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Byte & Data Unit Converter

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Quick Reference — Common File Sizes

Average email
~75 KB
High-res photo
~5 MB
MP3 song (4 min)
~4 MB
1080p movie (2h)
~4.5 GB
4K movie (2h)
~20 GB
Windows 11 ISO
~5.2 GB
1 min 4K video
~375 MB
Slack message
~2 KB

What This Tool Does

Convert a value across byte units in both SI (decimal, 1000-based: KB, MB, GB) and IEC binary (1024-based: KiB, MiB, GiB) standards at once, plus bits for networking and transfer-time estimates for common link speeds. Everything runs in your browser. The distinction that trips people up: 1 KB is 1000 bytes but 1 KiB is 1024, and the gap compounds — a 1 TB disk is only about 0.91 TiB.

Last updated:

This tool is provided as-is for convenience. Output should be verified before use in any production or critical context.

Programmatic Access

Byte & Data Unit Converter is also callable as a free HTTP JSON API at https://aidevhub.io/api/byte-converter/ — GET with query parameters or POST with a JSON body, no authentication, CORS enabled, 50 requests/day per IP. Responses return { ok, tool, result, meta }. 

curl -s "https://aidevhub.io/api/byte-converter/?value=1048576&unit=B"

Machine-readable contract: /api/tool/byte-converter.json All API endpoints: /agents/ LLM site index: /llms.txt

Agent Invocation

Best Path For Builders

Dedicated API endpoint

Deterministic outputs, machine-safe contracts, and production-ready examples.

Dedicated API

https://aidevhub.io/api/byte-converter/

OpenAPI: https://aidevhub.io/api/openapi.yaml

GET /api/byte-converter/ GET byte-converter
POST /api/byte-converter/ POST byte-converter

Unified Runtime API

https://aidevhub.io/api/tools/run/?toolId=byte-converter&a=...

GET and POST are supported at /api/tools/run/ with identical validation and limits.

Limit: 30 req / 60s, input max 256 KB.

How to Use Byte & Data Unit Converter

  1. 1

    Enter value and select unit

    Type a number in the 'Value' field and choose source unit from dropdown (B, KB, MB, GB, KiB, MiB, GiB, etc.). Supports both SI (1000) and binary (1024) standards.

  2. 2

    Choose display mode

    Click 'SI' to show decimal units, 'Binary' for IEC units, or 'Both' to see all conversions. Results update instantly as you change values.

  3. 3

    View all unit conversions

    See results in all selected units (SI, binary, or both). Includes bits for transfer speeds. Precision settable (2-5 decimal places).

  4. 4

    Calculate transfer times

    For bits value, see how long it takes to transfer at common speeds (3G, 4G, WiFi, Ethernet, USB). Useful for network performance planning.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between MB and MiB?
MB (megabyte) = 1,000,000 bytes using the SI/decimal standard. MiB (mebibyte) = 1,048,576 bytes using the binary standard. Storage manufacturers use MB, while operating systems often report in MiB.
Why is my 1TB drive only showing 931GB?
Your drive has 1,000,000,000,000 bytes (1 TB decimal). Your OS displays in binary: 1,000,000,000,000 ÷ 1,073,741,824 = ~931 GiB. This tool shows both standards side by side.
How do I convert bits to bytes?
Divide bits by 8 to get bytes. This tool displays both bits and bytes simultaneously — useful when comparing network speeds (measured in bits) with file sizes (measured in bytes).
What's the transfer time calculator?
Enter a file size and select a connection speed (3G, 4G, WiFi, Gigabit, USB, etc.) to estimate how long the transfer would take. You can also enter a custom speed.
Is this tool free?
Free to use and runs entirely in your browser with no data collection. All calculations are performed client-side.

What is the difference between MB and MiB (1000 vs 1024)?

They count in different bases. An MB (megabyte, SI) is 1,000,000 bytes, while a MiB (mebibyte, IEC binary) is 1,048,576 bytes — the powers of 1024. The two are close for small values and diverge as the numbers grow, which is why a file size, a disk capacity, and a download can all look inconsistent. This converter shows both standards side by side so you can read whichever the source used.

Step by step

  1. Enter a value and choose its unit from the SI or binary group.
  2. Pick a display mode: SI (1000), IEC (1024), or Both.
  3. Read the converted values, plus the bits line for networking math.
  4. Check the transfer-time estimates across common connection speeds.

Byte unit boundaries this converter uses

Unit Standard Bytes
KB / KiB SI / IEC 1,000 / 1,024
MB / MiB SI / IEC 1,000,000 / 1,048,576
GB / GiB SI / IEC 1,000,000,000 / 1,073,741,824
TB / TiB SI / IEC 1,000,000,000,000 / 1,099,511,627,776

Multipliers as this converter uses them. SI/decimal units (KB, MB) count in powers of 1000; IEC/binary units (KiB, MiB) count in powers of 1024. Storage makers advertise in SI, while most operating systems report in binary.

Why does my hard drive show less space than advertised?

Because the label and the operating system use different units. A drive sold as "1 TB" holds 1,000,000,000,000 bytes (SI), but an OS that counts in binary divides by 1,099,511,627,776, so it reports about 0.91 TiB. No space is missing — it is the same byte count shown in a different unit, which this converter makes explicit by displaying both.

How do I estimate a file transfer time?

Transfer speeds are quoted in bits per second, not bytes, so the size is multiplied by 8 and divided by the link rate. The converter shows the value in bits and estimates the time across presets from mobile data up to gigabit and NVMe speeds, which is a quick sanity check before a large upload or copy.

Does the converter send my values anywhere?

No. All conversion and estimation is arithmetic done in the page, with no network calls, so it works offline and nothing you enter is transmitted. It is a self-contained client-side calculator.