File sizes
Binary units
Bits & bytes
Data units at a glance
| Unit | Symbol | In bytes | Defined as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bit | bit | 0.125 | 1/8 B |
| Megabit | Mb | 125,000 | 1,000,000 bit |
| Byte | B | 1 | 8 bit |
| Kilobyte | kB | 1,000 | 1,000 B |
| Megabyte | MB | 1,000,000 | 1,000 kB |
| Gigabyte | GB | 1,000,000,000 | 1,000 MB |
| Terabyte | TB | 1,000,000,000,000 | 1,000 GB |
| Kibibyte | KiB | 1,024 | 1,024 B |
| Mebibyte | MiB | 1,048,576 | 1,024 KiB |
| Gibibyte | GiB | 1,073,741,824 | 1,024 MiB |
| Tebibyte | TiB | 1,099,511,627,776 | 1,024 GiB |
Storage makers count in thousands (1 GB = 1,000 MB), while many computers count in 1,024s and call the result “GB” too. The binary units (KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB) make that difference explicit.