We measure data storage in all sorts of units, from kilobytes all the way up to petabytes. Two of the most common units you’ll see are gigabytes (GB) and terabytes (TB).
Understanding the relationship between GB and TB is key to managing your digital storage effectively. For example, if you want to know how many photos can fit on your new external hard drive, you’ll need to know how many gigabytes are in a terabyte.
This article will explain the gigabytes to terabytes conversion, taking into account both the standard (decimal) system and the IEC (binary) system you’ll often see used in computing.
Understanding Gigabytes and Terabytes
When we talk about the amount of digital information a device can hold, we use terms like gigabytes and terabytes. Here’s a little more about what those terms mean.
What is a Gigabyte (GB)?
A gigabyte is a unit of digital storage. You’ll often see gigabytes used to measure the size of files, like movies or software programs. You’ll also see it used to describe the storage capacity of smartphones, tablets, and USB drives.
- 1 GB = 103 MB = 1,000 MB
- 1 GB = 109 B = 1,000,000,000 B
What is a Terabyte (TB)?
A terabyte is a larger unit of digital storage. You’ll often see terabytes used to describe the amount of storage on larger devices, like external hard drives or solid state drives (SSDs).
- 1 TB = 103 GB = 1,000 GB
- 1 TB = 1012 B = 1,000,000,000,000 B
SI vs. IEC: Decimals and Binary
When we talk about digital storage, we use prefixes like “kilo,” “mega,” “giga,” and “tera.” But there are actually two different systems for using these prefixes: SI (decimal) and IEC (binary).
SI prefixes are based on powers of 10. IEC prefixes are based on powers of 2. This is important because computers operate using a binary system.
To be more precise, technical fields often use the terms “gibibyte” (GiB) and “tebibyte” (TiB), which are IEC terms. For example:
- 1 GiB = 1,024 MiB
- 1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes
- 1 TiB = 1,024 GiB
- 1 TiB = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes
Understanding the difference between these prefixes is key to calculating storage accurately. Otherwise, you may end up with major discrepancies.
GB to TB Conversion Formulas
Here are the formulas you’ll need to convert gigabytes into terabytes.
Using SI (Decimal) Prefixes:
To convert from gigabytes (GB) to terabytes (TB) using the International System of Units (SI), divide the number of gigabytes by 1000:
TB = GB / 1000
For example, if you have 2000 GB, that’s equal to 2 TB (2000 / 1000 = 2).
Using IEC (Binary) Prefixes:
To convert from gibibytes (GiB) to tebibytes (TiB) using the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard, divide the number of gibibytes by 1024:
TiB = GiB / 1024
So, 2048 GiB is equivalent to 2 TiB (2048 / 1024 = 2).
How to convert gigabytes to terabytes
Here are some examples of how to convert between gigabytes (GB) and terabytes (TB). Remember that the math is slightly different depending on whether you’re using the SI standard (GB and TB) or the IEC standard (GiB and TiB).
- Example (SI): Convert 500 GB to TB. 500 GB / 1000 = 0.5 TB
- Example (IEC): Convert 2560 GiB to TiB. 2560 GiB / 1024 = 2.5 TiB
- Example (SI): Convert 1500 GB to TB. 1500 GB / 1000 = 1.5 TB
Gigabytes to terabytes conversion table
To make the conversion easier, here’s a handy conversion table you can refer to.
Decimal (SI) prefixes
This table shows common gigabytes (GB) to terabytes (TB) conversions.
| Gigabytes (GB) | Terabytes (TB) |
|---|---|
| 100 GB | 0.1 TB |
| 250 GB | 0.25 TB |
| 500 GB | 0.5 TB |
| 750 GB | 0.75 TB |
| 1000 GB | 1 TB |
| 1500 GB | 1.5 TB |
Binary (IEC) prefixes
This table shows common gibibytes (GiB) to tebibytes (TiB) conversions.
| Gibibytes (GiB) | Tebibytes (TiB) |
|---|---|
| 1024 GiB | 1 TiB |
| 2048 GiB | 2 TiB |
| 4096 GiB | 4 TiB |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 1024 GB equal to 1 TB?
Yes, 1024 gigabytes (GB) is equal to 1 terabyte (TB). This is the standard conversion factor used in the computer industry. It’s important to remember this when you’re calculating storage space or transferring files between devices.
How many TBs are in a GB?
There is approximately 0.0009765625 terabytes (TB) in one gigabyte (GB). To get this number, you divide 1 by 1024 (since there are 1024 GB in 1 TB). It’s a very small fraction, which is why we usually talk about converting GB to TB, rather than the other way around.
How many GB is a terabyte?
A terabyte (TB) is equal to 1024 gigabytes (GB). So, if you have a 1 TB hard drive, it can store 1024 GB of data. Understanding this conversion is crucial when comparing storage capacities of different devices, like hard drives, SSDs, and cloud storage plans. It helps you visualize how much data you can actually store.
To Conclude
Gigabytes and terabytes are different units of digital storage, so it’s helpful to know how to convert between the two. Whether you’re buying a new hard drive or managing data on your computer, understanding the difference between GB and TB is essential.
Also, make sure you’re using the correct prefixes (SI or IEC) to ensure you’re getting an accurate conversion.