Data Storage Converter
Convert between bits, bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB, and more.
About this tool
Why does your 1 TB drive show as 931 GB? The Data Storage Converter not only converts between all storage units but helps you understand the difference between decimal (manufacturer) and binary (OS) measurements.
How the Data Storage Converter works
The Data Storage Converter converts between 7 data units: bit, byte (B), kilobyte (KB), megabyte (MB), gigabyte (GB), terabyte (TB), and petabyte (PB). It supports both decimal (1 KB = 1,000 B) and binary (1 KiB = 1,024 B) interpretations.
How to use this tool
- Enter the value you want to convert.
- Select the source unit from the 'From' dropdown.
- Select the target unit from the 'To' dropdown.
- Click 'Convert' to see the result.
Common use cases
Understanding how many megabytes are in a gigabyte
Calculating download times from internet speed (Mbps) to file sizes (MB)
Explaining the discrepancy between advertised and actual drive capacity
Planning cloud storage needs in appropriate units
Examples
- 1 GB = 1,000 MB (decimal) or 1,024 MB (binary). 1 TB = 1,000 GB decimal ≈ 931 GiB binary.
- A 100 Mbps internet connection transfers at 12.5 MB/s maximum. 8 bits = 1 byte.
Tips & best practices
- Network speeds use bits (Mbps), file sizes use bytes (MB). Divide Mbps by 8 to get MB/s transfer speed.
- Storage manufacturers use decimal (1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes). Operating systems use binary (1 TiB = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes). That's why a '1 TB' drive shows ~931 GB in Windows.
- The gap between decimal and binary grows with each unit: at KB it's 2.4%, at TB it's ~10%.
Common mistakes to avoid
❌ Confusing Mbps (megabits) with MB/s (megabytes) when estimating download speeds — there's an 8× difference.
❌ Assuming storage manufacturers are cheating when drive capacity appears lower — both the decimal and binary measurements are correct in their respective systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many bytes are in a megabyte?
1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes (decimal, used by manufacturers) or 1,048,576 bytes (binary, used by operating systems).
Why does my drive show less space than advertised?
Drive manufacturers use decimal units (1 TB = 1,000 GB) while your operating system uses binary units (1 TiB = 1,024 GiB). A 1 TB drive displays as approximately 931 GiB.
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