gibibyte (binary) (GiB)
1 gibibyte (binary) = 1.073742e+09 bytes
What is gibibyte (binary)?
A gibibyte is a binary data unit equal to 1,024 mebibytes, approximately 1.074 gigabytes. It is used by operating systems and technical documentation to express exact binary storage capacities.
Notes: Binary prefix
Real-world uses
Gibibytes are used in operating systems, virtual machines, and technical contexts where binary accuracy is needed. macOS (since Catalina), Linux, and Windows all report file sizes and disk capacities in GiB in their file explorers. Virtual machine disk images, RAM allocations, and container storage limits are often specified in GiB.
History
The gibibyte was defined by the IEC in 1998. Prior to this, "gigabyte" was used inconsistently for both 10^9 and 2^30 bytes. The IEC standard clarified terminology, though marketing materials continue to use "GB" in the decimal sense, perpetuating consumer confusion.
Common mistakes
Confusing GiB (gibibyte, 1,073,741,824 bytes) with GB (gigabyte, 1,000,000,000 bytes). The difference is approximately 7.4%. A "1 TB" hard drive contains 1,000,000,000,000 bytes, which the OS displays as approximately 931 GiB, causing widespread confusion about "missing" storage.
When is this conversion used?
Operating systems and storage manufacturers use different base systems (binary vs decimal), which is why a '1 TB' drive shows less than 1 TB in your file manager. Understanding this conversion prevents confusion about available storage.
How to convert gibibyte (binary) to byte
To convert gibibyte (binary) to byte, multiply the value by 1.073742e+09.
Conversion formula (from base unit)
x * 1073741824.0
Measurement standards
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC 80000-13) defines binary prefixes: 1 KiB = 1,024 bytes, 1 MiB = 1,048,576 bytes. The SI decimal prefixes (kB = 1,000 bytes, MB = 1,000,000 bytes) apply to data units as they do to all SI quantities.
Did you know?
By 2025, the global datasphere is estimated to reach 181 zettabytes — roughly 181 trillion gigabytes. If stored on standard Blu-ray discs, the stack would reach from Earth to Mars and back over 20 times.
| gibibytes (binary) | bytes |
|---|---|
| 0.1 | 107,374,182.40000001 |
| 0.5 | 536,870,912 |
| 1 | 1.073742e+09 |
| 2 | 2.147484e+09 |
| 5 | 5.368709e+09 |
| 10 | 1.073742e+10 |
| 25 | 2.684355e+10 |
| 50 | 5.368709e+10 |
| 100 | 1.073742e+11 |
| 250 | 2.684355e+11 |
| 500 | 5.368709e+11 |
| 1,000 | 1.073742e+12 |
Common values
| gibibytes (binary) | bytes | |
|---|---|---|
| A text email | 0.00000466 gibibytes (binary) | 5,000 bytes |
| An MP3 song (4 min) | 0.00372529 gibibytes (binary) | 4,000,000 bytes |
| A smartphone photo | 0.00465661 gibibytes (binary) | 5,000,000 bytes |
| An HD movie | 4.65661287 gibibytes (binary) | 5.000000e+09 bytes |
| A full hard drive | 931.32257462 gibibytes (binary) | 1.000000e+12 bytes |
Full gibibyte (binary) conversion table
| Unit | Value | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| byte | 1 GiB = 1.073742e+09 B | × 1.073742e+09 |
| kilobyte (decimal) | 1 GiB = 1,073,741.824 kB | × 1,073,741.824 |
| megabyte (decimal) | 1 GiB = 1,073.741824 MB | × 1,073.741824 |
| gigabyte (decimal) | 1 GiB = 1.07374182 GB | × 1.07374182 |
| terabyte (decimal) | 1 GiB = 0.00107374 TB | × 0.00107374 |
| bit | 1 GiB = 8.589935e+09 b | × 8.589935e+09 |
| kibibyte (binary) | 1 GiB = 1,048,576 KiB | × 1,048,576 |
| mebibyte (binary) | 1 GiB = 1,024 MiB | × 1,024 |
| tebibyte (binary) | 1 GiB = 0.00097656 TiB | × 0.00097656 |