Convert Megabyte to Gigabyte (MB → GB)

Converting megabytes to gigabytes is straightforward: multiply by the conversion factor. Follow these three steps to do it by hand or in your head.

1. 1
   Take your value in megabytes

   Start with the number of megabytes (MB) you want to convert.
2. 2
   Multiply by 0.001

   The conversion factor from MB to GB is 0.001. Multiply your value by this number.
3. 3
   Read the result in gigabytes

   The result is your value in gigabytes (GB).

Multiply the value in megabytes by 0.001. For the reverse direction, multiply by 1,000.

• ✓SI: 1 MB = 1000 KB = 1,000,000 B.
• ✓Binary MiB = 1,048,576 B — 4.86% larger.
• ✓HD drives, networks, SSDs: SI MB.

• ✗Mixing MB and MiB without noting the difference (~5%).
• ✗Confusing MB (storage) with Mb (megabit, 1/8).
• ✗Assuming 1 GB = 1000 MB always — correct in SI; binary it's 1024.

What is the Megabyte?

The megabyte (MB) equals 1,000 kilobytes (1,000,000 bytes decimal, or 1,048,576 bytes binary as MiB). It is the everyday unit for image files, MP3 songs, and small documents on personal computers. A high-quality JPEG photograph is 2–10 MB, an MP3 song is 3–10 MB, a Microsoft Word document might be 0.05–5 MB, and a typical e-book is under 5 MB. Older USB flash drives and CDs hold hundreds of MB (a CD is 700 MB). Mobile data plans were originally measured in MB before gigabyte plans became standard. The megabyte relates to the kilobyte (1,000 KB = 1 MB), the gigabyte (1,000 MB = 1 GB), and the megabit (1 MB = 8 Mbit). Internet connection speeds are usually rated in Mbps (megabits per second), distinct from MBps (megabytes per second): 100 Mbps = 12.5 MBps.

• Photo and image file sizes
• MP3 and audio files
• Small video clips

What is the Gigabyte?

The gigabyte (GB) equals 1,000 megabytes (1,000,000,000 bytes decimal, or 1,073,741,824 bytes as GiB binary) and is the standard unit for smartphone storage, mobile data plans, and modern application sizes. Modern smartphones offer 64–1,024 GB of storage, mobile data plans range from 1 to 50+ GB per month, and operating-system installations typically require 20–80 GB. A 4K video stream consumes 6–8 GB per hour, and a typical app download is 50–500 MB to a few GB. The famous discrepancy between manufacturer-advertised capacity (GB decimal) and operating-system-displayed capacity (GiB binary) means a '1 TB' drive shows about 931 GB to the user. The gigabyte relates to the megabyte (1,000 MB = 1 GB), the terabyte (1,000 GB = 1 TB), the gibibyte (1 GiB = 1.074 GB), and the gigabit (1 GB = 8 Gbit).

• Phone and device storage
• Mobile-data plan allowances
• Memory (RAM) sizes