Convert between different units quickly and accurately in a modern way
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Select a measurement and convert between different units
Multiple conversions
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Bit (bit), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Bit (bit) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Kilobit (kb), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Bit (bit) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Megabit (Mb), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Bit (bit) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Gigabit (Gb), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Bit (bit) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Terabit (Tb), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Bit (bit) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Byte (byte), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Byte (byte) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Kilobyte (kB), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Byte (byte) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Megabyte (MB), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Byte (byte) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Gigabyte (GB), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Byte (byte) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Terabyte (TB), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Byte (byte) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Kibibit (Kib), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Kibibit (Kib) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Mebibit (Mib), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Kibibit (Kib) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Gibibit (Gib), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Kibibit (Kib) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Tebibit (Tib), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Kibibit (Kib) and Kibibyte (KiB).
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Kibibyte (KiB), use the following formula:
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Gibibyte (GiB), use the following formula:
To convert from Mebibyte (MiB) to Tebibyte (TiB), use the following formula:
Ever bought a new hard drive or USB stick and noticed that its actual storage capacity is less than what was advertised on the box?
The reason has to do with the difference between a mebibyte (MiB) and a megabyte (MB).
While they sound almost identical, understanding the distinction is key to knowing how your computer actually measures data.
Here's a simple breakdown of the two units:
Mebibyte (MiB)
Megabyte (MB)
A mebibyte (MiB) is a unit of digital information equal to 1,024 kibibytes (KiB). It is approximately 4.8% larger than a megabyte.
The core difference lies in how they are counted. Computer systems, at their most basic level, operate in binary (base-2). This means they count in powers of two.
A mebibyte represents 220 or 1,048,576 bytes.
In contrast, the decimal system (base-10) is what humans use for most daily counting. A megabyte (MB) represents a clean 106 or 1,000,000 bytes.
This is why a hard drive advertised as 500 gigabytes (GB) appears as roughly 465 gibibytes (GiB) on your computer. The marketing uses the smaller decimal unit (megabyte/gigabyte). In contrast, your operating system uses the more technically accurate binary unit (mebibyte/gibibyte).
The term "mebibyte" was officially established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 1998. It was created to solve the long-standing confusion caused by the term "megabyte."
For decades, "megabyte" was ambiguously used to refer to both 1,000,000 bytes and 1,048,576 bytes.
By introducing a distinct set of binary prefixes (kibi-, mebi-, gibi-, etc.), the IEC aimed to create an unambiguous standard for software development, data storage, and other technical fields.
You encounter mebibytes more often than you might think.
Many modern operating systems, including Microsoft Windows and various Linux distributions, use binary units to calculate and display file sizes and memory capacity.
Even if the interface sometimes shows the abbreviation "MB" or "GB" for simplicity, the underlying calculation is based on the 1,024-based binary system.
This precise measurement is also critical in fields like cloud computing and data center management, where every byte of allocated resource counts.