Bits and Bytes Converter

Convert any data size or transfer rate between bits, bytes, and all prefixed units - KB vs KiB, MB vs MiB, Mbps vs MB/s - in one table.

🌐 Bits and Bytes Converter
Bits
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Nibbles
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Bytes
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Storage Units

Data Rate Units

Working

Bits, Bytes, and Data Units

Digital data is measured in bits and bytes. A bit is the fundamental unit - a single binary digit (0 or 1). A byte is 8 bits and is the standard unit for file sizes and storage.

Data units scale with prefixes. There are two competing prefix systems:

SI (decimal, powers of 1,000) - used by hard drive manufacturers, network equipment, and most consumer products:

  • Kilobyte (KB) = 1,000 bytes
  • Megabyte (MB) = 1,000,000 bytes
  • Gigabyte (GB) = 1,000,000,000 bytes
  • Terabyte (TB) = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes

IEC (binary, powers of 1,024) - used by operating systems, RAM, and programming:

  • Kibibyte (KiB) = 1,024 bytes
  • Mebibyte (MiB) = 1,048,576 bytes
  • Gibibyte (GiB) = 1,073,741,824 bytes
  • Tebibyte (TiB) = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes

The two systems diverge significantly at scale: 1 TB = 931 GiB. This explains why a “1 TB” hard drive appears as ~931 GB in your operating system.

Data rates (network speeds, disk I/O) are measured in bits per second: Kbps, Mbps, Gbps. To convert to bytes per second, divide by 8: 100 Mbps = 12.5 MB/s.

📐 Formula

Conversion via bits (the universal intermediate): bits = value × bits_per_unit result = bits ÷ bits_per_unit_of_target

Key equivalences:

  • 1 byte = 8 bits
  • 1 nibble = 4 bits (= ½ byte)
  • 1 KB = 1,000 bytes (SI) or 1 KiB = 1,024 bytes (IEC)
  • Mbps ÷ 8 = MB/s (megabits per second to megabytes per second)

📖 How to Use

Steps to Calculate

1
Enter a value - type any number representing a data quantity (file size, network speed, storage capacity).
2
Select the source unit - choose from the full list of storage units (bit through PB) and rate units (Kbps through GB/s).
3
Click Convert - a complete table shows all storage and rate equivalents simultaneously.
4
Compare SI vs IEC - the table shows both KB and KiB, both MB and MiB, etc., so you can see the difference at a glance.
5
Use the steps - the working panel shows the intermediate bits calculation and the conversion factor.

💡 Example Calculations

Example 1 — 1 GB: How Many MB, MiB, Bits?

Convert 1 GB (SI gigabyte)

1
1 GB = 1,000 MB = 1,000,000 KB = 1,000,000,000 bytes (SI)
2
In IEC binary: 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 / 1,073,741,824 = 0.9313 GiB = 953.674 MiB
3
In bits: 1,000,000,000 bytes × 8 = 8,000,000,000 bits = 8 Gbits
1 GB = 1,000 MB = 953.7 MiB = 8 Gbits. The OS reports 0.931 GiB, not 1 GiB.
Try this example →

Example 2 — 100 Mbps Internet Connection

Convert 100 Mbps to MB/s, KB/s, and transfer time for 1 GB

1
100 Mbps ÷ 8 = 12.5 MB/s
2
12.5 MB/s = 12,500 KB/s = 12.5 × 10³ KB/s
3
Time for 1 GB: 1,000 MB ÷ 12.5 MB/s = 80 seconds
100 Mbps = 12.5 MB/s. A 1 GB file downloads in 80 seconds (theoretical; real-world ~56–90s).
Try this example →

Example 3 — 500 MB: Bits and All Prefixed Forms

Convert 500 MB to all units

1
500 MB = 500,000 KB = 0.5 GB (SI)
2
In IEC: 500,000,000 bytes ÷ 1,048,576 = 476.84 MiB
3
In bits: 500,000,000 × 8 = 4,000,000,000 bits = 4 Gbits
500 MB = 476.8 MiB = 4 billion bits = ~3.9 Gib
Try this example →

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a bit and a byte?+
A bit (b) is the smallest unit of digital data — a single binary digit (0 or 1). A byte (B) is 8 bits. Network speeds are measured in bits per second (Mbps); file sizes are in bytes (MB). To avoid confusion: bit uses lowercase b, byte uses uppercase B. So “100 Mbps” is megabits per second; “12.5 MBps” is megabytes per second (which is 8× smaller).
What is the difference between KB and KiB?+
KB (kilobyte) in SI = 1,000 bytes (10³). KiB (kibibyte) in IEC = 1,024 bytes (2¹⁰). The ~2.4% difference at kilo-scale grows to ~10% at tera-scale: 1 TB = 10¹² bytes; 1 TiB = 2⁴⁰ ≈ 1.0995 × 10¹² bytes. Drive makers use SI (so 1 TB drive = 10¹² bytes), while OSes historically used binary units — hence a “1 TB” drive shows as 931 GiB in Windows.
How do you convert Mbps to MB/s?+
Divide by 8: MB/s = Mbps ÷ 8. This is because there are 8 bits per byte. Examples: 100 Mbps = 12.5 MB/s; 500 Mbps = 62.5 MB/s; 1 Gbps = 125 MB/s; 10 Gbps = 1,250 MB/s (1.25 GB/s). When your ISP says “100 Mbps” and Chrome shows “12.5 MB/s” — those are the same speed expressed in different units.
Why does my hard drive show less capacity than advertised?+
Drive manufacturers use SI decimal (1 TB = 10¹² bytes). Windows reports in binary units historically labelled “GB”: 10¹² bytes ÷ 2³&sup0; bytes/GiB = 931.3 GiB, displayed as “931 GB”. macOS switched to SI in 2009 and shows the drive correctly as 1 TB. No storage is “missing” — it’s a naming difference. On a 1 TB drive you get exactly 10¹² bytes.
What is a nibble?+
A nibble is 4 bits — half a byte. It’s significant because one nibble represents exactly one hexadecimal digit (0–F, i.e., 0–15 in decimal). A byte (8 bits) = two nibbles = two hex digits. The term “nibble” is a playful play on “byte” (as in “taking a smaller bite”). Nibbles are used in BCD (Binary Coded Decimal) and in networking protocol field descriptions.
What are IEC binary prefixes?+
IEC 80000-13 (2008) defined binary prefixes: kibi (Ki, 2¹⁰=1,024), mebi (Mi, 2²⁰), gibi (Gi, 2³&sup0;), tebi (Ti, 2⁴⁰), pebi (Pi, 2⁵⁰), exbi (Ei, 2⁶⁰). These are exact powers of 2. The SI prefixes (k, M, G, T) remain exact powers of 1,000. Using IEC notation (KiB, MiB, GiB) unambiguously means binary — essential for precise technical specifications.
How much data does 1 TB hold?+
1 TB (SI) = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. In practical terms: ~200,000 songs (MP3 at 5 MB each), ~250,000 photos (4 MB each), ~500 HD movies (2 GB each), ~1,000 hours of HD video. As a 1 TiB = 2⁴⁰ ≈ 1.0995 × 10¹² bytes — about 10% more than 1 TB. Modern NVMe SSDs offer 1–8 TB; enterprise SANs measure in petabytes (1,000 TB).
What is the fastest data transfer rate available?+
As of 2026: Thunderbolt 5: 120 Gbps theoretical; PCIe 5.0 ×16: ~256 Gbps; InfiniBand HDR: 200 Gbps per port; 800GbE Ethernet: 800 Gbps per port (data centre). Research links exceed 1 Pbps (petabits per second) in lab conditions over single optical fibers using wavelength division multiplexing. Standard home NVMe SSDs: 3–7 GB/s sequential read (24–56 Gbps).
How much internet bandwidth does 4K streaming require?+
Netflix recommends 25 Mbps for 4K Ultra HD; YouTube 4K requires ~20 Mbps; Disney+ 4K requires 25 Mbps; Apple TV 4K requires 25 Mbps. For multiple simultaneous streams, multiply accordingly. In bytes per hour: 25 Mbps × 3,600 s = 90,000 Mb = 11,250 MB ≈ 11.25 GB/hour. A 4K movie of 2 hours ≈ 22.5 GB of data streamed (at consistent 25 Mbps).
How long does it take to transfer 1 TB over different connections?+
1 TB = 8 Tbits = 8,000 Gbits. Transfer time = 8,000 Gbits ÷ speed: 100 Mbps (0.1 Gbps): ~22.2 hours; 1 Gbps: ~133 minutes; 10 Gbps: ~13.3 minutes; 100 Gbps: ~80 seconds; 1 Tbps: ~8 seconds. These are theoretical maximums at 100% utilization. Add 20–30% for real-world overhead. Use the Bandwidth Calculator for specific transfer time estimates.
Tags: Bits Bytes Converter MB to GB Converter KB to MB Mbps to MB/S Data Storage Units Binary Prefixes SI Prefixes KiB MiB GiB Gigabyte Megabyte Data Rate Converter

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Everyday

What is the difference between a bit and a byte?

A bit (b) is the smallest unit of digital information - a single binary digit, either 0 or 1. A byte (B) is 8 bits and is the standard unit for measuring data storage and file sizes. Almost all storage sizes (file sizes, disk sizes, RAM) are measured in bytes or multiples thereof. Network speeds are measured in bits per second (bps, Kbps, Mbps, Gbps).

What is the difference between KB (kilobyte) and KiB (kibibyte)?

KB (kilobyte, SI prefix) = 1,000 bytes. KiB (kibibyte, IEC binary prefix) = 1,024 bytes (= 2¹⁰). Hard drive manufacturers use SI (1 TB = 10¹² bytes). Operating systems historically used binary prefixes (1 KB = 1,024 bytes). The IEC introduced the KiB/MiB/GiB/TiB notation in 1998 to eliminate this ambiguity. At 1 TB, the difference is about 9.1%: a '1 TB' drive holds 931 GiB as reported by your OS.

How do you convert Mbps to MB/s?

Divide Mbps by 8: MB/s = Mbps ÷ 8. This is because 1 byte = 8 bits. Examples: 100 Mbps = 12.5 MB/s; 1 Gbps = 125 MB/s; 5 Gbps (USB 3.0 theoretical) = 625 MB/s. Internet providers advertise in Mbps; browsers and download managers show MB/s or MiB/s. Always divide by 8 to compare them.

How do you convert GB to MB?

SI: 1 GB = 1,000 MB (= 10³ MB). Binary IEC: 1 GiB = 1,024 MiB. To convert: multiply GB by 1,000 to get MB, or multiply GiB by 1,024 to get MiB. Example: a 500 GB SSD = 500,000 MB = 476,837 MiB (as your OS might report it). The 5% difference at GB scale and ~10% at TB scale explains why a '1 TB' drive appears as ~931 GB in Windows.

What is a nibble?

A nibble is 4 bits - exactly half a byte. Nibbles are significant in computing because one hexadecimal digit represents exactly one nibble (4 bits = one hex digit from 0 to F). A byte (8 bits) is two nibbles, represented as two hex digits (00 to FF). Nibbles are used internally in BCD (Binary Coded Decimal) arithmetic and in describing the structure of hex data.

What are the IEC binary prefixes?

The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) standardized binary prefixes in 1998: kibi (Ki) = 2¹⁰ = 1,024; mebi (Mi) = 2²⁰ = 1,048,576; gibi (Gi) = 2³⁰ = 1,073,741,824; tebi (Ti) = 2⁴⁰; pebi (Pi) = 2⁵⁰; exbi (Ei) = 2⁶⁰. These are exact powers of 2. The SI prefixes (k, M, G, T) remain as exact powers of 1,000. Using IEC notation (KiB, MiB, GiB) unambiguously means binary; using KB, MB, GB means decimal (1,000-based).

What is the difference between storage capacity and transfer speed units?

Storage capacity (file sizes, disk sizes, RAM): measured in bytes and byte-multiples (B, KB, MB, GB, TB). Transfer speed (network links, disk I/O): measured in bits per second (bps, Kbps, Mbps, Gbps) or bytes per second (B/s, KB/s, MB/s, GB/s). Network speeds almost always use bits per second. To find how long a file transfer takes: divide file size (in bits) by speed (in bps). Example: 1 GB file (= 8 Gb) over 100 Mbps link = 8,000 Mb ÷ 100 Mbps = 80 seconds.

How much data can a typical internet plan transfer?

Monthly data capacity at common plan speeds (assuming 100% utilization, 24/7): 10 Mbps = 3.2 TB/month; 100 Mbps = 32.4 TB/month; 1 Gbps = 324 TB/month. Most residential plans have data caps of 1–2 TB/month, making the actual monthly transfer far less than theoretical capacity. Use the Bandwidth Calculator to compute transfer times for specific file sizes.

How many bytes is a petabyte?

1 PB (petabyte, SI) = 10¹⁵ bytes = 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes = 1,000 TB. 1 PiB (pebibyte, IEC) = 2⁵⁰ bytes = 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes ≈ 1.126 × 10¹⁵ bytes. Global internet traffic is measured in exabytes (EB = 10¹⁸ bytes). Large cloud data centers store tens to hundreds of petabytes. A petabyte of MP3 audio at 128 kbps would represent approximately 2,000 years of listening.

Why do hard drives show less capacity than advertised?

Drive manufacturers use SI decimal prefixes (1 TB = 10¹² bytes = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes). Operating systems report capacity in binary (1 GiB = 2³⁰ = 1,073,741,824 bytes). A 1 TB drive contains exactly 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. Windows reports this as 931.3 GB (dividing by 1,073,741,824 per 'GB'). macOS uses SI since 2009 and reports 1 TB correctly. Linux uses GiB but may display as GB. There is no missing space - just a labeling difference.

How much data does streaming use?

Approximate streaming data per hour: SD (480p) ~700 MB–1 GB; HD (1080p) ~3–5 GB; 4K HDR ~7–20 GB; CD-quality audio ~115 MB; lossless FLAC ~300 MB. For a 100 Mbps connection: downloading 1 GB takes 80 seconds (100 Mbps = 12.5 MB/s; 1,000 MB ÷ 12.5 MB/s = 80 s). A 4K movie at 15 GB takes about 20 minutes to download at 100 Mbps.

📌 Quick Tips

💡Network speeds use bits per second (Kbps, Mbps, Gbps). File sizes use bytes (KB, MB, GB). To convert: divide Mbps by 8 to get MB/s. A 100 Mbps connection transfers 12.5 MB/s.
💡KB (kilobyte) = 1,000 bytes in SI (used by hard drives, SSDs, network speeds). KiB (kibibyte) = 1,024 bytes in IEC (used by RAM, OS file systems, programming). The difference matters at large scales: 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes but 1 TiB = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes (about 10% more).
💡Internet speeds are sold in Mbps (megabits), not MB/s (megabytes). A '100 Mbps' plan gives download speeds of about 12.5 MB/s in your browser.
💡One byte is 8 bits. One nibble is 4 bits (half a byte). A nibble represents one hexadecimal digit.
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