MB to KB Converter

Convert megabytes (MB) to kilobytes (KB) easily and accurately.

Calculator

Enter Your Megabytes

Enter the number of megabytes you want to convert.

Guide

Understanding Digital Storage Units

The Foundations of Digital Storage

Digital storage is measured in binary units, where all data is ultimately represented as 0s and 1s. Understanding how these units relate to each other is essential for comprehending file sizes and storage capacities.

Basic Units of Digital Storage

  • Bit (b): The smallest unit of digital information, representing a single binary value (0 or 1).
  • Byte (B): A group of 8 bits. A byte can represent 256 different values and typically stores a single character.
  • Kilobyte (KB): Approximately 1,000 bytes (precisely 1,024 bytes in binary).
  • Megabyte (MB): Approximately 1,000 kilobytes or 1,000,000 bytes (precisely 1,048,576 bytes in binary).
  • Gigabyte (GB): Approximately 1,000 megabytes (precisely 1,073,741,824 bytes in binary).
  • Terabyte (TB): Approximately 1,000 gigabytes (precisely 1,099,511,627,776 bytes in binary).
Important Note:

There are two different systems for measuring digital storage:

  • Decimal system (SI units): Uses powers of 10 (1 KB = 1,000 bytes)
  • Binary system (IEC units): Uses powers of 2 (1 KiB = 1,024 bytes)

Storage device manufacturers typically use the decimal system, while operating systems often display storage using the binary system.

Binary vs. Decimal Units

The discrepancy between binary and decimal measurements can cause confusion. For example, a "1 GB" hard drive might show as only "0.93 GB" when connected to your computer. This is because:

  • Hard drive manufacturers use the decimal system: 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes
  • Computers use the binary system: 1 GB = 1,073,741,824 bytes

Understanding MB to KB Conversion

When converting megabytes (MB) to kilobytes (KB), it's important to understand that we're multiplying by 1,024 (not 1,000) according to binary measurement standards. This is because computers use binary (base-2) rather than decimal (base-10) counting.

The formula is:

Kilobytes (KB) = Megabytes (MB) × 1,024

Practical Examples of File Sizes

File Type Typical Size Size in KB
Plain text document (1 page) 4 KB 4 KB
Word document (with formatting) 100-300 KB 100-300 KB
MP3 audio file (3 minutes) 3-5 MB 3,072-5,120 KB
JPEG image (high quality) 2-5 MB 2,048-5,120 KB
1 minute HD video 100-200 MB 102,400-204,800 KB
Guide

How to Convert MB to KB

To convert megabytes (MB) to kilobytes (KB), follow these steps:

  1. 1
    Take the number of megabytes (MB)
  2. 2
    Multiply by 1024 (1 MB = 1024 KB)
Example:

1 MB = 1 * 1024 = 1024 KB

2 MB = 2 * 1024 = 2048 KB

0.5 MB = 0.5 * 1024 = 512 KB

Examples

Common Examples

Example 1 1 MB

1 MB = 1024 KB

Example 2 2 MB

2 MB = 2048 KB

Example 3 0.5 MB

0.5 MB = 512 KB

Example 4 1.5 MB

1.5 MB = 1536 KB

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