Data Unit Converter: Bits, Bytes, KB, MB, GB Online & Free
We support lightning-fast conversions between all commonly used units (bits, Bytes, Kilobytes, Megabytes, Gigabytes, Terabytes) and also include technically accurate binary units (Kibibyte, Mebibyte, etc.). Everything works online, for free, and without any installation.
Smart Calculations: Why Convert Data Units Here?
The world of data units is full of confusion – are they multiplied by a thousand, or by 1024? And what’s the difference between “b” and “B”? Our tool resolves these technical complexities for you.
- Real-time calculations: You don’t wait for the page to load or need to press a “Calculate” button. As soon as you enter a number, the results are automatically recalculated.
- Support for binary and decimal systems: Our algorithm distinguishes between common commercial designations (KB, MB) and precise technical notation (KiB, MiB), which you can see in the “Quick Overview” table.
- Scientific precision: We handle both microscopic and gigantic values. Thanks to support for scientific notation (e.g., e-9), you will see an accurate result even when converting from Tera units to Bytes and vice versa.
Comprehensive Overview: Understanding Data Units
Data is the lifeblood of modern technology. Yet, errors in units are common. The fundamental difference lies between a bit (transfer rate) and a Byte (capacity). Here is a table of relationships our converter uses.
| Unit | Abbreviation | Approximate Value (in Bytes) | Practical Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bit | b | 0.125 B (1/8 Byte) | Internet speed (Mb/s), basic unit of information (0 or 1). |
| Byte | B | 1 B | A single character in a text file. |
| Kilobyte | KB | approx 1,000 B | Emails without attachments, simple text documents. |
| Megabyte | MB | approx 1,000,000 B | MP3 songs (approx 3-10 MB), photos from a mobile phone. |
| Gigabyte | GB | approx 1 billion B | High-quality movies, RAM memory, mobile data plans. |
| Terabyte | TB | approx 1 trillion B | Hard drives (HDD/SSD), server backups, 4K video archives. |
| Petabyte | PB | approx 1 quadrillion B | Google/Facebook data centers, scientific research. |
Guide: How to Use the Converter Correctly
The controls are designed to be as intuitive as possible and save you as many clicks as possible when working with data.
1. Enter the value
Enter the number you want to convert into the left field.
- Tip: You can enter whole numbers (e.g., RAM size
16) as well as decimals.
2. Select input and output units
- In the left menu, select the unit, from which you are converting (e.g., “Gigabyte”).
- In the right menu, select the unit, to which you want the result (e.g., “Megabyte”).
- Between the fields, you’ll find a button with arrows to quickly swap sides.
3. Instant result and technical detail
The result is immediately visible in the right field. Additionally, below the calculator, a “Quick Overview” table is automatically generated, which is invaluable for IT professionals – it also shows values in Kibi/Mebi/Gibi format (powers of two), which is useful when checking the actual capacity of disks in the operating system.
Common Mistakes: Why Does My 1 TB Drive Only Show 930 GB?
The biggest trick in the computer world is the dual way of counting – decimal (used by people and disk manufacturers) and binary (used by computers).
Example from practice: You buy a drive labeled 1 TB (Terabyte). The manufacturer calculates that 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 Bytes. But when you connect it to Windows, the system shows a capacity of approximately 931 GB.
- Where did the data go? It didn’t. Windows calculates in the binary system, where 1 “Giga” is not 1000, but 1024 (2^10).
- The system should correctly use the unit GiB (Gibibyte), but for historical reasons, it often displays GB.
- Our converter solves this problem transparently. In the “Quick Overview” section below the calculator, you will see both classic decimal units (Kilobyte, Megabyte…) and binary units (Kibibyte, Mebibyte…) so you can verify the true value and understand the difference.
Beware of bits (b) and Bytes (B) Another common mistake is confusing lowercase ‘b’ and uppercase ‘B’.
- b = bit: Used for internet speed (e.g., 100 Mb/s).
- B = Byte: Used for file size (e.g., 100 MB).
- It holds that 1 Byte = 8 bits. So, if you have internet with a speed of 100 Mb/s, you are not downloading 100 Megabytes per second, but “only” 12.5 Megabytes (100 ÷ 8). Our tool will help you with this conversion too.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why is my download slow when I have fast internet?
This is due to the difference between units. Internet providers state speed in Megabits (Mb), but the browser shows downloads in Megabytes (MB). Since 1 Byte has 8 bits, you must divide your internet speed by eight to find the real file download speed. Our converter can do this – enter the value in "Mbit" (if it's in the list, or just divide by 8) and convert to "MByte".What do the abbreviations KiB, MiB, GiB in the overview mean?
These are binary prefixes (Kibibyte, Mebibyte, Gibibyte). While a classic Kilobyte (KB) is 1000 Bytes, a Kibibyte (KiB) is 1024 Bytes. These units are more precise for the world of computers and programming. Our widget automatically calculates these values in the "Quick Overview", which you will appreciate when checking disk partitions in Linux or managing servers, for example.What does a result like 9.31e-9 mean?
If you convert a small unit to an extremely large one (e.g., Bytes to Gigabytes, but you enter a small number), or vice versa, the result might be so long that scientific notation is used. The notatione-9 means you must move the decimal point 9 places to the left. This is a standard mathematical notation ensuring the result fits on the screen and remains maximally precise.