Data / Storage Converter
Convert
Handles both SI (KB = 1000) and IEC (KiB = 1024) units, plus bits.
Digital storage is measured in bits and bytes. There are two parallel naming schemes: SI (KB = 1000 bytes, MB = 10⁶) and IEC (KiB = 1024 bytes, MiB = 2²⁰). Disk manufacturers use SI; operating systems often report IEC — the same physical storage shows a "smaller" number in the OS.
Converting between the two (and to bits, for bandwidth calculations) is essential when comparing a drive's advertised capacity to what the OS reports, or when converting a file size to a transfer time over a bit-based link.
Common applications
Comparing a 1 TB drive's advertised size to the OS's 931 GiB; converting a file size to bits for a transfer-time estimate; reading a datasheet's bandwidth in Mbit/s vs. MB/s.
Frequently asked questions
The manufacturer sells 1 TB = 10¹² bytes (SI). The OS reports in GiB = 2³⁰ bytes. 10¹² / 2⁴⁰ ≈ 931 GiB.
KB = 1000 bytes (SI); KiB = 1024 bytes (IEC). They differ by ~2.4%.
8 bits per byte.