Ans

Unit converter

Bytes to bits.

Convert B to bit and bit to B. Type in either box and the other follows. One byte is eight bits — the factor that makes a connection sound eight times faster than the download it delivers.

B → bitExact definition
—
Bytes to bits — common values, to 6 significant figures.
Bbit
1 B8 bit
8 B64 bit
64 B512 bit
512 B4096 bit
1024 B8192 bit
1000000 B8000000 bit
1 B=8 bit 1 bit=0.125 B

Definitions

  • The byte is eight bits, the smallest addressable unit of storage on essentially every modern machine.
  • The bit is a single binary digit. Network and broadband speeds are quoted in bits; files are measured in bytes, eight times larger.
  • This conversion is exact by definition. 1 B = 8 bit.
  • Decimal prefixes (kB, MB, GB) are powers of 1000; binary prefixes (KiB, MiB, GiB) are powers of 1024. Drive makers use decimal; operating systems often report binary, which is why a 1 TB drive shows as 931 GiB.

How it works

One direction multiplies and the other divides by the same number, so nothing is lost by going back and forth.

The value passes through B, the unit every other digital storage unit on the site is defined against, rather than a number written into this page on its own. That is why the figure here, the figure in the table above and the general digital storage converter always agree.

Display precision limits significant figures rather than decimal places, because one fixed number of decimals is useless across a range this wide. Very large and very small results switch to scientific notation with a proper superscript exponent. The editable box always holds a plain number at full working precision, so you can carry on from either side.

Common questions this answers: how many bits in a byte (8), how many bytes in a bit (0.125), and what 1000 B is in bits (8000 bit).

From the maker of Ans — a scientific calculator you can own. Same idea: a proper instrument, nothing in the way.