How many bits are in a byte?

Exactly 8 bits make up 1 byte. This is fixed and applies to all modern computing systems regardless of SI or binary standards.

What is the difference between SI and binary (IEC) for data units?

SI (decimal) uses multiples of 1000: 1 KB = 1000 bytes, 1 MB = 1000 KB. IEC binary uses multiples of 1024: 1 KiB = 1024 bytes, 1 MiB = 1024 KiB. Storage manufacturers use SI; most operating systems use binary while labeling them KB/MB/GB instead of KiB/MiB/GiB.

Why does my internet speed show Mbps but download speed shows MB/s?

Internet speeds are measured in megabits per second (Mbps). Download speeds shown by your OS are in megabytes per second (MB/s). Since 1 byte = 8 bits, divide your Mbps speed by 8 to get the approximate MB/s download speed.

Can I convert kilobits or megabits, not just raw bits?

Yes. Use the "Convert from" dropdown to select any prefix (Kilobits, Megabits, Gigabits, etc.) and the converter will scale appropriately before showing all output units.

How accurate is the converter for very large values?

Results use JavaScript 64-bit floating-point arithmetic, which handles values accurately up to 2^53 (about 9 quadrillion). For most practical data size conversions, this is more than sufficient.

Bits to Bytes Converter

Enter a bit value and instantly see the equivalent in bytes, KB, MB, GB, and TB for both SI and binary standards.

Input Value

Amount

Convert from

Results

Enter a value and click Convert to see results.

Copied!

Summary

This tool converts a bit value into bytes and larger data units using both the SI decimal standard (where 1 KB = 1000 bytes) and the IEC binary standard (where 1 KiB = 1024 bytes). Eight bits always equal one byte — that relationship is universal. The distinction between standards matters for larger units: storage manufacturers use SI while operating systems use binary, which is why a "1 GB" drive shows as less than 1 GB in your OS.

How it works

Enter any number of bits in the input field.
Select the unit prefix you are converting from (bits, bytes, or a larger unit).
The converter divides by 8 to find bytes, then applies the chosen standard for larger units.
SI results use powers of 1000 (KB, MB, GB, TB).
Binary results use powers of 1024 (KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB).
Copy any result with the copy button next to each row.

Use cases

Convert network throughput from bits per second to bytes per second.
Check how many bytes a given number of bits occupies in a binary protocol.
Translate storage specs between marketing (SI) and OS (binary) displays.
Calculate data transfer sizes for API payloads and bandwidth planning.
Understand bit-level field sizes in network packets or binary file formats.
Cross-reference megabits and megabytes for internet speed vs. file download size.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-06-19 · Reviewed by Nham Vu