💾 Storage Conversion

Conversion Type

Used by operating systems and memory specifications (1 KB = 1,024 bytes)

📊 Common Examples

📚 Storage Units Guide

Bit (bit)

The smallest unit of data in computing. Can hold a single binary value (0 or 1).

Common Usage: Used in networking speeds and data transmission rates

Byte (B)

A group of 8 bits. Can represent a single character.

Common Usage: Basic unit for measuring file sizes and memory

Kilobyte (KB)

1,000 bytes (decimal) or 1,024 bytes (binary). Size of a small text file.

Common Usage: Small files, simple documents, icons

Megabyte (MB)

1,000,000 bytes (decimal) or 1,048,576 bytes (binary). Size of a high-quality photo.

Common Usage: Photos, songs, small applications

Gigabyte (GB)

1,000,000,000 bytes (decimal) or 1,073,741,824 bytes (binary). Size of a movie.

Common Usage: Movies, games, RAM capacity, storage drives

Terabyte (TB)

1,000,000,000,000 bytes (decimal) or 1,099,511,627,776 bytes (binary).

Common Usage: Large storage drives, data centers, backups

💡 Storage Facts

Binary vs Decimal

Binary uses 1024 (2¹⁰) while decimal uses 1000 (10³) as the conversion factor.

Hard Drive Marketing

Hard drive manufacturers use decimal (1000) while operating systems use binary (1024).

Internet Speed

Internet speeds are measured in bits per second (Mbps), not bytes per second.

Modern Storage

Modern SSDs can reach several terabytes, with enterprise drives reaching petabytes.

⚖️ Binary vs Decimal Comparison

Unit

Binary (1024)

Decimal (1000)

Difference

1 KB

1,024 bytes

1,000 bytes

2.4%

1 MB

1,048,576 bytes

1,000,000 bytes

4.9%

1 GB

1,073,741,824 bytes

1,000,000,000 bytes

7.4%

1 TB

1,099,511,627,776 bytes

1,000,000,000,000 bytes

10.0%