How many bits are in 1 gigabyte (GB)?

In the SI decimal standard, 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes = 8,000,000,000 bits. This is the definition used by storage manufacturers and most network equipment.

How many bits are in 1 gibibyte (GiB)?

In the IEC binary standard, 1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes = 8,589,934,592 bits. This is the definition used by operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Linux when reporting disk or RAM size.

Why are GB and GiB different?

GB (gigabyte) uses powers of 10 (10^9 = 1,000,000,000 bytes) while GiB (gibibyte) uses powers of 2 (2^30 = 1,073,741,824 bytes). The ~7.4% difference causes the apparent discrepancy between advertised drive capacity and what an OS reports.

How do I convert gigabytes to bits manually?

Multiply the gigabyte count by 8,000,000,000 for SI (GB) or by 8,589,934,592 for binary (GiB). Example: 2 GB = 16,000,000,000 bits; 2 GiB = 17,179,869,184 bits.

Which standard should I use — GB or GiB?

Use GB (SI) when working with storage specifications, network bandwidth, and manufacturer data sheets. Use GiB (binary) when working with operating system reports, RAM sizing, or software that follows the IEC standard.

Gigabytes to Bits Converter

Enter gigabytes and instantly see the equivalent in bits using both SI decimal (10^9) and binary IEC (2^30) standards.

Gigabytes to Bits

Value (compare GB and GiB)

Enter a value on the left to see the result in bits

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Summary

This converter takes a gigabyte value and outputs the equivalent in bits under both common standards. The SI decimal gigabyte (GB) equals 1,000,000,000 bytes, so 1 GB = 8,000,000,000 bits — the standard used in storage product marketing and network specs. The IEC binary gibibyte (GiB) equals 1,073,741,824 bytes (2^30), so 1 GiB = 8,589,934,592 bits — the standard used by operating systems when reporting disk or RAM size. The gap between the two is about 7.4%, which explains why a "1 TB" drive appears smaller in Windows or macOS.

How it works

Enter any number of gigabytes (or gibibytes) in the input field.
The tool compares the same numeric count as GB (SI decimal) and GiB (binary IEC).
Click Convert (or press Enter) to calculate.
The converter multiplies by 1,000,000,000 bytes for GB (SI) or 1,073,741,824 bytes for GiB, then multiplies by 8 to get bits.
Copy any result with the copy button next to it.

Use cases

Convert storage drive capacity from GB to bits for network protocol calculations.
Calculate how many bits a file occupies when storage is specified in gigabytes.
Translate between marketing storage labels (SI GB) and OS-reported sizes (binary GiB) in bit counts.
Verify data transfer speeds by converting gigabyte file sizes to bits per second requirements.
Compute raw bit counts for video encoding and streaming bitrate planning.
Understand the 7.4% difference between GB and GiB when working with storage hardware.

Frequently Asked Questions

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