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To convert from Gigabyte (GB) to Kilobyte (kB), use the following formula:
Let's convert 5 Gigabyte (GB) to Kilobyte (kB).
Using the formula:
Therefore, 5 Gigabyte (GB) is equal to Kilobyte (kB).
Here are some quick reference conversions from Gigabyte (GB) to Kilobyte (kB):
| Gigabytes | Kilobytes |
|---|---|
| 0.000001 GB | kB |
| 0.001 GB | kB |
| 0.1 GB | kB |
| 1 GB | kB |
| 2 GB | kB |
| 3 GB | kB |
| 4 GB | kB |
| 5 GB | kB |
| 6 GB | kB |
| 7 GB | kB |
| 8 GB | kB |
| 9 GB | kB |
| 10 GB | kB |
| 20 GB | kB |
| 30 GB | kB |
| 40 GB | kB |
| 50 GB | kB |
| 100 GB | kB |
| 1000 GB | kB |
| 10000 GB | kB |
For all Digital converters, choose units using the From/To dropdowns above.
Ever wondered what a gigabyte (GB) really means when you're buying a new phone, choosing a mobile data plan, or saving a file? A gigabyte is one of the most common measurements of digital capacity.
In this guide, we'll break down exactly what a GB is, what you can fit into it, and why the storage space you buy isn't always what you see on your device.
A gigabyte (GB) is a unit of digital data storage, equal to one billion bytes. The plural form is gigabytes.
While a gigabyte (GB) is commercially defined as 1 billion bytes (109 bytes), operating systems like Windows often measure storage using a binary system.
In this system, the correct term is a gibibyte (GiB), which is equal to 230 or 1,073,741,824 bytes.
This ~7.4% difference is why a hard drive advertised as 500 GB might appear as only 465 GiB on your computer.
This discrepancy exists because manufacturers sell storage using the decimal system (powers of 10), while most operating systems measure it using the binary system (powers of 2).
A single gigabyte (1GB) offers a substantial amount of storage for everyday use.
For perspective, 1 GB can typically hold:
This capacity makes it a standard unit for measuring file sizes, app downloads, and mobile data plans.
In the early 1980s, a gigabyte of storage was an immense, costly amount of data, primarily found in multi-million dollar supercomputers.
The first gigabyte-capacity hard disk drive, IBM's 3380, was released in 1980. It weighed over 500 pounds and cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Today, gigabytes are a routine measure for devices that fit in our pockets, such as smartphones, SD cards, and USB drives, showcasing the exponential growth of data technology.
A kilobyte (kB) is a unit of digital information or data storage equal to 1,000 bytes.
The plural form is kilobytes.
While a kilobyte (kB) is standardized as 1,000 bytes (using the decimal, or base-10 system), the term has historically been used in computing to mean 1,024 bytes.
This is because computers operate on a binary (base-2) architecture, and 210 equals 1024.
To clear up this confusion, the term kibibyte (KiB) was officially created to refer specifically to 1,024 bytes.
However, you'll still see "kilobyte" used informally for both values, especially in older software and operating systems like Windows.
In the dawn of early personal computing, the kilobyte was a massive unit of memory.
For example, the popular Commodore 64 home computer, released in 1982, had its name derived from its 64 kilobytes of RAM.
This was considered a large and powerful amount of storage capacity at the time, and it had to hold the entire operating system, programs, and any user data simultaneously.
In today's digital world, a kilobyte is a minimal amount of data.
A single kilobyte can typically hold about half a page of plain, unformatted text.
For reference, a simple email with no images might be 2-3 kB, while a small website icon (a favicon) is often around 1-4 kB.
It's the foundational unit upon which larger file sizes are built.
Key Takeaways