The missing gigabytes
The same physical capacity in the two conventions.
Input
500 GB (decimal) → binary unitsOutput
≈ 465.66 GiB — the "missing" 34 GB is the 1000-vs-1024 convention gap, not lost spaceData Storage Converter
Convert bits, bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB, and PB in both the decimal (1000) and binary (1024) conventions — the split behind the missing gigabytes.
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Content last reviewed
1,024 megabytes equals
1.024GB
1 MB = 0.001 GB
Decimals
Every size at once
Megabytes → Gigabytes reference
| Megabytes (MB) | Gigabytes (GB) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.001 |
| 8 | 0.008 |
| 16 | 0.016 |
| 64 | 0.064 |
| 128 | 0.128 |
| 256 | 0.256 |
| 1,024 | 1.024 |
The formula
In the decimal (SI)convention each step is ×1000: 1 MB = 1000 KB = 1,000,000 bytes. This is what hard-drive, SSD and USB makers print on the box, and what internet speeds use. Transfer/network rates are usually in bits— divide by 8 to get bytes (a 100 Mbps line moves ~12.5 MB/s).
Quick Start
Pick the convention
Decimal (KB
/MB/GB, powers of 1000) or binary (KiB/MiB/GiB, powers of 1024).Enter the amount
Type the value and choose its unit — bits and bytes included.
Read the grid
The headline pair converts with full precision, and every unit shows alongside.
Examples
Megabits to megabytes
Why a 100 Mbps line downloads at ~12.5 MB/s: eight bits per byte.
Input
100 megabits → megabytesOutput
12.5 MB — divide bits by 8 to get bytesAbout the Data Storage Converter
Why does a "1 TB" drive show up as 931 GB? Because two measurement conventions share the same unit names: drive makers and network speeds count in decimal (1 GB = 1,000 MB), while operating systems report in binary (1 GiB = 1,024 MiB) — and Windows compounds the confusion by using binary math with decimal labels. This converter makes the split explicit: a mode switch selects the convention, and each mode carries its proper unit set.
Decimal mode covers bits, bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB, and PB at powers of 1,000; binary mode covers bits, bytes, KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB, and PiB at powers of 1,024. Within either mode you get the full converter workflow: a From/To pair with swap, decimal-precision control with scientific notation, a live grid converting every unit at once with click-to-copy cards, and a reference table of common values. Bits are included in both modes because network and transfer speeds are quoted in bits — the reason a "100 Mbps" connection downloads at about 12.5 megabytes per second.
The practical payoff is decoding exactly the mismatches that generate support tickets: drive capacities versus what the OS reports, download-speed marketing versus observed file transfer rates, and hosting-plan quotas versus file-manager sizes. One conversion here usually settles the argument.
How to Use Data Storage Converter
Choose the convention: decimal (KB, MB, GB… at powers of 1,000 — drive labels, network speeds) or binary (KiB, MiB, GiB… at powers of 1,024 — operating systems and RAM).
Type the amount and pick its From unit; choose the To unit for the headline result, or read any unit from the live grid.
Use swap to reverse the pair, and the decimals control (Auto
/0/2/4/6, plus scientific notation) to shape the output.Copy the result or any grid card, and check the reference table for a run of common values.
To decode a drive-label mismatch: enter the advertised decimal size, then compare against the binary units — that gap is the "missing" space.
Key Features
Both conventions, explicitly
A decimal/binary mode switch with the correct unit set for each — KB
/MB/GBversus KiB/MiB/GiB— instead of one silently assumed convention.Bits included
Network speeds are quoted in bits; the converter bridges bits and bytes in both modes.
Live all-units grid
Every unit in the active convention converts simultaneously, each card copyable.
Precision and notation control
Auto or 0–6 decimals with scientific notation for the very large values storage math produces.
Reference table
Common values for the current pair — the 1, 8, 64, 256, 1024 ladder of computing.
When to Use Data Storage Converter
Decoding drive capacities
Reconcile the advertised terabytes with what the operating system reports.
Download-speed reality checks
Convert megabits-per-second marketing into the megabytes per second downloads actually show.
Hosting and quota math
Compare plan limits, backup sizes, and file totals quoted in mixed units.
Development and ops
Move between bytes and human-readable sizes when reading configs and logs.
How It Works
Both modes convert through the byte as base unit: a bit is 1/8 byte, and each larger unit is the previous times 1,000 (decimal mode) or 1,024 (binary mode). Your amount converts to bytes via the From unit's factor, then to the target via the To unit's — one exact pass, with rounding only at display time.
The two conventions exist for historical reasons: memory hardware naturally comes in powers of two (hence 1,024), while the metric prefixes kilo/mega/giga formally mean powers of ten. The standards bodies resolved the clash by giving the binary steps their own names — kibibyte, mebibyte, gibibyte (KiB, MiB, GiB) — which is exactly how the binary mode labels them.
Supported Formats and Options
Options
Convention mode
Decimal (powers of 1,000) or binary (powers of 1,024), each with its correct unit names.
From / To with swap
Any pair within the active mode, from bits to petabytes/pebibytes.
Decimals and notation
Auto or 0–6 places; scientific notation for extreme magnitudes.
Copy and reset
Copy the headline or any grid card; reset restores the defaults.
Common Errors and Troubleshooting
Common errors
Comparing across conventions without noticing
A drive label (decimal) against an OS report (binary) will always disagree — about 7% at the terabyte scale. Convert both to one convention before concluding anything is missing.
Confusing megabits with megabytes
Mb and MB differ by a factor of eight. Internet plans quote bits; file sizes are bytes — the bits units in the converter bridge the two.
Reading Windows sizes as decimal
Windows computes in binary but labels the result GB/TB, which is why its numbers undershoot drive labels. macOS and most Linux file managers use decimal — same file, different report.
Troubleshooting guide
Settling storage arguments
- "My 1 TB drive is only 931 GB": convert 1 TB decimal to binary — 931.32 GiB. Nothing is missing; Windows is measuring in binary units under decimal labels.
- "My 100 Mbps connection downloads at 12 MB/s": correct behaviour — divide by 8 for bytes, and a little protocol overhead accounts for the rest.
- Quota planning: hosting and cloud quotas are usually decimal; local file managers may be binary. Convert everything to bytes (the shared base) when the numbers must reconcile exactly.
- Which mode to use: match the source of your number — drive labels, bandwidth, and cloud tiers are decimal; RAM, Windows reports, and most OS-level tooling are binary.
Limitations and Important Notes
The converter covers bits through petabytes/pebibytes in the two standard conventions — it converts sizes, not speeds over time (no Mbps-to-download-duration math), and mixed expressions like "1.5 TB in GiB per month" need decomposing. Which convention a given product uses is the product's choice; the tool makes the conventions explicit but cannot detect which one a label meant.
Privacy and Data Processing
All conversion is local arithmetic in your browser; values are never uploaded or stored.
Tips and Best Practices
Practical tips
Match the mode to the number's source: labels and bandwidth are decimal, OS reports and RAM are binary.
Divide by 8 to turn connection megabits into download megabytes.
Reconcile mixed reports by converting everything to bytes first.
Expect the ~7% label-versus-OS gap at terabyte scale — it is convention, not loss.
Use the KiB
/MiB/GiBnames when precision matters in writing; they are unambiguous.
Best practices
Working across the 1000/1024 divide
Name the convention whenever a size matters — in docs, tickets, and capacity plans, "500 GB (decimal)" or "465 GiB" is unambiguous while a bare "500 GB" invites the classic 7% dispute. The binary unit names exist precisely to end that ambiguity; using them costs one letter.
For capacity planning, do the arithmetic in bytes and convert only for presentation. Bytes are the shared base both conventions agree on, so sums and quotas computed there survive any later re-labelling — the converter's byte row is the pivot for exactly this.
Technical Details
Byte-based conversion with per-mode factor tables: decimal units at 10³ steps (KB=1e3 … PB=1e15), binary at 2¹⁰ steps (KiB=1024 … PiB=1024⁵), bits as 1/8 byte in both. Formatting follows the converter family — auto precision with scientific fallback, fixed 0–6 decimals, exponential toggle, plain-number copy. Switching modes swaps the unit set and default pair. Fully client-side.
Comparison
Decimal vs. binary units
| Decimal (powers of 1000) | Binary (powers of 1024) | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 1 KB = 1,000 B | 1 KiB = 1,024 B | 2.4% |
| 1 MB = 1,000² B | 1 MiB = 1,024² B | 4.9% |
| 1 GB = 1,000³ B | 1 GiB = 1,024³ B | 7.4% |
| 1 TB = 1,000⁴ B | 1 TiB = 1,024⁴ B | 10.0% |
The gap grows with each step — which is why a terabyte drive "loses" more than a gigabyte card ever seemed to.
Who Is This For?
Anyone who has stared at a drive reporting less than the box promised, developers and ops people reconciling quotas and logs, shoppers converting bandwidth marketing into real download speeds, and students learning why kibibytes exist. The two-mode design suits precisely the situations where the conventions collide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my 1 TB drive show as 931 GB?
The drive is labelled in decimal (1 TB = 10¹² bytes) while Windows reports in binary units (dividing by 1024⁴) under the same GB/TB labels. 10¹² bytes is exactly 931.32 GiB — the space is all there; the conventions differ.
What is the difference between MB and MiB?
MB is the decimal megabyte (1,000,000 bytes); MiB is the binary mebibyte (1,048,576 bytes) — about 4.9% larger. The i-names were standardized to end the ambiguity of one name meaning two sizes.
Why is my download slower than my internet plan's number?
Plans are quoted in megabits per second, downloads shown in megabytes per second — a factor of eight. A 100 Mbps line tops out around 12.5 MB/s before protocol overhead; the bits/bytes units here do that conversion.
Which convention should I use?
The one your number came from: drive labels, bandwidth, and cloud pricing are decimal; RAM, Windows reports, and most OS tooling are binary. When reconciling both kinds, convert everything to bytes first.
Why are bits included in a storage converter?
Because transfer speeds are quoted in bits while files are measured in bytes, and bridging the two is half of real-world storage math. A bit is an eighth of a byte in both conventions.