File Size Converter

Convert file sizes between different storage units including bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, and petabytes.

1 KB = 1000 bytes; 1 MB = 1000 KB; 1 GB = 1000 MB; 1 TB = 1000 GB; 1 PB = 1000 TB (decimal/SI standard)
1024 MB = 1.024 GB; 5 GB = 5000 MB; 2 TB = 2000 GB

What is the difference between KB and KiB (binary vs decimal)?

Two measurement systems exist: Decimal (SI units): 1 KB = 1000 bytes, 1 MB = 1000 KB = 1,000,000 bytes, 1 GB = 1000 MB = 1 billion bytes. Used by: Hard drive manufacturers, storage device marketing, networking speeds. Binary (IEC units): 1 KiB (kibibyte) = 1024 bytes, 1 MiB (mebibyte) = 1024 KiB = 1,048,576 bytes, 1 GiB (gibibyte) = 1024 MiB. Used by: Operating systems (Windows, macOS), RAM specifications, file systems. Marketing confusion: 500 GB hard drive = 465 GiB actual space (why drives appear smaller). Our calculator uses decimal (1000-based) standard most common for storage.

How do file sizes affect storage and transfer times?

File size impacts: Storage capacity: 256 GB SSD holds ~256,000 MB, 1 TB drive = 1000 GB = 1 million MB. Typical files: High-res photo (5-20 MB), MP3 song (3-10 MB), HD movie (4-8 GB), 4K movie (25-100 GB), MS Word doc (50-500 KB), PDF (100 KB-10 MB). Transfer times: 1 GB file at 100 Mbps internet = ~80 seconds. 1 GB via USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) = ~20 seconds. 1 GB via USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) = ~2 seconds. Cloud upload 10 MB at 10 Mbps = ~8 seconds. Compression reduces sizes 50-90% (ZIP, RAR).

What are common file sizes for different media types?

Typical file sizes by category: Images: JPEG photo (2-10 MB), PNG screenshot (500 KB-5 MB), RAW photo (20-60 MB), GIF (100 KB-5 MB). Videos: 1-min 1080p (50-150 MB), 1-min 4K (200-500 MB), HD movie 2hr (4-8 GB), 4K movie 2hr (25-100 GB). Audio: MP3 3-min song (3-7 MB), FLAC lossless (30-50 MB), podcast 1hr (50-100 MB). Documents: Word doc (50-500 KB), PDF book (1-20 MB), PowerPoint (5-50 MB). Software: Mobile app (50-500 MB), PC game (20-150 GB), OS install (5-20 GB).

How much storage do I need for my files?

Storage requirements estimation: Light users (email, browsing): 256 GB sufficient - ~50,000 photos or 1000 hours music. Average users (photos, music, documents): 512 GB-1 TB - ~100,000 photos, 2000 movies, or 200,000 songs. Power users (video editing, gaming): 2-4 TB - store 50+ games (40 GB each), 4K video projects. Professionals (photography, video production): 4-20 TB - RAW photos (50 MB each), uncompressed 4K footage. Cloud backup: Consider 2-5 TB cloud storage for critical files. Rule of thumb: Buy 2x current usage for growth. External drives cheaper than internal for archives.

Why does my 1 TB drive show less available space?

Drive capacity discrepancy causes: Decimal vs binary: Manufacturers use 1 TB = 1000 GB (decimal). OS uses 1 TB = 1024 GB (binary). Result: 1 TB drive = 931 GB actual space (1,000,000,000,000 / 1,073,741,824). Pre-installed software: Recovery partitions (10-20 GB), OS files (20-50 GB), manufacturer software (1-5 GB). File system overhead: NTFS, FAT32, exFAT reserve space for metadata (1-3%). Example: 500 GB drive actual space = ~465 GB - 20 GB (OS/recovery) = 445 GB usable. This is normal, not defective. Buy larger than needed to account for overhead.

What file sizes work best for email attachments?

Email attachment size limits by provider: Gmail: 25 MB limit (use Google Drive for larger). Outlook/Hotmail: 20 MB limit (OneDrive for bigger files). Yahoo: 25 MB limit. Corporate email: Often 10 MB limit. Best practices: Keep under 10 MB for reliability (faster sending/receiving). Compress large files - ZIP reduces 50-70%. Use cloud sharing for 25+ MB files (Dropbox, WeTransfer, Google Drive). Split large files if necessary. Images: Resize to 1920px width, compress to 500 KB-2 MB. PDFs: Compress using online tools, reduce from 20 MB to 2 MB typical. Videos: Never email raw video - use YouTube, Vimeo unlisted links.

How do I reduce file sizes effectively?

File compression strategies by type: Images: Resize dimensions (4K to 1080p saves 75%), convert PNG to JPEG (saves 50-80%), use compression tools (TinyPNG, JPEGmini reduce 50-70%), reduce quality 90→80% (minimal visual loss, 30% smaller). Videos: Lower resolution (4K→1080p saves 75%), reduce bitrate (H.265/HEVC codec 50% smaller than H.264), trim unnecessary footage. Documents: Remove embedded images/fonts, convert to PDF with compression, remove metadata. Compression formats: ZIP (universal, 50-70% reduction), RAR (better compression, proprietary), 7z (best compression, free). Cloud auto-compression available on Google Photos, Dropbox.