Look up any data unit and learn exactly what it holds
Open a unit to get its definition, exact byte and bit count, its decimal or binary twin, everyday file-size examples and a converter to every other unit. Start with the basics if bits and bytes are new, or jump straight to the exact unit you're looking for using the filter below.
No data unit matches that. Try a symbol like GiB or a word like transfer.
Basic units
Decimal byte units
Binary byte units
Decimal bit units
Binary bit units
Data transfer units
- bps Bit Per Second
- Kbps Kilobit Per Second
- Mbps Megabit Per Second
- Gbps Gigabit Per Second
- Tbps Terabit Per Second
- Pbps Petabit Per Second
- Ebps Exabit Per Second
- Zbps Zettabit Per Second
- Ybps Yottabit Per Second
- B/s Byte Per Second
- KB/s Kilobyte Per Second
- MB/s Megabyte Per Second
- GB/s Gigabyte Per Second
- TB/s Terabyte Per Second
- PB/s Petabyte Per Second
- EB/s Exabyte Per Second
- ZB/s Zettabyte Per Second
- YB/s Yottabyte Per Second
- KiB/s Kibibyte Per Second
- MiB/s Mebibyte Per Second
- GiB/s Gibibyte Per Second
- TiB/s Tebibyte Per Second
- PiB/s Pebibyte Per Second
- EiB/s Exbibyte Per Second
- ZiB/s Zebibyte Per Second
- YiB/s Yobibyte Per Second
- Kibps Kibibit Per Second
- Mibps Mebibit Per Second
- Gibps Gibibit Per Second
- Tibps Tebibit Per Second
- Pibps Pebibit Per Second
- Eibps Exbibit Per Second
- Zibps Zebibit Per Second
- Yibps Yobibit Per Second
Bits, Bytes and the Decimal vs Binary Divide
Every piece of digital data is ultimately a sequence of bits — single 0s and 1s. Group eight bits and you get a byte. From there, storage units scale up in one of two systems: decimal (SI), where each step multiplies by 1,000 (KB, MB, GB, TB...), or binary (IEC), where each step multiplies by 1,024 (KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB...). Manufacturers label drive capacity in decimal; operating systems often display it in binary — which is why a "1 TB" drive shows as roughly 931 GB in Windows.
Transfer rates carry a similar split, but along a different axis: bits per second (bps, Mbps, Gbps) is what ISPs and network hardware advertise, while bytes per second (B/s, MB/s, GB/s) is what your download manager reports. Since 1 byte = 8 bits, an advertised "500 Mbps" connection tops out around 62.5 MB/s of actual file-transfer throughput.