Digital storage Converter

This digital storage converter features 34 data units. This makes it possible to convert freely between data quantities and memory sizes using decimal and binary prefixes (IEC prefixes). The values of the data units are converted in real time and displayed with up to 20 decimal places, ensuring sufficient accuracy.

Two Steps to Your Result

Our digital storage converter offers several input fields, each displaying the current unit symbol (for example, MB, bit or GB). To change a unit, simply click on the unit symbol and select your preferred measurement from the dropdown menu.

Once you have selected the desired units in the digital storage converter, simply enter the value you want to convert. You can input numbers into any of the available fields. As soon as you enter a value in one field, all other fields will automatically update and display the converted results. Both the entered value and the calculated results are automatically rounded to the predefined number of decimal places.

At the bottom of the digital storage converter, you will find two green buttons. The button on the right resets the converter to its default state. This restores all units, values, and decimal settings to their original configuration. The button on the left clears the current inputs by setting all values to zero, while keeping your selected units and decimal settings unchanged.

Conversion table for digital storage units

Data quantities are always specified with a value and the corresponding unit. A conversion table can be used to determine the value of the known data quantity in another unit. For example: How many megabytes [MB] are in 1 gigabyte [GB]?. In most cases, a conversion table is used to determine the appropriate calculation method for converting one data unit into another. However, these tables can be difficult for inexperienced users to understand, as they are very extensive and contain data units with decimal and binary prefixes.

The following tool provides a remedy for this problem, allowing the appropriate calculation methods to be queried directly from the conversion table. In total, the conversion table contains 34 data units with decimal and binary prefixes.

Converting data volumes and storage sizes in everyday life

There are many units of measurement for data volumes that are rarely used in everyday life. These include, for example, kibibit [Kibit], yobibit [Yibit] or yobibyte [YiB]. It is also rather unlikely that a very small unit of measurement will be converted into zettabytes [ZB]. For this reason, it is not necessary to know all conversion values by heart. However, there are units of measurement for data volumes that are used very frequently in everyday life. Examples include megabyte [MB], gigabyte [GB] and terabyte [TB]. For these units of measurement, it can be very helpful to know the calculation method and the conversion value by heart.

Converting gigabytes and megabytes

Megabytes [MB] and gigabytes [GB] can be converted very easily, as they both use a prefix from the decimal system. A conversion value of 1,000 is used for the conversion. The value in gigabytes [GB] multiplied by 1,000 gives the value in megabytes [MB]. Dividing the value in megabytes [MB] by 1,000 gives the value in gigabytes [GB].

• Megabytes [MB] = gigabytes [GB] * 1,000
• Gigabytes [GB] = megabytes [MB] ÷ 1,000

Converting gigabits and megabytes

The conversion between megabytes [MB] and gigabits [Gbit] is done using a conversion factor of 125. The value in gigabits [Gbit] multiplied by 125 gives the value in megabytes [MB]. Dividing the value in megabytes [MB] by 125 gives the value in gigabits [Gbit].

• Megabyte [MB] = gigabit [Gbit] * 125
• Gigabit [Gbit] = megabyte [MB] ÷ 125

Converting megabits and megabytes

The conversion between megabits [Mbit] and megabytes [MB] is done using a conversion factor of 8. The value in megabytes [MB] multiplied by 8 gives the value in megabits [Mbit]. If the value in megabits [Mbit] is divided by 8, the result is the value in megabytes [MB].

• Megabits [Mbit] = megabytes [MB] * 8
• Megabytes [MB] = megabits [Mbit] ÷ 8

Converting terabytes and gigabytes

Hard drive storage space is often measured in terabytes [TB] or gigabytes [GB]. A conversion factor of 1,000 is used for conversion. The value in terabytes [TB] multiplied by 1,000 gives the value in gigabytes [GB]. Dividing the value in gigabytes [GB] by 1,000 gives the value in terabytes [TB].

• Gigabytes [GB] = terabytes [TB] * 1,000
• Terabytes [TB] = gigabytes [GB] ÷ 1,000

Confusion when converting due to different prefix names

Bytes and bits are the basic units used to describe data volumes, storage sizes, or the speed of internet connections. The number of bytes and bits can quickly rise into the millions or billions. Some of the resulting numbers become so large that they are difficult to understand rationally. Prefixes are used in front of the byte to better distinguish between data volumes. Common prefixes are kilo, mega, or giga. Instead of 1,000,000 bytes, 1 megabyte is written, which is much easier to read.

But this is exactly where the problem arises, leading to confusion when converting. The prefixes used are based on powers of ten, as they originate from the decimal system. This is precisely the system that we humans use to work and calculate. In this system, ten Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) form the basis for creating all numbers. The ten numerals are also called decimal digits.

However, computers work with the binary system, which is based on powers of two. This means that only the numbers 0 and 1 are used to represent all values. These two numbers are also referred to as binary digits, with "bit" being the short form of binary digit. A single bit allows a distinction to be made between exactly two options: yes/no, 1 or 0, low/high, true/false, on/off. These choices are also called binary decisions. Combining several bits significantly increases the number of possible binary decisions. While 2 bits offer a total of 4 binary decisions, 6 bits already result in 64 binary decisions. Combining 8 bits creates 1 byte, which already allows for 256 binary decisions.

Due to these differences, decimal prefixes are unsuitable for computer systems and the binary system. In the early years of the computer age, however, there were no official prefixes for the binary system, which is why large numbers were simply abbreviated using decimal prefixes. When referring to 1 kilobyte, this often meant 1,024 bytes rather than 1,000 bytes. A difference of 2.4%. Similarly, 1 megabyte did not refer to 1,000,000 bytes, but rather 1,048,576 bytes, which is a difference of approximately 4.86%.

In the days when data volumes were still measured in kilobytes and megabytes, the discrepancies were usually negligible. Nowadays, data volumes are measured in gigabytes, terabytes, and petabytes, which means that the discrepancies are quite significant. The following table shows the percentage differences that result from the use of binary and decimal prefixes.

Back in the 1990s, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) introduced suitable prefixes for the binary system. These are based on powers of two. Instead of kilo, mega, or giga, kibi, mebi, or giby should be used. The syllable “bi” refers to the binary conversion of the data quantity. The IEC recommends the use of binary prefixes because they represent storage capacities more accurately. To date, the prefixes for the binary system have not yet become universally accepted. As a result, there is still confusion among hardware and software manufacturers, computer scientists, and the general population.

This is why the storage capacity of a hard drive is smaller than specified

For example, if you buy a new 250 gigabyte [GB] hard drive and connect it to your PC at home, the operating system will tell you that the hard drive only has approximately 233 GB of storage available, not 250 GB. However, 233 GB does not mean 233 gigabytes, as the prefix "giga" comes from the decimal system. In reality, it is 233 gibibytes, which corresponds to 250,000,000,000 bytes. The storage space is therefore correct, but the operating system should display 233 GiB instead of 233 GB, as GiB is the correct notation with the prefix from the binary system.

When calculating data volumes and storage sizes where every byte counts, it is important to check whether the conversion is performed using prefixes from the decimal or binary system.

Conversion to bytes with decimal prefixes (SI prefixes)

1. 1 Byte (B) = 10⁰ Byte = 1 Byte
2. 1 Kilobyte (kB) = 10³ Byte = 1,000 Byte
3. 1 Megabyte (MB) = 10⁶ Byte = 1,000,000 Byte
4. 1 Gigabyte (GB) = 10⁹ Byte = 1,000,000,000 Byte
5. 1 Terabyte (TB) = 10¹² Byte = 1,000,000,000,000 Byte
6. 1 Petabyte (PB) = 10¹⁵ Byte = 1,000,000,000,000,000 Byte
7. 1 Exabyte (EB) = 10¹⁸ Byte = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 Byte
8. 1 Zettabyte (ZB) = 10²¹ Byte = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Byte
9. 1 Yottabyte (YB) = 10²⁴ Byte = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Byte

Conversion to bytes using binary prefixes (IEC prefixes)

1. 1 Kibibyte (KiB) = 2¹⁰ Byte = 1,024 Byte
2. 1 Mebibyte (MiB) = 2²⁰ Byte = 1,048,576 Byte
3. 1 Gibibyte (GiB) = 2³⁰ Byte = 1,073,741,824 Byte
4. 1 Tebibyte (TiB) = 2⁴⁰ Byte = 1,099,511,627,776 Byte
5. 1 Pebibyte (PiB) = 2⁵⁰ Byte = 1,125,899,906,842,624 Byte
6. 1 Exbibyte (EiB) = 2⁶⁰ Byte = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 Byte
7. 1 Zebibyte (ZiB) = 2⁷⁰ Byte = 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 Byte
8. 1 Yobibyte (YiB) = 2⁸⁰ Byte = 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176 Byte