Gigabytes to Terabytes Converter
Convert gigabytes to terabytes and back, in binary or decimal units.
Quick Reference: GB to TB (Binary)
| Gigabytes (GB) | Terabytes (TB) |
|---|---|
| 256 GB | 0.25 TB |
| 512 GB | 0.5 TB |
| 1024 GB | 1 TB |
| 2048 GB | 2 TB |
| 4096 GB | 4 TB |
Binary vs. Decimal Conversion
There are two common conventions for converting between digital storage units. The binary standard treats 1 terabyte as 1,024 gigabytes (210), which reflects how computers address memory in powers of two. The decimal standard treats 1 terabyte as 1,000 gigabytes (103), following the metric SI convention.
- Binary: TB = GB ÷ 1024 and GB = TB × 1024.
- Decimal: TB = GB ÷ 1000 and GB = TB × 1000.
- Strictly, binary units are written as gibibyte (GiB) and tebibyte (TiB) under the IEC standard, but in everyday usage GB and TB are used for both.
Why Drive Sizes Look Smaller
Hard drive and SSD manufacturers advertise capacity using the decimal standard, where 1 TB equals 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. Operating systems like Windows, however, often report storage using binary units. This is why a "1 TB" drive shows up as roughly 931 GB in your file explorer — the capacity is the same, only the unit definition differs.
Understanding this difference helps explain the gap between the size printed on the box and the number your computer displays.
Common Uses
- Comparing the capacity of hard drives, SSDs, and memory cards.
- Planning backup storage and cloud subscription tiers.
- Estimating how many TB are needed for large media libraries.
- Calculating data-center and server storage allocations.