Choose a Measurement
Select a measurement and convert between different units
Single conversion
To convert from Bit (bit) to Kibibyte (KiB), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Kibibyte (KiB) and Bit (bit).
Let's convert 5 Bit (bit) to Kibibyte (KiB).
Using the formula:
Therefore, 5 Bit (bit) is equal to Kibibyte (KiB).
Here are some quick reference conversions from Bit (bit) to Kibibyte (KiB):
| Bits | Kibibytes |
|---|---|
| 0.000001 bit | KiB |
| 0.001 bit | KiB |
| 0.1 bit | KiB |
| 1 bit | KiB |
| 2 bit | KiB |
| 3 bit | KiB |
| 4 bit | KiB |
| 5 bit | KiB |
| 6 bit | KiB |
| 7 bit | KiB |
| 8 bit | KiB |
| 9 bit | KiB |
| 10 bit | KiB |
| 20 bit | KiB |
| 30 bit | KiB |
| 40 bit | KiB |
| 50 bit | KiB |
| 100 bit | KiB |
| 1000 bit | KiB |
| 10000 bit | KiB |
For all Digital converters, choose units using the From/To dropdowns above.
A bit (short for binary digit) is the most basic unit of data in computing.
It is the smallest possible piece of information a computer can handle. Think of a bit as a tiny light switch that can only be in one of two states: on (represented by a 1) or off (represented by a 0).
Every action you perform on a computer—from typing a letter to watching a video—is made possible by billions of these switches working together.
This simple on/off system, known as the binary system, is the fundamental language of all modern digital devices.
The word "bit" is a portmanteau, a blend of the words "binary digit."
It was coined by the brilliant mathematician and engineer Claude Shannon in his groundbreaking 1948 paper, "A Mathematical Theory of Communication."
Shannon, often called the "father of information theory," created this simple term to describe the most fundamental unit of digital information.
While a single bit doesn't hold much information on its own, computers group them together to represent more complex data.
Data is most commonly measured in bytes.
A byte is a sequence of 8 bits. This grouping allows for 256 (28) different combinations of 0s and 1s, which is enough to represent all the characters on your keyboard, including letters, numbers, and symbols.
From the byte, we get larger units of data storage:
You've likely seen internet speeds advertised in megabits per second (Mbps). This measures how many millions of bits can be transferred per second.
However, file sizes are measured in megabytes (MB). To understand your actual download speed, you need to convert bits to bytes.
Since there are 8 bits in a byte, you simply divide the Mbps value by 8.
Example: A 100 Mbps internet connection can download 12.5 megabytes (MB) of data per second (100 Mbps / 8 = 12.5 MBps).
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.