Bits (bit)
The bit (binary digit) is the smallest unit of digital information: a single 0 or 1.
Convert bits to any data unit
1 bit = 1.25 × 10-10 gigabytes
Quick facts
- Unit
- Bit (plural: bits)
- Symbol
- bit
- Measures
- Information / Data
- System
- Bits & bytes
- Equals
- 0.125 bytes
- Definition
- One binary digit: 0 or 1.
- Also written
- binary digit, shannon, Sh
1 bit in other units
| Gigabytes | 1.25 × 10-10 GB |
| Megabytes | 1.25 × 10-7 MB |
| Bytes | 0.125 B |
| Terabytes | 1.25 × 10-13 TB |
| Kilobytes | 0.000125 kB |
| Gigabits | 1 × 10-9 Gbit |
| Megabits | 0.000001 Mbit |
| Terabits | 1 × 10-12 Tbit |
What is a bit?
The bit (binary digit) is the smallest unit of digital information: a single 0 or 1. Eight bits make a byte. Claude Shannon's 1948 paper founding information theory popularized the term, and a bit is also the amount of information in one fair coin toss.
Network speeds are measured in bits per second, which is why internet plans are quoted in megabits (Mb/s) while file sizes are in megabytes (MB).
Where the bit sits among data units
The bit is number 1 of 64 on our scale of data units, ordered from smallest to largest.
What bits are used for
- Network and internet speeds (Mb/s, Gb/s)
- Audio and video bitrates
- Color depth and encryption key lengths (24-bit color, 256-bit keys)
Bits in real life
- A byte is 8 bits
- 24-bit color can show about 16.7 million colors
- A 256-bit encryption key has 2²⁵⁶ possible values
One bit is about 13% of a character of text.
Top bit conversions
Common amounts of bits
- 0.1 bit
- 0.2 bit
- 0.3 bit
- 0.4 bit
- 0.5 bit
- 0.6 bit
- 0.7 bit
- 0.8 bit
- 0.9 bit
- 1 bit
- 1.5 bit
- 2 bit
- 2.5 bit
- 3 bit
- 3.5 bit
- 4 bit
- 4.5 bit
- 5 bit
- 6 bit
- 7 bit
- 7.5 bit
- 8 bit
- 9 bit
- 10 bit
- 11 bit
- 12 bit
- 13 bit
- 14 bit
- 15 bit
- 16 bit
- 17 bit
- 18 bit
- 19 bit
- 20 bit
- 21 bit
- 22 bit
- 23 bit
- 24 bit
- 25 bit
- 26 bit
- 27 bit
- 28 bit
- 29 bit
- 30 bit
- 31 bit
- 32 bit
- 33 bit
- 34 bit
- 35 bit
- 36 bit
- 37 bit
- 38 bit
- 39 bit
- 40 bit
- 41 bit
- 42 bit
- 43 bit
- 44 bit
- 45 bit
- 46 bit
- 47 bit
- 48 bit
- 49 bit
- 50 bit
- 51 bit
- 52 bit
- 53 bit
- 54 bit
- 55 bit
- 56 bit
- 57 bit
- 58 bit
- 59 bit
- 60 bit
- 61 bit
- 62 bit
- 63 bit
- 64 bit
- 65 bit
- 66 bit
- 67 bit
- 68 bit
- 69 bit
- 70 bit
- 71 bit
- 72 bit
- 73 bit
- 74 bit
- 75 bit
- 76 bit
- 77 bit
- 78 bit
- 79 bit
- 80 bit
- 81 bit
- 82 bit
- 83 bit
- 84 bit
- 85 bit
- 86 bit
- 87 bit
- 88 bit
- 89 bit
- 90 bit
- 91 bit
- 92 bit
- 93 bit
- 94 bit
- 95 bit
- 96 bit
- 97 bit
- 98 bit
- 99 bit
- 100 bit
- 110 bit
- 120 bit
- 130 bit
- 140 bit
- 150 bit
- 160 bit
- 170 bit
- 180 bit
- 190 bit
- 200 bit
- 210 bit
- 220 bit
- 230 bit
- 240 bit
- 250 bit
- 260 bit
- 270 bit
- 280 bit
- 290 bit
- 300 bit
- 310 bit
- 320 bit
- 330 bit
- 340 bit
- 350 bit
- 360 bit
- 370 bit
- 380 bit
- 390 bit
- 400 bit
- 410 bit
- 420 bit
- 430 bit
- 440 bit
- 450 bit
- 460 bit
- 470 bit
- 480 bit
- 490 bit
- 500 bit
- 600 bit
- 700 bit
- 800 bit
- 900 bit
- 1,000 bit
- 1,200 bit
- 1,500 bit
- 2,000 bit
- 2,500 bit
- 3,000 bit
- 4,000 bit
- 5,000 bit
- 10,000 bit
Convert bits to all 63 other units
Bits & bytes
- bit to B
- bit to nibble
- bit to o
- bit to block
- bit to word (16-bit)
- bit to DWORD
- bit to QWORD
- bit to crumb
- bit to memory page
- bit to octaword
Decimal (SI)
- bit to GB
- bit to MB
- bit to TB
- bit to kB
- bit to Gbit
- bit to Mbit
- bit to Tbit
- bit to kbit
- bit to PB
- bit to Pbit
- bit to EB
- bit to Ebit
- bit to ZB
- bit to YB
- bit to Zbit
- bit to Ybit
- bit to QB
- bit to RB
- bit to Qbit
- bit to Rbit
Binary (IEC)
- bit to GiB
- bit to MiB
- bit to KiB
- bit to TiB
- bit to PiB
- bit to Gibit
- bit to Mibit
- bit to EiB
- bit to Kibit
- bit to Tibit
- bit to YiB
- bit to ZiB
- bit to Pibit
- bit to Eibit
- bit to Yibit
- bit to Zibit
Legacy binary (JEDEC)
Information theory
Media & everyday comparisons
Convert to bits
Frequently asked questions
What is a bit?
The bit (binary digit) is the smallest unit of digital information: a single 0 or 1.
How is the bit defined?
One binary digit: 0 or 1.
How many gigabytes are in a bit?
One bit equals 1.25e-10 gigabytes.
How many megabytes are in a bit?
One bit equals 1.25e-7 megabytes.
How many bytes are in a bit?
One bit equals 0.125 bytes.