Data Storage Converter – Bits to Petabytes

A drive says 1 TB, your computer shows less, and your internet plan talks in megabits while your downloads are measured in megabytes. This free data storage converter converts between bits, bytes, and every size from kilobytes to petabytes — in both the decimal (steps of 1,000) and binary (steps of 1,024) systems — so you can see which convention a figure is using before you trust it. It is a plain calculator that runs entirely in your browser, with nothing uploaded and no signup.

How to use this data storage converter

Pick a size, pick a system, read the equivalents.

1Enter your size

Type a number, such as 500, and choose the unit it is in — bits, bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB, or larger.

2Choose decimal or binary

Pick the 1,000-step system used by drive makers, or the 1,024-step system used by many operating systems.

3Compare the equivalents

Read the same size in every other unit, and check whether a quoted figure used the system you expected.

Why this data storage converter shows both the 1,000 and 1,024 systems

Most confusion about file sizes is not arithmetic — it is two systems sharing the same names.

Both systems, side by side

Decimal KB, MB, and GB step by 1,000; binary KiB, MiB, and GiB step by 1,024. Seeing both stops a vendor figure being compared with an operating-system figure.

Bits versus bytes, kept apart

One byte is 8 bits. Network speeds in megabits and file sizes in megabytes differ by that factor of 8, and the tool keeps them visibly separate.

The missing-space mystery, explained

A drive sold as 1 TB holds 1,000,000,000,000 bytes, which works out to about 931 GiB in binary units — that gap, not a fault, is why a new drive looks smaller once formatted.

From bytes to petabytes

Convert anything from a single byte up to petabytes, so phone storage, cloud quotas, and archive sizes all fit in one tool.

Decimal or binary: which one is your figure using?

The same letters can mean two different amounts. Check the source before you convert.

Drive and phone makers use decimal. A 256 GB phone or a 1 TB drive is counted in powers of 1,000: 1 KB is 1,000 bytes and 1 GB is 1,000,000,000 bytes. That is the figure on the box.

Many operating systems report binary and label it the same way. Windows has traditionally divided by 1,024 at each step while still writing GB, so 1 TB on the box shows as about 931 GB on screen. The IEC names for the binary units — KiB, MiB, GiB — exist precisely to end this ambiguity, but not every program uses them.

Network speeds are bits, not bytes. A 100 Mbps connection moves 100 million bits per second, which is 12.5 megabytes per second at most, before overhead. If a download seems eight times slower than the plan promises, this bits-versus-bytes gap is usually the reason.

Data Storage Converter FAQs

Short, direct answers to the questions readers ask most.

The drive maker counts 1 TB as 1,000,000,000,000 bytes, while the operating system divides by 1,024 at each step. The bytes are all there — the two systems just label them differently.

Both, depending on the system. Decimal KB is 1,000 bytes; binary KiB is 1,024 bytes. This tool lets you pick which one you mean.

Eight. To turn bytes into bits, multiply by 8; to turn bits into bytes, divide by 8.

MB in the decimal system is 1,000,000 bytes, while MiB in the binary system is 1,048,576 bytes. The gap grows with size — about 2% at kilo scale and about 10% at tera scale.

Yes. It is a calculator that runs entirely in your browser — no account, no signup, and nothing uploaded.