Saved calculators
Saved calculators
Conversion

KB to GB converter

Report a bug

Share calculator

Add our free calculator to your website

Please enter a valid URL. Only HTTPS URLs are supported.
Use as default values for the embed calculator what is currently in input fields of the calculator on the page.
Input border focus color, switchbox checked color, select item hover color etc.
Please agree to the Terms of Use.
Preview

Save calculator

What are KB and GB?

Kilobyte (KB) and Gigabyte (GB) are units of digital information storage. However, their definitions vary depending on the measurement system:

  1. Base-10 (SI System):

    • Kilobyte (KB): 1,000 bytes ($10^3$).
    • Gigabyte (GB): 1,000,000,000 bytes ($10^9$).

  2. Binary System (IEC Standard):

    • Kibibyte (KiB): 1,024 bytes ($2^{10}$).
    • Gibibyte (GiB): 1,073,741,824 bytes ($2^{30}$).

The key distinction lies in the prefixes:

  • SI units (KB, MB, GB) use base-10 multipliers.
  • IEC units (KiB, MiB, GiB) use base-2 multipliers.

Formula

Base-10 (SI) Conversion:

GB=KB1,000,000orKB=GB×1,000,000\text{GB} = \frac{\text{KB}}{1{,}000{,}000} \quad \text{or} \quad \text{KB} = \text{GB} \times 1{,}000{,}000

Base-2 (IEC) Conversion:

GiB=KiB1,048,576orKiB=GiB×1,048,576\text{GiB} = \frac{\text{KiB}}{1{,}048{,}576} \quad \text{or} \quad \text{KiB} = \text{GiB} \times 1{,}048{,}576

Examples

Example 1: Converting 500,000 KB to GB (SI)

Using the SI formula:

GB=500,0001,000,000=0.5 GB\text{GB} = \frac{500{,}000}{1{,}000{,}000} = 0.5 \, \text{GB}

Interpretation: A 500,000 KB file equals 0.5 GB in the SI system.

Example 2: Converting 5,242,880 KiB to GiB (IEC)

Using the IEC formula:

GiB=5,242,8801,048,576=5 GiB\text{GiB} = \frac{5{,}242{,}880}{1{,}048{,}576} = 5 \, \text{GiB}

Interpretation: 5,242,880 KiB equals 5 GiB in the binary system.

Example 3: Real-world storage discrepancy

A manufacturer advertises a 256 GB SSD (SI units). In the IEC system:

GiB=256×109230≈238.4 GiB\text{GiB} = \frac{256 \times 10^9}{2^{30}} \approx 238.4 \, \text{GiB}

Result: The OS displays the SSD as ~238.4 GiB, creating a perceived “loss” of 17.6 GB.

Historical context

The confusion between base-10 and base-2 units dates back to early computing. Engineers used binary prefixes (e.g., $2^{10} = 1{,}024$) for memory alignment, while storage manufacturers adopted decimal prefixes for simplicity. The IEC formalized binary units (KiB, MiB, GiB) in 1998 to resolve ambiguity, but the older terminology persists in consumer products.

Notes

  1. Check the context:

    • Operating systems (Windows, macOS) often report storage in GiB but label it as “GB.”
    • Internet speeds use bits per second (Mbps), not bytes.

  2. Common errors:

    • Assuming 1 GB = 1,024 MB (incorrect; 1 GB = 1,000 MB in SI).
    • Misinterpreting “GB” as GiB in product specifications.

  3. Practical tip: For quick SI-to-IEC approximations:

    1 GB≈0.9313 GiB1 \, \text{GB} \approx 0.9313 \, \text{GiB}

Frequently Asked Questions

How many KB are in 1 GB?

In the SI system:

1 GB=1×106 KB=1,000,000 KB1 \, \text{GB} = 1 \times 10^6 \, \text{KB} = 1{,}000{,}000 \, \text{KB}

In the IEC system (for comparison):

1 GiB=1×220 KiB=1,048,576 KiB1 \, \text{GiB} = 1 \times 2^{20} \, \text{KiB} = 1{,}048{,}576 \, \text{KiB}

Why do storage devices show less space than advertised?

A “1 TB” hard drive uses SI units:

1 TB=1,000,000,000,000 bytes1 \, \text{TB} = 1{,}000{,}000{,}000{,}000 \, \text{bytes}

In IEC units:

1,000,000,000,000240≈909.5 TiB\frac{1{,}000{,}000{,}000{,}000}{2^{40}} \approx 909.5 \, \text{TiB}

Operating systems display this as ~931 GiB, leading to apparent “missing” space.

What is the difference between KB and KiB?

  • KB (Kilobyte): $1{,}000$ bytes (base-10).
  • KiB (Kibibyte): $1{,}024$ bytes (base-2).

How to Convert 10,000 KiB to GB?

First, convert KiB to bytes:

10,000 KiB×1,024=10,240,000 bytes10{,}000 \, \text{KiB} \times 1{,}024 = 10{,}240{,}000 \, \text{bytes}

Convert bytes to GB (SI):

10,240,0001,000,000,000=0.01024 GB\frac{10{,}240{,}000}{1{,}000{,}000{,}000} = 0.01024 \, \text{GB}

Why are two systems still used today?

  • SI units: Simplify marketing and manufacturing (aligned with metric prefixes).
  • IEC units: Reflect technical accuracy in software and memory architecture.

Similar calculators

Privacy policy Terms of use