About Data Storage Converter
This data storage converter changes a size between bits, kilobits, megabits, gigabits, bytes, and the byte multiples from kilobyte up to petabyte. One megabyte is 8,000,000 bits when a megabyte means 1,000,000 bytes, the SI definition drive makers use. It is 8,388,608 bits when it means 1,048,576 bytes, the binary size that operating systems often report and that is properly called a mebibyte (MiB). This tool lists SI units (kB, MB, GB, TB, PB) and binary units (KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB) as separate choices, so the answer matches whichever convention your drive label, operating system or config file uses.
Megabytes to bits (MB to bits) conversion table
The middle column uses the Megabyte — SI (1,000 kB) unit. The right column uses Mebibyte — binary (1,024 KiB), for when your megabytes are 1,024-based.
| Megabytes | Bits (SI MB, 1,000,000 bytes) | Bits (binary MiB, 1,048,576 bytes) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8,000,000 | 8,388,608 |
| 2 | 16,000,000 | 16,777,216 |
| 5 | 40,000,000 | 41,943,040 |
| 10 | 80,000,000 | 83,886,080 |
| 25 | 200,000,000 | 209,715,200 |
| 50 | 400,000,000 | 419,430,400 |
| 100 | 800,000,000 | 838,860,800 |
| 500 | 4,000,000,000 | 4,194,304,000 |
| 1,000 | 8,000,000,000 | 8,388,608,000 |
The Result line shows plain digits such as 8000000 bit. The Rounded line adds the thousands separators.
Bits to bytes to kilobytes to megabytes to gigabytes: every unit in the tool
What one of each unit equals in bytes and bits.
| Unit | Bytes | Bits | Step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bit | 0.125 | 1 | Smallest unit |
| Byte (B) | 1 | 8 | 8 bits |
| Kilobyte (kB) | 1,000 | 8,000 | 10^3 bytes |
| Megabyte (MB) | 1,000,000 | 8,000,000 | 10^6 bytes |
| Gigabyte (GB) | 1,000,000,000 | 8,000,000,000 | 10^9 bytes |
| Terabyte (TB) | 1,000,000,000,000 | 8,000,000,000,000 | 10^12 bytes |
| Petabyte (PB) | 1,000,000,000,000,000 | 8,000,000,000,000,000 | 10^15 bytes |
| Kibibyte (KiB) | 1,024 | 8,192 | 2^10 bytes |
| Mebibyte (MiB) | 1,048,576 | 8,388,608 | 2^20 bytes |
| Gibibyte (GiB) | 1,073,741,824 | 8,589,934,592 | 2^30 bytes |
| Tebibyte (TiB) | 1,099,511,627,776 | 8,796,093,022,208 | 2^40 bytes |
| Kilobit (kbit) | 125 | 1,000 | 10^3 bits |
| Megabit (Mbit) | 125,000 | 1,000,000 | 10^6 bits |
| Gigabit (Gbit) | 125,000,000 | 1,000,000,000 | 10^9 bits |
Bit units are decimal only, as they are in networking. For one petabyte the Result line switches to scientific notation: 1.000000e+15 B and 8.000000e+15 bit.
Advertised drive size versus the size in binary units
Drives are sold in SI gigabytes and terabytes. Windows counts in binary units but still labels them GB and TB, so the number it reports looks smaller. Convert from Gigabyte — SI (1,000 MB) to Gibibyte — binary (1,024 MiB) to get the figure.
| On the box | Bytes | In binary units |
|---|---|---|
| 16 GB | 16,000,000,000 | 14.901161 GiB |
| 32 GB | 32,000,000,000 | 29.802322 GiB |
| 64 GB | 64,000,000,000 | 59.604645 GiB |
| 128 GB | 128,000,000,000 | 119.20929 GiB |
| 256 GB | 256,000,000,000 | 238.418579 GiB |
| 500 GB | 500,000,000,000 | 465.661287 GiB |
| 512 GB | 512,000,000,000 | 476.837158 GiB |
| 1 TB | 1,000,000,000,000 | 931.322575 GiB |
| 2 TB | 2,000,000,000,000 | 1.818989 TiB |
| 4 TB | 4,000,000,000,000 | 3.637979 TiB |
| 8 TB | 8,000,000,000,000 | 7.275958 TiB |
Windows shows these binary figures with a GB or TB label and may round them differently. Formatting and recovery partitions take a little more on top. No storage is missing; the same bytes are counted in larger units.
The megabyte to bit formula
bits = megabytes × 8,000,000 (SI) or bits = mebibytes × 8,388,608 (binary)
A byte is 8 bits. An SI megabyte is 1,000 × 1,000 bytes, so 1,000,000 × 8 = 8,000,000 bits. A mebibyte is 1,024 × 1,024 bytes, so 1,048,576 × 8 = 8,388,608 bits. For the reverse direction divide: 8,000,000 bits is exactly 1 MB and 8,388,608 bits is exactly 1 MiB. The same pattern scales up: multiply by 1,000 per step for kB, MB, GB, TB and PB, and by 1,024 per step for KiB, MiB, GiB and TiB.
Worked conversions
1 MB to bits
Value 1, From Megabyte — SI (1,000 kB), To Bit
8000000 bit, with Formula 1 MB = 8000000 bit
Switch From to Mebibyte — binary (1,024 KiB) and the Result becomes 8388608 bit.
Megabytes to gigabytes (the default pair)
Value 1500, From Megabyte — SI (1,000 kB), To Gigabyte — SI (1,000 MB)
1.5 GB
In binary units, 1,024 MiB is exactly 1 GiB, while 1,024 MB is 1.024 GB.
Megabytes to petabytes
Value 250000000, From Megabyte — SI (1,000 kB), To Petabyte — SI (1,000 TB)
0.25 PB
A single megabyte is 1.000000e-9 PB, and a single bit is 1.250000e-16 PB.
Bits to gigabytes
Value 8000000000, From Bit, To Gigabyte — SI (1,000 MB)
1 GB
One bit on its own is 1.250000e-10 GB, and 1,000,000,000 bits is 0.125 GB.
Broadband speed to download rate
Value 100, From Megabit (1,000 kbit), To Megabyte — SI (1,000 kB)
12.5 MB
A 100 Mbit/s line therefore moves at most 12.5 MB each second, or 11.920929 MiB. A 4 GB file is 32,000 Mbit, which takes 320 seconds at that speed.
An upload limit in bytes
Value 25, From Megabyte — SI (1,000 kB), To Byte (8 bits)
25000000 B
If the software means mebibytes, 25 MiB is 26214400 B. Using the wrong one makes the limit about 4.9 percent off.
Why a megabyte has two sizes
Computer memory is addressed in binary, so its sizes fall on powers of two. Early engineers noticed that 2^10, or 1,024, is close to 1,000 and borrowed the metric prefix kilo for it. The habit carried up through mega and giga, even though SI prefixes are strictly decimal.
The gap grows at each step. A kibibyte is 2.4 percent larger than a kilobyte, a mebibyte 4.9 percent larger than a megabyte, a gibibyte 7.4 percent larger than a gigabyte and a tebibyte about 10 percent larger than a terabyte.
In 1998 the IEC introduced the names kibibyte, mebibyte, gibibyte and tebibyte (KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB) for the 1,024-based sizes, leaving kB, MB, GB and TB to mean powers of 1,000. Usage is still mixed. Drive, SSD and memory card makers use the decimal units. Windows reports binary quantities but labels them KB, MB and GB. macOS has shown decimal units since 2009, so a drive's advertised size matches what Finder reports. RAM is sold in binary sizes, so 16 GB of RAM is really 16 GiB, or 17.179869 GB. Network speeds and data caps are decimal.
What this converter does not cover
- Nothing larger than a petabyte or a tebibyte: there is no exabyte, zettabyte or pebibyte option.
- No binary bit units. Kilobit, megabit and gigabit are 1,000-based only; kibibit and mebibit are not offered.
- No transfer times. It converts sizes, not speeds, so work out seconds yourself by dividing megabits by megabits per second.
- Results are shown to six decimal places. Anything smaller than 0.000001 or at least 1,000,000,000,000,000 is written in scientific notation, such as 1.250000e-7.
- The Rounded line keeps only two decimals, so small results show as 0 there even when the Result line is correct.
Step by step
- 1
Enter the size in the Value box, for example 1.
- 2
In the From list choose the unit you have, for example Megabyte — SI (1,000 kB) or Mebibyte — binary (1,024 KiB). Each option states its size in brackets.
- 3
In the To list choose the unit you want, such as Bit or Gigabyte — SI (1,000 MB).
- 4
Read the Result. The Formula line under Conversion details shows how many of the target unit make one of the source unit.
- 5
Scroll to the Same value in every unit table to compare the SI and binary answers side by side without changing the lists.