MB to GB Converter

Convert megabytes to gigabytes and back for phone storage, drives, data plans and memory. Every result shows both the 1,024 and the 1,000 answer, so you can match whichever your device or carrier uses.

1 GB = 1,024 MB (binary) or 1,000 MB (decimal)

Megabytes

Result will appear here...

1,024 or 1,000 MB in a GB?

Both answers are in everyday use. Windows, RAM makers and most games' system requirements count 1 GB = 1,024 MB. Drive and phone manufacturers, macOS, iOS and Android storage screens count 1 GB = 1,000 MB. The standards bodies reserve GB for the decimal value and call the binary one a gibibyte (GiB), but few apps follow that.

The difference is small for megabytes (2.4%) and grows with each step up: a GiB is 7.4% bigger than a GB, and a TiB 10% bigger than a TB. That gap is why storage often looks like it's "missing".

binary: GB = MB ÷ 1,024 · decimal: GB = MB ÷ 1,000

6,144 MB → 6 GB (binary) or 6.144 GB (decimal)

MB to GB Table (Binary and Decimal)

Megabytes converted to gigabytes in binary and decimal conventions
MB	GB (÷1,024)	GB (÷1,000)
100 MB	0.0977	0.1
500 MB	0.4883	0.5
512 MB	0.5	0.512
750 MB	0.7324	0.75
1,000 MB	0.9766	1
1,024 MB	1	1.024
1,536 MB	1.5	1.536
2,048 MB	2	2.048
4,096 MB	4	4.096
5,000 MB	4.8828	5
8,192 MB	8	8.192
10,000 MB	9.7656	10
16,384 MB	16	16.384
50,000 MB	48.8281	50

Why a 1 TB Drive Shows 931 GB

A drive sold as 1 TB holds 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. Windows divides that by 1,024 three times and labels the answer GB, so it reports 931 GB. Nothing is missing, it's the same bytes in a bigger unit. A Mac or an iPhone divides by 1,000 and shows close to the box figure (minus the operating system and formatting).

Advertised drive capacity and how Windows displays it
On the box	Bytes	Binary GB	Windows shows
128 GB	128,000,000,000	119.2	119 GB
256 GB	256,000,000,000	238.4	238 GB
512 GB	512,000,000,000	476.8	476 GB
1 TB	1,000,000,000,000	931.3	931 GB
2 TB	2,000,000,000,000	1,862.6	1.81 TB
4 TB	4,000,000,000,000	3,725.3	3.63 TB

Worked Example: How Much 4K Video Fits on a Phone

An iPhone shows 50 GB free. You want to film a wedding in 4K at 60 fps. How many minutes can you record?

Step 1: Free space in MB (iOS counts in thousands)

50 GB × 1,000 = 50,000 MB

Step 2: Divide by the recording rate

50,000 MB ÷ 400 MB per minute = 125 minutes

Step 3: Compare with 4K at 30 fps

50,000 MB ÷ 170 MB per minute ≈ 294 minutes (4 h 54 min)

Dropping to 30 fps more than doubles the recording time. Leave a couple of GB spare: phones slow down and may stop recording when storage is almost full.

iPhone video recording sizes per minute and per hour
Video setting (HEVC)	MB per minute	GB per hour	Minutes per 10 GB
1080p HD at 30 fps	60	3.6	167
1080p HD at 60 fps	90	5.4	111
4K at 30 fps	170	10.2	59
4K at 60 fps	400	24	25

Mobile Data Plan Calculator

Phone usage screens and apps report data in MB, while plans are sold in GB. Carriers don't all count the same way, and some round each session up, so check your plan's terms if you're close to the cap. Enter your allowance to see what it buys:

Plan size (GB)

Days in billing cycle

Carrier counts 1 GB as

15,000 MB in total, or 500 MB a day. If you spent the whole allowance on one thing:

Hours of each activity the data plan allows
Activity	MB per hour	Hours in plan	Minutes a day
Music at 160 kbps	72	208.3	417
Music at 320 kbps	144	104.2	208
Video call at 1.2 Mbps (720p)	540	27.8	56
Netflix, Medium quality	700	21.4	43
Netflix, High quality in HD	3,000	5	10
Netflix, High quality in 4K	7,000	2.1	4

Netflix figures are the service's own estimates and are upper limits per hour. Mobile apps often default to a lower data-saver quality, which uses much less.

RAM and Graphics Memory: Always 1,024

Memory chips are built in powers of two, so a "16 GB" laptop has exactly 16 × 1,024 = 16,384 MB of RAM, and an 8 GB graphics card has 8,192 MB. Task Manager and game settings menus that list memory in MB use these binary figures. When a game says it needs "6 GB VRAM" and a settings screen estimates 5,900 MB, that's 5.76 GB in binary terms, so it fits.

Some of that RAM is reserved before the operating system can use it, for example by integrated graphics, so a 16 GB machine may show 15.7 GB "usable". That's hardware reservation, not a unit difference.

Common memory sizes

Common RAM and VRAM sizes in megabytes
Memory	MB
4 GB	4,096
6 GB	6,144
8 GB	8,192
12 GB	12,288
16 GB	16,384
24 GB	24,576
32 GB	32,768
64 GB	65,536

Frequently asked questions

How many MB is 1 GB of mobile data?

Either 1,000 MB or 1,024 MB depending on the carrier. The difference is 24 MB per GB, about 2.4%.

Why does my new 256 GB phone have less free space?

The operating system and preinstalled apps take a share before you add anything. iOS and Android count in thousands, so there is no extra unit loss on the phone itself.