How many bits are in a petabyte?

One SI petabyte (PB) equals 8,000,000,000,000,000 bits (8 × 10^15). One IEC pebibyte (PiB) equals 9,007,199,254,740,992 bits (8 × 2^50). The ~12.6% difference explains why cloud storage marketed as "1 PB" reports as roughly 0.888 PiB in an OS.

What is the difference between PB and PiB?

PB (petabyte) is the SI decimal unit: 1 PB = 10^15 bytes. PiB (pebibyte) is the IEC binary unit: 1 PiB = 2^50 bytes = 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes. Storage vendors use PB; operating systems typically count in PiB but sometimes mislabel it as "PB."

How do I convert petabits per second (Pbps) to PB/s?

Divide the petabit value by 8. For example, a 1 Pbps link transfers 0.125 PB/s (SI) or about 0.111 PiB/s (binary). Select "Petabits — SI" from the "Convert from" dropdown and this tool handles it automatically.

Can this handle very large numbers like exabits?

The dropdown goes up to petabits. For exabits or larger, enter the value in petabits (1 Eb = 1,000 Pb in SI) and convert accordingly. JavaScript handles values accurately up to about 9 quadrillion bits with standard float precision.

Why is my cloud provider's petabyte different from what my OS reports?

Cloud providers and drive makers count in SI (1 PB = 10^15 bytes). Most operating systems count in binary PiB (2^50 bytes) but sometimes display the label "PB." 10^15 ÷ 2^50 ≈ 0.8882, so 1 SI petabyte appears as ~0.888 PiB in the OS.

Bits to Petabytes Converter

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

Enter a bit count and instantly see the equivalent in petabytes (SI decimal) and pebibytes (IEC binary), with the full formula breakdown.

Input Value

Amount

Convert from

Quick Reference

1 PB (SI) = 8 × 10¹⁵ bits
1 PiB (Binary) = 8 × 2⁵⁰ bits
1 Pbps = 0.125 PB/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 petabytes (SI decimal) and pebibytes (IEC binary), with the full formula breakdown.

How it works

Enter any number of bits in the input field.
Optionally change the "Convert from" unit if your value is in kilobits, megabits, gigabits, terabits, or petabits.
Click Convert (or press Enter) to calculate.
The converter divides by 8 to get bytes, then divides by 10^15 for PB (SI) and 2^50 for PiB (binary).
Copy any individual result using the copy icon next to it.

Use cases

Check how many petabytes a data center archive occupies when given only a bit count.
Convert network backbone throughput from petabits per second to petabytes per second.
Translate cloud storage quotas between marketing labels (SI PB) and OS-reported sizes (PiB).
Calculate total storage capacity of a large tape library expressed in raw bits.
Understand the 12.6% discrepancy between vendor petabyte specs and OS binary readings.
Convert satellite broadband or intercontinental cable capacity figures from bits to petabytes.

Frequently Asked Questions

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