Megabytes, Gigabytes, Terabytes… What Are They?

These terms are used in the world of computing to describe disk space, or data storage space, and system memory. Want to know how many bytes are in a gigabyte, or megabytes in a terabyte? You are in the right place.

Take me to the byte calculator

A Quick Guide To

Mastering Bits & Bytes

A few years ago, hard disk space was described in terms of 'Megabytes'. Today, 'Gigabytes' and 'Terabytes'; are the most common terms associated with digital storage. But what are they?

Let's start with the basics.

What is a Byte?

Bytes are basic and physical unit of information in computing and digital communications!

At the smallest scale in the computer, information is stored as bits and bytes.
In decimal notation, multiples of bytes are expressed in powers of 10.
However, in the computer and information technology fields, multiples are expressed in powers of 2.

Understanding Bytes Through Real Life Examples

To put things into perspective, each date size is explained here below with the help of real-life examples:

Unit

Abbreviation

Decimal Value

Binary Value

Decimal Size

bit

0 or 1

1/8 of a byte

byte

8 bits

1 byte

kilobyte

1001 bytes

1,000 bytes

megabyte

10002 bytes

1 million bytes

gigabyte

10003 bytes

1 billion bytes

terabyte

10004 bytes

1 trillion bytes

petabyte

10005 bytes

1 quadrillion bytes

exabyte

10006 bytes

1 quintillion bytes

zettabyte

10007 bytes

1 sextillion bytes

yottabyte

10008 bytes

1000* bytes

1 septillion bytes

Bit

is the smallest unit of data that a computer uses

Single Binary Digita (0 or 1)

Byte

= 8 bits

1 Byte = One character
10 Bytes = One Word

Kilobyte

= 1,000 Bytes of 1,024 Bytes (depending on the binary decimal value)

1 Kilobyte = A paragraph
100 Kilobytes = A low resolution photograph

Megabyte

= 1,000 kilobytes

1 Megabyte = a short novel
2 Megabytes = A high-resolution photograph
600 Megabytes = a CD-ROM

Gigabyte

= 1,000 Megabytes

1 Gigabyte = 7 minutes of HD-TV video
1 Gigabyte = Content of about 10 yeards of books on a shelf
100 Gigabytes = A library floor of academic journals

Terabyte

= 1,000 Gigabytes

1 Terbyte = 3.6 million 300-Kilobye images
1 Terabyte = 300 hours of good quality video
1 Terabyte = 1,000 copies of the Encyclopedia Britannica
10 Terabytes = The printed collection of the entire Library of Congress

Petabyte

= 1,000 Terabytes

1 Petabyte = 20 million 4-door filing cabinets full of text
1 Petabyte = 500 billion pages of standard printed text
20 Petabytes = The amount of data processed by Google daily

Exabyte

= 1,000 Petabytes

1 Exabyte = 2 million personal computers
5 Exabytes = All the words ever spoken by mankind
15 Exabytes = Total data held by Google

Zettabyte

= 1,000 Exabytes

1 Zettabyte = 250 billion DVDs

Yottabyte

= 1,000 Zettabytes

1 Yottabyte = Size of the entire World Wide Web

(It would take approximately 11 trillion years to download a Yottabyte file from the internet using high-powered broadband.)

Brontobyte

= 1,000 Yottabytes

The only thing there is to say about a Brontobyte is that it is a 1 followed by 27 zeros!

Geopbyte

= 1,000 Brontobytes

No one knows why this term was created. It is highly doubtful that anyone alive today will EVER see a Geopbyte hard drive.

Quick Byte Guide

Disk Storage

1 Bit=

Binary Digit

8 Bits=

1 Byte

1000 Bytes=

1 Kilobyte

1000 Kilobytes=

1 Megabyte

1000 Megabytes=

1 Gigabyte

1000 Gigabytes=

1 Terabyte

1000 Terabytes=

1 Petabyte

1000 Petabytes=

1 Exabyte

1000 Exabytes=

1 Zettabyte

1000 Zettabytes=

1 Yottabyte

1000 Yottabytes=

1 Brontobyte

1000 Brontobytes=

1 Geopbyte

Processor or Virtual Storage

1 Bit=

Binary Digit

8 Bits=

1 Byte

1024 Bytes=

1 Kilobyte

1024 Kilobytes=

1 Megabyte

1024 Megabytes=

1 Gigabyte

1024 Gigabytes=

1 Terabyte

1024 Terabytes=

1 Petabyte

1024 Petabytes=

1 Exabyte

1024 Exabytes=

1 Zettabyte

1024 Zettabytes=

1 Yottabyte

1024 Yottabytes=

1 Brontobyte

1024 Brontobytes=

1 Geopbyte

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