Bytes (B)
The byte is the basic unit of digital storage, equal to 8 bits.
Convert bytes to any data unit
1 byte = 1 × 10-9 gigabytes
Quick facts
- Unit
- Byte (plural: bytes)
- Symbol
- B
- Measures
- Information / Data
- System
- Bits & bytes
- Definition
- 8 bits.
- Also written
- octet
1 byte in other units
| Gigabytes | 1 × 10-9 GB |
| Megabytes | 0.000001 MB |
| Terabytes | 1 × 10-12 TB |
| Bits | 8 bit |
| Kilobytes | 0.001 kB |
| Gigabits | 8 × 10-9 Gbit |
| Megabits | 0.000008 Mbit |
| Terabits | 8 × 10-12 Tbit |
What is a byte?
The byte is the basic unit of digital storage, equal to 8 bits. One byte can hold 256 different values, enough for one character of English text in ASCII. File sizes, memory and storage capacities are all measured in bytes and their multiples.
The word was coined by Werner Buchholz at IBM in 1956; the 8-bit byte became universal with the IBM System/360 in the 1960s.
Where the byte sits among data units
The byte is number 7 of 64 on our scale of data units, ordered from smallest to largest.
What bytes are used for
- File sizes, memory (RAM) and storage capacity
- Character encoding: one ASCII character per byte
Bytes in real life
- The letter "A" is stored as one byte (65 in ASCII)
- A tweet of 280 characters is about 280–1,120 bytes
- A 1 GB file contains 1,000,000,000 bytes
One byte is about the size of a character of text.
Top byte conversions
Common amounts of bytes
- 0.1 B
- 0.2 B
- 0.3 B
- 0.4 B
- 0.5 B
- 0.6 B
- 0.7 B
- 0.8 B
- 0.9 B
- 1 B
- 1.5 B
- 2 B
- 2.5 B
- 3 B
- 3.5 B
- 4 B
- 4.5 B
- 5 B
- 6 B
- 7 B
- 7.5 B
- 8 B
- 9 B
- 10 B
- 11 B
- 12 B
- 13 B
- 14 B
- 15 B
- 16 B
- 17 B
- 18 B
- 19 B
- 20 B
- 21 B
- 22 B
- 23 B
- 24 B
- 25 B
- 26 B
- 27 B
- 28 B
- 29 B
- 30 B
- 31 B
- 32 B
- 33 B
- 34 B
- 35 B
- 36 B
- 37 B
- 38 B
- 39 B
- 40 B
- 41 B
- 42 B
- 43 B
- 44 B
- 45 B
- 46 B
- 47 B
- 48 B
- 49 B
- 50 B
- 51 B
- 52 B
- 53 B
- 54 B
- 55 B
- 56 B
- 57 B
- 58 B
- 59 B
- 60 B
- 61 B
- 62 B
- 63 B
- 64 B
- 65 B
- 66 B
- 67 B
- 68 B
- 69 B
- 70 B
- 71 B
- 72 B
- 73 B
- 74 B
- 75 B
- 76 B
- 77 B
- 78 B
- 79 B
- 80 B
- 81 B
- 82 B
- 83 B
- 84 B
- 85 B
- 86 B
- 87 B
- 88 B
- 89 B
- 90 B
- 91 B
- 92 B
- 93 B
- 94 B
- 95 B
- 96 B
- 97 B
- 98 B
- 99 B
- 100 B
- 110 B
- 120 B
- 130 B
- 140 B
- 150 B
- 160 B
- 170 B
- 180 B
- 190 B
- 200 B
- 210 B
- 220 B
- 230 B
- 240 B
- 250 B
- 260 B
- 270 B
- 280 B
- 290 B
- 300 B
- 310 B
- 320 B
- 330 B
- 340 B
- 350 B
- 360 B
- 370 B
- 380 B
- 390 B
- 400 B
- 410 B
- 420 B
- 430 B
- 440 B
- 450 B
- 460 B
- 470 B
- 480 B
- 490 B
- 500 B
- 600 B
- 700 B
- 800 B
- 900 B
- 1,000 B
- 1,200 B
- 1,500 B
- 2,000 B
- 2,500 B
- 3,000 B
- 4,000 B
- 5,000 B
- 10,000 B
Convert bytes to all 63 other units
Bits & bytes
- B to bit
- B to nibble
- B to o
- B to block
- B to word (16-bit)
- B to DWORD
- B to QWORD
- B to crumb
- B to memory page
- B to octaword
Decimal (SI)
- B to GB
- B to MB
- B to TB
- B to kB
- B to Gbit
- B to Mbit
- B to Tbit
- B to kbit
- B to PB
- B to Pbit
- B to EB
- B to Ebit
- B to ZB
- B to YB
- B to Zbit
- B to Ybit
- B to QB
- B to RB
- B to Qbit
- B to Rbit
Binary (IEC)
- B to GiB
- B to MiB
- B to KiB
- B to TiB
- B to PiB
- B to Gibit
- B to Mibit
- B to EiB
- B to Kibit
- B to Tibit
- B to YiB
- B to ZiB
- B to Pibit
- B to Eibit
- B to Yibit
- B to Zibit
Legacy binary (JEDEC)
Information theory
Media & everyday comparisons
Convert to bytes
Frequently asked questions
What is a byte?
The byte is the basic unit of digital storage, equal to 8 bits.
How is the byte defined?
8 bits.
How many gigabytes are in a byte?
One byte equals 1e-9 gigabytes.
How many megabytes are in a byte?
One byte equals 0.000001 megabytes.
How many terabytes are in a byte?
One byte equals 1e-12 terabytes.