Data Storage Converter

How It Works

Digital data storage is based on binary (base-2) counting because computer hardware is built from transistors that have two states: on or off, representing 1 and 0. A bit is the smallest unit (one binary digit). Eight bits form one byte, the fundamental unit of data storage.

This converter uses the byte (B) as its base unit with binary prefixes where each step multiplies by 1,024 (2¹⁰):
• 1 KB (kilobyte) = 1,024 bytes = 2¹⁰ bytes
• 1 MB (megabyte) = 1,024 KB = 1,048,576 bytes = 2²⁰ bytes
• 1 GB (gigabyte) = 1,024 MB = 1,073,741,824 bytes = 2³⁰ bytes
• 1 TB (terabyte) = 1,024 GB = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes = 2⁴⁰ bytes
• 1 PB (petabyte) = 1,024 TB = 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes = 2⁵⁰ bytes

The binary vs. decimal controversy: Storage manufacturers use decimal prefixes (1 KB = 1,000 bytes, 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes) to make drive capacities look larger, while operating systems use binary. This is why a "500 GB" hard drive shows as about 465 GB in Windows or macOS — the OS displays 500,000,000,000 ÷ 1,073,741,824 ≈ 465.66 binary GB.

The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) introduced the "binary prefixes" kibibyte (KiB), mebibyte (MiB), gibibyte (GiB), etc. in 1998 to eliminate ambiguity. However, mainstream adoption has been slow and most consumer software still uses the ambiguous KB/MB/GB.

Worked example — Photo storage:
A 20 MP camera photo in RAW format ≈ 25 MB. A 128 GB memory card holds: 128 × 1,024 MB ÷ 25 MB/photo ≈ 5,243 photos.

Worked example — Video file:
A 1-hour 1080p video at typical 8 Mbps bitrate = 8 megabits/s × 3,600 s ÷ 8 bits/byte = 3,600 megabytes = 3.52 GB.

Worked example — Internet speed vs storage:
A 100 Mbps internet connection downloads at 100 megabits per second = 12.5 megabytes per second = 12.5 MB/s. Downloading a 4 GB game: 4 × 1,024 MB ÷ 12.5 MB/s = 327.68 seconds ≈ 5.46 minutes.

Note: internet speeds use bits (Mb/s or Gbps), while file sizes use bytes (MB, GB). Always divide Mb/s by 8 to get MB/s.