Data Storage Converter

Convert between bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB and their binary counterparts KiB, MiB, GiB and TiB.

Is 1 GB the same as 1 GiB?

No. A gigabyte (GB) is 1,000,000,000 bytes, defined by the decimal (SI) system: kilo, mega, giga each mean a factor of 1,000. A gibibyte (GiB) is 1,073,741,824 bytes, defined by the binary (IEC) system: kibi, mebi, gibi each mean a factor of 1,024, since 1,024 is a power of two that fits computer memory addressing. A gibibyte is therefore about 7.4% larger than a gigabyte, and the two are never interchangeable.

Why does a 500 GB drive show less space in your operating system?

Storage manufacturers advertise capacity in decimal GB (1,000,000,000 bytes), which is the international standard unit. Windows and some other operating systems report the same physical capacity using binary math but label it "GB" anyway, when it should read "GiB." A drive with exactly 500,000,000,000 bytes on it is reported as roughly 465.7 GiB by an operating system that mislabels binary units, even though not a single byte is missing. The drive is not defective and no capacity has been lost; two different counting systems are being shown under the same abbreviation.

Reference points

Decimal	Bytes	Binary	Bytes
1 KB	1,000	1 KiB	1,024
1 MB	1,000,000	1 MiB	1,048,576
1 GB	1,000,000,000	1 GiB	1,073,741,824
1 TB	1,000,000,000,000	1 TiB	1,099,511,627,776
1 byte	8 bits

Bits versus bytes

Network and internet speeds are usually quoted in bits per second (like "100 Mbps" from an internet provider), while file sizes and storage are quoted in bytes (like "12 MB" for a photo). There are 8 bits in a byte, so a 100 Mbps connection transfers at most 12.5 MB per second, not 100 MB per second, which is the most common source of "why is my download slower than my internet speed" confusion.

Common questions

GB (gigabyte) is 1,000,000,000 bytes, using the decimal system. GiB (gibibyte) is 1,073,741,824 bytes, using the binary system. GiB is about 7.4% larger, and the two should never be treated as the same value.

The manufacturer counts in decimal GB, matching the international standard. Your operating system often counts in binary (GiB) but displays the label "GB" anyway. The physical capacity has not changed; it is being measured and labeled two different ways.

No. 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes. 1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes. Treating them as equal introduces a 7.4% error, which compounds further at terabyte and petabyte scale.

A bit is 1/8 of a byte, so 8 bits equal 1 byte. This is why an internet speed in megabits per second (Mbps) is a smaller-looking number than the same transfer rate in megabytes per second (MB/s).