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Single conversion
To convert from Megabyte (MB) to Gibibyte (GiB), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Kibibyte (KiB) and Byte (byte).
Let's convert 5 Megabyte (MB) to Gibibyte (GiB).
Using the formula:
Therefore, 5 Megabyte (MB) is equal to Gibibyte (GiB).
Here are some quick reference conversions from Megabyte (MB) to Gibibyte (GiB):
| Megabytes | Gibibytes |
|---|---|
| 0.000001 MB | GiB |
| 0.001 MB | GiB |
| 0.1 MB | GiB |
| 1 MB | GiB |
| 2 MB | GiB |
| 3 MB | GiB |
| 4 MB | GiB |
| 5 MB | GiB |
| 6 MB | GiB |
| 7 MB | GiB |
| 8 MB | GiB |
| 9 MB | GiB |
| 10 MB | GiB |
| 20 MB | GiB |
| 30 MB | GiB |
| 40 MB | GiB |
| 50 MB | GiB |
| 100 MB | GiB |
| 1000 MB | GiB |
| 10000 MB | GiB |
For all Digital converters, choose units using the From/To dropdowns above.
A megabyte (MB) is a unit of digital information equal to one million bytes (106 bytes).
The plural form is megabytes.
While a megabyte is commonly defined as one million bytes (1,000,000 bytes), especially for data storage devices like hard drives and USB sticks, computer operating systems often use a different measurement.
In this binary system, a "megabyte" actually refers to a mebibyte (MiB), which is 220 or 1,048,576 bytes.
This difference is why a 100 MB file on your computer takes up more than 100,000,000 bytes of space, and why a hard drive advertised as 500 GB might appear as approximately 465 GB in your operating system.
So, how big is a megabyte in practical terms?
To put its size into perspective, a single MB can hold a surprising amount of information depending on the file type. A megabyte is roughly equivalent to:
It's crucial not to confuse megabytes (MB) with megabits (Mb).
A megabyte (MB) is a unit of data size used for files.
A megabit (Mb) is a unit of data transfer speed, commonly used to measure internet connection speeds.
Since there are 8 bits in 1 byte, you need to divide the megabit value by 8 to find the maximum transfer speed in megabytes per second.
For example, a 100 Mbps (megabits per second) internet connection has a maximum theoretical download speed of 12.5 MBps (megabytes per second).
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