Bytes to Bits Converter

Bytes to Bits

Convert bytes (B) to bits (b). Both measure digital storage, and the conversion comes up in computing, storage, internet work.

The Formula

`` bits = bytes × 8 bytes = bits × 0.125 `

One byte is 8 bits, and one bit is 0.125 bytes.

Conversion Table

Bytes	Bits
1 B	8 b
2 B	16 b
5 B	40 b
10 B	80 b
25 B	200 b
50 B	400 b
100 B	800 b
500 B	4,000 b
1,000 B	8,000 b

The Other Direction

Bits	Bytes
1 b	0.125 B
2 b	0.25 B
5 b	0.625 B
10 b	1.25 B
25 b	3.125 B
50 b	6.25 B
100 b	12.5 B
500 b	62.5 B
1,000 b	125 B

What Each Unit Is

Bytes (B) — 8 bits. Coined at IBM in 1956 for the group of bits encoding one character.

Bits (b) — a single binary digit — the smallest unit of information. Named by John Tukey in 1946, from "binary digit".

A Sense of Scale

• One ASCII character is 1 byte
• A UTF-8 emoji is often 4 bytes
• Network speeds are quoted in bits per second
• A byte is 8 bits

Precision

The factor 8 is exact by international agreement, not a rounded approximation. Any imprecision in a result comes from your input, not the conversion.

In Code

`javascript const byteToBit = (value) => value * 8; ``

Where This Conversion Comes Up

• Computing
• Storage
• Internet
• Media
• Backups

How Many Decimals Do You Need?

Rounding the factor costs accuracy, and how much depends on the factor. Converting 137 B with the factor truncated at each decimal place:

Decimals kept	Factor	137 B becomes	Error
0	8	1,096	—
1	8	1,096	—
2	8	1,096	—
3	8	1,096	—
4	8	1,096	—

A rule that holds for any conversion: round once, at the end. Rounding the factor and then multiplying compounds the error through every subsequent calculation, while carrying full precision and rounding the final answer does not.

The right number of significant figures is set by your input, not by the converter. If you measured bytes to three significant figures, the answer in bits is only good to three — writing more digits claims precision the measurement never had.

Other Conversions From Bytes

The same value in every other unit this converter supports for data:

From	To	Unit
1 B	0.008 Kb	Kilobits
1 B	0.001 KB	Kilobytes
1 B	8.0000e-6 Mb	Megabits
1 B	1.0000e-6 MB	Megabytes
1 B	1.0000e-9 GB	Gigabytes
1 B	1.0000e-12 TB	Terabytes

Chaining conversions works — bytes to metres to feet gives the same answer as bytes to feet — but each step rounds, so a chain of three conversions carries three roundings. Convert directly where a direct factor exists.