating systems often use 1024-based values but label them KB/MB/GB anyway. Check which base a number uses before you compare two figures.
Comparing a GB number to a GiB number as if they were equal. 1 GiB is about 7.4 percent larger than 1 GB, and the gap grows with each step up the scale, so a "500 GB" plan and a "500 GiB" plan are not the same amount of space.

Privacy

Every conversion runs as plain JavaScript inside your browser tab. The value you type, the unit you pick and all the results stay on your device; nothing is sent to a server and nothing is logged. The one thing that leaves the page is the shareable URL: it encodes your value and unit in the query string, so a link pasted into chat will appear in the recipient server's access log. That is harmless for a file size, but worth knowing.

FAQ

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Data Storage Converter — Bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB + Binary KiB/MiB/GiB

What this tool does

Tool details

How to use

1. Input

2. Process

3. Copy / Download

How Data Storage Converter fits into your work

File jobs

File checks

Good next steps

Real-world use cases

Read a hard drive or SSD spec without surprises

Size a file upload or storage quota in code

Convert internet speed to real download time

Compare cloud storage tiers priced in different units

Common pitfalls

Privacy

FAQ

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