Convert bytes to KB

One byte equals 0.001 kilobytes. To convert any number of bytes to kilobytes, multiply by 0.001.

The converter above works in both directions and updates as you type. Below you will find the formula, a worked example and a reference table of common values.

Data conversions carry two ambiguities at once. Bits and bytes differ by a factor of eight, and network speeds are quoted in bits while file sizes are quoted in bytes — so a connection and a download will always report numbers that look inconsistent. On top of that, the same prefix means 1,000 to a drive manufacturer and 1,024 to an operating system, which is why advertised capacity and reported capacity never match. Neither is an error; they are different conventions wearing the same name.

bytes to KB formula

To go the other way, use byte = kilobyte ÷ 0.001.

About these units

A byte is eight bits, historically the space needed for one character of text. Storage is measured in bytes; network speeds in bits.

A kilobyte is 1,000 bytes in the decimal convention and 1,024 in the binary one. The IEC introduced the kibibyte in 1998 to settle the ambiguity; adoption remains partial.

Byte is also written bytes. Kilobyte is also written kilobytes, kbs and k.

Sources

1. IEC 80000-13:2008, Quantities and units — Part 13: Information science and technology — the decimal byte prefixes and the binary kibibyte series.