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ASCII Table | HTML Entities | Numerical Conversions | Bit Conversions

Bit Conversions

A byte (pronounced /ˈbaɪt/) is a basic unit of measurement of information storage in computer science. In many computer architectures it is a unit of memory addressing. There is no standard but a byte most often consists of eight bits. A byte is an ordered collection of bits, with each bit denoting a single binary value of 1 or 0.

In computing, a binary prefix is a set of letters that precede a unit of measure (such as a byte) to indicate multiplication by a power of two. In certain contexts in computing, such as computer memory sizes, units of information storage and communication traffic (Byte) have traditionally been reported in multiples of powers of two.


Terms for large quantities of bits can be formed using the standard range of SI prefixes for powers of 10, e.g. With the help of the Javascript Byte Converter you can calculate different prefixes' values.

Byte Converter
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The relative difference between the values in the binary and decimal interpretations increases, when using the SI prefixes, from 2.4% for kilo to over 20% for the yotta prefix. This makes differentiating between the two unit interpretations increasingly important as larger data storage and transmission technologies are developed.

Symbol Prefix SI Meaning Binary meaning Size difference
K kilo 103 = 10001 210 = 10241 2.40%
M mega 106 = 10002 220 = 10242 4.86%
G giga 109 = 10003 230 = 10243 7.37%
T tera 1012 = 10004 240 = 10244 9.95%
P peta 1015 = 10005 250 = 10245 12.59%
E exa 1018 = 10006 260 = 10246 15.29%
Z zetta 1021 = 10007 270 = 10247 18.67%
Y yotta 1024 = 10008 280 = 10248 22.79%