Choose a Measurement
Select a measurement and convert between different units
Single conversion
To convert from Gibibyte (GiB) to Kibibyte (KiB), use the following formula:
Let's convert 5 Gibibyte (GiB) to Kibibyte (KiB).
Using the formula:
Therefore, 5 Gibibyte (GiB) is equal to Kibibyte (KiB).
Here are some quick reference conversions from Gibibyte (GiB) to Kibibyte (KiB):
| Gibibytes | Kibibytes |
|---|---|
| 0.000001 GiB | KiB |
| 0.001 GiB | KiB |
| 0.1 GiB | KiB |
| 1 GiB | KiB |
| 2 GiB | KiB |
| 3 GiB | KiB |
| 4 GiB | KiB |
| 5 GiB | KiB |
| 6 GiB | KiB |
| 7 GiB | KiB |
| 8 GiB | KiB |
| 9 GiB | KiB |
| 10 GiB | KiB |
| 20 GiB | KiB |
| 30 GiB | KiB |
| 40 GiB | KiB |
| 50 GiB | KiB |
| 100 GiB | KiB |
| 1000 GiB | KiB |
| 10000 GiB | KiB |
For all Digital converters, choose units using the From/To dropdowns above.
A gibibyte (GiB) is a unit of measurement for digital data.
While it sounds complex, understanding it is the key to solving a common tech mystery: why the storage space on your new device or hard drive often looks smaller than what was advertised on the box.
Have you ever purchased a 500 gigabyte (GB) hard drive, only to find that your computer reports it as having only 465 GB of storage capacity?
You haven't been short-changed. The difference comes down to two different ways of counting:
Gigabyte (GB): This is the unit manufacturers use for marketing. It's a simple, round number based on the decimal (base-10) system.
Gibibyte (GiB): This is the unit your computer's operating system (like Windows or macOS) often uses for measurement. It is based on the binary (base-2) system, which is the native language of computers.
This means a gibibyte is about 7.4% larger than a gigabyte.
So, your 500 GB hard drive has exactly 500,000,000,000 bytes, but when your computer measures those bytes using the binary system, it calculates it as approximately 465 GiB.
The amount of storage is the same—only the unit of measurement has changed.
To clear up this exact confusion, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) officially introduced the term "gibibyte" in 1998.
It was created along with other binary-based prefixes (like kibi-, mebi-, and tebi-) to create a clear standard and separate the binary measurements used in computing from the decimal measurements used in marketing and general communication.
Knowing where to expect each term can help you avoid confusion:
You will see Gigabytes (GB) used most often in marketing and sales, such as on the packaging for hard drives, SSDs, smartphones, and when describing mobile data plans.
You will encounter Gibibytes (GiB) inside software environments. Operating systems, file size information, and memory (RAM) specifications use GiB to give a more precise measurement that aligns with the computer's binary architecture.
In short, the next time you see a difference in your storage numbers, you'll know it's not a mistake—it's just the language of computers at work
A kibibyte (KiB) is a unit of digital information established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
It was created to provide a more precise way to measure data storage and eliminate common confusion with a similar-sounding unit, the kilobyte.
The core difference lies in the number system they use: binary vs. decimal.
A kibibyte (KiB) represents exactly 1,024 bytes. This number comes from the binary system (or base-2 math) that computers use, as it's a power of two (210).
In contrast, a kilobyte (KB) is often used, especially in marketing for storage devices, to mean exactly 1,000 bytes. This is based on the decimal system (or base-10 math) we use every day.
This difference is why the kibibyte was created: to offer a clear and unambiguous term for the binary-based measurements that computers and operating systems actually use.
To put it simply:
Kilobyte (KB)
Kibibyte (KiB)
Before 1998, the term "kilobyte" was ambiguously used to refer to both 1,000 and 1,024 bytes, which confused consumers and programmers alike.
To solve this problem, the IEC officially introduced a new set of prefixes specifically for binary measurements.
This new standard gave us the kibi (for kibibyte), mebi (for mebibyte, MiB), and gibi (for gibibyte, GiB), creating a transparent and standardized system for measuring data in the way computers actually "think."
Have you ever bought a 1 terabyte (TB) hard drive, only to plug it in and see your computer report it as having around 931 gigabytes (GB) of space?
You haven't been short-changed or lost any storage—it's just a difference in measurement systems.
Here's what's happening:
Ultimately, no storage is lost. It's like the difference between miles and kilometers—the distance is the same, you're just using a different unit to measure it.