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Data Storage Converter

Convert between different units of digital data storage.

Decimal vs Binary Units

Decimal (SI) - Base 1000

  • 1 KB = 1,000 bytes
  • 1 MB = 1,000 KB = 1,000,000 bytes
  • 1 GB = 1,000 MB = 1,000,000,000 bytes
  • 1 TB = 1,000 GB
  • 1 PB = 1,000 TB

Used by hard drive manufacturers and network speeds

Binary (IEC) - Base 1024

  • 1 KiB = 1,024 bytes
  • 1 MiB = 1,024 KiB = 1,048,576 bytes
  • 1 GiB = 1,024 MiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes
  • 1 TiB = 1,024 GiB
  • 1 PiB = 1,024 TiB

Used by operating systems and RAM

Common File Sizes

  • Text file: ~1-100 KB
  • Photo (JPEG): ~2-10 MB
  • MP3 song: ~3-5 MB
  • HD movie: ~4-8 GB
  • 4K movie: ~20-40 GB
  • Video game: ~20-100 GB

About Data Storage Units

Digital data is measured in bits and bytes. A bit is the smallest unit (0 or 1), and a byte consists of 8 bits. Larger units are formed by multiplying by either 1000 (decimal) or 1024 (binary).

Why Two Systems?

Historically, computer memory used powers of 2 (binary), so 1 KB meant 1,024 bytes. However, hard drive manufacturers used decimal (1,000) for marketing. To reduce confusion, the IEC introduced binary prefixes (KiB, MiB, GiB) in 1998, but decimal prefixes (KB, MB, GB) remain common in marketing materials.

Practical Impact

This difference becomes significant with larger sizes. A "1 TB" hard drive actually has about 931 GiB of usable space because manufacturers use decimal units (1,000³) while operating systems report in binary units (1,024³).

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