How many bits are in a megabyte?

Under the SI decimal standard, 1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes = 8,000,000 bits. Under the binary IEC standard, 1 MiB = 1,048,576 bytes = 8,388,608 bits.

What is the difference between MB and MiB?

MB (megabyte) follows the SI decimal standard where 1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes. MiB (mebibyte) follows the binary IEC standard where 1 MiB = 1,048,576 bytes. The IEC introduced MiB in 1998 to eliminate the long-standing ambiguity of "megabyte."

Why does my internet speed look different from my download speed?

Internet providers advertise speed in megabits per second (Mbps). Download managers show progress in megabytes per second (MB/s). To convert, divide Mbps by 8: a 100 Mbps connection delivers roughly 12.5 MB/s.

Which standard should I use?

Use SI (MB) for networking, storage product specs, and data transfer rates. Use binary (MiB) when working with RAM, OS-reported file sizes, or programming contexts where powers of 2 matter.

How accurate are the results?

Results are computed in JavaScript using 64-bit floating-point arithmetic and displayed to up to 6 significant decimal places, which is more than sufficient for any practical data size conversion.

Bits to Megabytes Converter

Enter a bit count and instantly get the equivalent in megabytes (SI) and mebibytes (binary IEC).

Input

Amount

Convert from

Results

Enter a value and click Convert to see results.

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Summary

This tool converts a bit value into megabytes under two standards. The SI decimal standard defines 1 MB as exactly 1,000,000 bytes (8,000,000 bits), used by storage manufacturers and network equipment. The binary IEC standard defines 1 MiB (mebibyte) as 1,048,576 bytes (8,388,608 bits), used by operating systems and memory specifications. Displaying both results side by side removes ambiguity when working with file sizes, disk capacities, or network throughput.

How it works

Enter a bit count in the input field — for example, 8000000 for one megabyte.
Select the direction: bits to MB/MiB (default) or MB/MiB back to bits.
Click Convert. The tool divides the bit count by 8 to get bytes, then by 1,000,000 for SI MB or 1,048,576 for binary MiB.
Results show both SI (MB) and binary (MiB) values so you can pick the right one for your context.
Use the copy buttons to grab any result for use elsewhere.
Click Clear to reset all fields and start over.

Use cases

Convert network link speed specs from megabits to megabytes per second.
Determine how many megabytes a file occupies from a bit-level size report.
Reconcile storage capacity differences between drive manufacturers and OS displays.
Check data payload sizes during API development and testing.
Understand video bitrate specs in terms of file size per second.
Compare SI and binary figures when writing technical documentation.
Validate flash memory or SSD specs that mix MB and MiB labeling.

Frequently Asked Questions

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