Data Storage Converter
Quick answer: Choose a starting unit and a target unit, then enter a value. Common conversions: 1 GB = 1,000 MB; 1 B = 0.001 kB; 1 B = 0.000001 MB. This converter covers 11 data storage units.
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Use the Data Storage Converter
Data Storage formula and what each symbol means
target = value × (factor of starting unit ÷ factor of target unit), where each factor is the unit value in B.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| value | The number you want to convert |
| factor | The unit’s size expressed in the base unit (B) |
Data Storage examples
GB to MB
10 GB = 10,000 MB.
B to kB
10 B = 0.01 kB.
B to MB
10 B = 0.00001 MB.
How to calculate Data Storage step by step
- Choose the starting unit and the target unit.
- Enter your value.
- Read the converted value, plus the conversion factor in both directions.
Popular data storage conversions
- Bytes to KB converter
- Bytes to MB converter
- Bytes to GB converter
- Bytes to TB converter
- Bytes to Bits converter
- KB to Bytes converter
- KB to MB converter
- KB to GB converter
- KB to TB converter
- KB to Bits converter
- MB to Bytes converter
- MB to KB converter
- MB to GB converter
- MB to TB converter
- MB to Bits converter
- GB to Bytes converter
How to read your Data Storage result
Storage vendors use decimal prefixes (1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes), while many operating systems report binary values (1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes), which is why a 500 GB drive can show about 465 GiB. A byte is 8 bits.
| UNIT | SYMBOL | EQUALS | VALUE OF 1 B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Byte | B | 1 B = 1 B | 1 B |
| Bit | bit | 1 bit = 0.125 B | 8 bit |
| Kilobyte (1,000 B) | kB | 1 kB = 1,000 B | 0.001 kB |
| Megabyte (1,000,000 B) | MB | 1 MB = 1,000,000 B | 0.000001 MB |
| Gigabyte (10⁹ B) | GB | 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 B | 1×10⁻⁹ GB |
| Terabyte (10¹² B) | TB | 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 B | 1×10⁻¹² TB |
| Petabyte (10¹⁵ B) | PB | 1 PB = 1×10¹⁵ B | 1×10⁻¹⁵ PB |
| Kibibyte (1,024 B) | KiB | 1 KiB = 1,024 B | 0.0009765625 KiB |
| Mebibyte (2²⁰ B) | MiB | 1 MiB = 1,048,576 B | 9.536743×10⁻⁷ MiB |
| Gibibyte (2³⁰ B) | GiB | 1 GiB = 1,073,741,800 B | 9.313226×10⁻¹⁰ GiB |
| Tebibyte (2⁴⁰ B) | TiB | 1 TiB = 1,099,511,600,000 B | 9.094947×10⁻¹³ TiB |
Common mistakes when calculating Data Storage
- Treating 1 KB as 1,024 bytes: under the SI/IEC convention 1 kB is 1,000 bytes and 1 KiB is 1,024.
- Mixing bits and bytes: 8 bits make 1 byte.
- Expecting a drive to show its advertised size in an operating system that reports binary units.
Data Storage FAQ
How many MB are in a GB?
1 GB is 1,000 MB in the decimal system and 1,024 MiB in the binary system.
Why does my drive show less space than advertised?
The maker counts in decimal gigabytes while the operating system may display binary gibibytes.
How many bits are in a byte?
Eight.
What is the base unit for data storage?
This converter uses byte (B) as the common base unit: every value is first converted to it and then to the target unit.
How do I convert between two data storage units?
Choose the starting and target units, enter the value and read the result. By hand: convert to the base unit with the table, then divide by the target unit factor.
How many MB are in 1 gigabyte?
1 GB = 1,000 MB.
How many KB are in 1 byte?
1 B = 0.001 kB.
How many MB are in 1 byte?
1 B = 0.000001 MB.
Which data storage units does this converter support?
It covers 11 units: byte (B), bit (bit), kilobyte (kB), megabyte (MB), gigabyte (GB), terabyte (TB), petabyte (PB), kibibyte (KiB), mebibyte (MiB), gibibyte (GiB), tebibyte (TiB).
How accurate is the data storage converter?
Results are calculated at full double precision and shown to about 8 significant figures. Round the answer to the precision of your original measurement; a result cannot be more accurate than the number you started with.
More in Data Storage converters
- Bytes to TB Converter
- GB to Bytes Converter
- GB to KB Converter
- Bytes to GB Converter
- GB to TB Converter
- Bytes to Bits Converter
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Method, review and disclaimer
Edited by: Hemant Kumar and Anjita Rai, founders of ToolsVault (SEO and content professional, not a licensed adviser). Method: this tool runs in your browser using the formula shown on this page; the numbers you enter are not sent to our servers. Sources: NIST: prefixes for binary multiples, NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8: conversion factors