Convert digital storage instantly, with the working shown.
Every unit is converted to a common base unit first, then to your target unit: value × (from-factor) ÷ (to-factor).
This is one of the most common “why did my computer lie to me” moments in tech, and the honest answer is that two different definitions of the same prefix have been in conflict for decades. Storage manufacturers price and label drives using the decimal (SI) definition, where 1 gigabyte = 1,000³ bytes = 1,000,000,000 bytes — the same clean base-10 meaning “kilo” and “mega” have everywhere else in metric measurement. Operating systems, on the other hand, report storage using the binary definition, where the same “GB” label has historically meant 1,024³ bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes, because computer memory is naturally organized in powers of 2, and early computing simply borrowed the metric prefix “kilo” for 1,024 (close enough to 1,000 to feel intuitive) rather than inventing a new word.
The IEC formally addressed this ambiguity in 1998 by defining new binary-specific terms — kibibyte (KiB), mebibyte (MiB), gibibyte (GiB) — explicitly meaning powers of 1,024, leaving kilobyte/megabyte/gigabyte to mean powers of 1,000 as they do everywhere else in the metric system. In practice, this standard is followed correctly by very few consumer products: a drive genuinely labeled “1TB” (1,000,000,000,000 bytes, decimal) will show as approximately 931 “GB” in Windows' File Explorer, because Windows is actually reporting GiB while calling it GB. This calculator uses the decimal (1,000-based) definition consistent with how storage is sold and priced, so if you're trying to match a number your operating system shows you, expect it to read roughly 7% lower than the decimal figure for the same physical storage.
Because the drive manufacturer labels it using the decimal definition (1TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes), while Windows reports storage using the binary definition (dividing by 1,024 at each step) but still calls the result "GB" instead of the technically correct "GiB." The physical storage is identical — only the counting convention differs, and the ~7% gap between 1,000³ and 1,024³ compounds at each larger unit.
GB (gigabyte) means 1,000³ bytes in the standard decimal/SI convention, matching how kilo/mega/giga work everywhere else in metric measurement. GiB (gibibyte) is the IEC's 1998-introduced term specifically meaning 1,024³ bytes, created to remove the ambiguity that had built up around "GB" meaning two different things depending on context.
No — manufacturers correctly use the decimal (1,000-based) definition that matches the SI metric system used for every other unit of measurement. Operating systems are the ones using a non-standard convention by labeling binary (1,024-based) values as "GB" instead of the more accurate "GiB," which is the actual source of the confusion.
This calculator uses the decimal (1,000-based) definition, matching how storage devices are labeled, priced and sold. If you're comparing a result here against what your operating system displays, expect the OS figure to read roughly 7% lower per gigabyte, since it's typically using the binary (1,024-based) convention under the GB label.