How many bits are in a gigabyte?

One SI gigabyte (GB) equals 8,000,000,000 bits (8 × 10^9). One IEC gibibyte (GiB) equals 8,589,934,592 bits (8 × 2^30). The difference of about 7.4% is why storage products look smaller once formatted.

What is the difference between GB and GiB?

GB (gigabyte) is the SI decimal unit: 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes. GiB (gibibyte) is the IEC binary unit: 1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes. Hard drive makers use GB; Linux, Windows, and macOS report sizes in GiB but often display the label "GB."

Why does my 1 TB drive show as ~931 GB in Windows?

Drive manufacturers count in SI (1 TB = 10^12 bytes). Windows reports in binary GiB but labels them "GB." 10^12 ÷ 2^30 ≈ 931.3, which is why a 1 TB drive appears as roughly 931 GB in the OS.

How do I convert Gbps (gigabits per second) to GB/s?

Divide the gigabit value by 8. For example, a 10 Gbps connection can transfer 1.25 GB/s in SI terms, or about 1.164 GiB/s in binary terms. This tool handles the bit→byte step automatically.

Can I enter values larger than gigabits?

Yes. Use the "Convert from" dropdown to select Terabits or Petabits and the converter scales the input before computing gigabytes. JavaScript floating-point handles values accurately up to about 9 quadrillion bits.

Bits to Gigabytes Converter

Name: Bits to Gigabytes Converter
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Enter a bit count and instantly see the equivalent in gigabytes (SI decimal) and gibibytes (IEC binary).

Input Value

Amount

Convert from

Quick Reference

1 GB (SI) = 8,000,000,000 bits
1 GiB (Binary) = 8,589,934,592 bits
1 Gbps = 0.125 GB/s

Results

Enter a value and click Convert to see results.

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Summary

Enter a bit count and instantly see the equivalent in gigabytes (SI decimal) and gibibytes (IEC binary).

How it works

Enter any number of bits in the input field.
Optionally change the "Convert from" unit if your value is already in kilobits, megabits, or gigabits.
Click Convert (or press Enter) to calculate.
The converter divides by 8 to get bytes, then divides by 10^9 for GB (SI) and 2^30 for GiB (binary).
Copy any result with the copy icon next to it.

Use cases

Check how many gigabytes a large file or dataset occupies when given only a bit count.
Convert network throughput from gigabits per second to gigabytes per second.
Translate storage specs between marketing labels (SI) and OS reports (binary).
Calculate Blu-ray or 4K video file sizes from raw bitrate data.
Understand RAM capacity differences between manufacturer specs and OS readings.
Convert satellite or cellular data caps expressed in bits to practical GB values.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Reviewed by Nham Vu