Gigabytes vs. Megabytes vs. Kilobytes vs. Bytes
A byte is a unit of data on a computer system. Each byte typically contains one character: a letter, digit or symbol (though some characters require more than one byte).
A kilobyte (K or KB) is 1,024 bytes, or approximately one thousand characters.
A megabyte (MB) is 1,024 kilobytes, or approximately one million bytes.
A gigabyte (GB) is 1,024 megabytes, or approximately one billion bytes.
A terabyte (TB) is 1,024 gigabytes, or approximately one trillion bytes.
Here is a chart that summarizes these units:
| Unit | Abbrev. | Approximate Bytes | Exact Bytes |
| Byte | B | one | 1 |
| Kilobyte | K or KB | thousand | 1,024 |
| Megabyte | MB | million | 1,048,576 |
| Gigabyte | GB | billion | 1,073,741,824 |
| Terabyte | TB | trillion | 1,099,511,627,776 |
Computer file sizes are represented in bytes. Here are some typical sizes:
- Web page = 300 KB
- MP3 music file = 1 MB per minute
- Digital movie = 500 MB or 1/2 GB per hour
