Use this converter to easily convert between TeraBytes and GigaBytes.
Quick navigation:
- How many GigaBytes equal one TeraByte?
- Why is my X TB disk not X TB?
- Difference between TB and GB
- How to convert TeraBytes to GigaBytes
- TB to GB conversion table
How many GigaBytes equal one TeraByte?
There are two possible definitions for the TeraByte and thus two correct answers to this question. According to the binary convention 1024 gigabytes equal one terabyte, while according to the SI standard 1000 gigabytes equal 1 terabyte.
Why two definitions, you may ask. The reason is that the binary ones were defined based on computer architecture, especially memory storage and manipulation, which always happens in powers of 2, hence 1,024 = 210. It is close to 1,000, so the "kilo" prefix was adopted for the kilobyte and the megabyte, gigabyte, and terabyte soon followed, despite the discrepancy increasing even more with each subsequent metric. However, binary is convenient when dealing with memory which always comes in 64, 128, 512, 1024, 2048 etc.
The International System of Units, however, wanted to adopt decimal base units, similar to the units for length and weight: kilometers, kilograms, etc. So the SI KB, MB, GB and TB were born and competition ensued, with SI ultimately losing, even though it is adopted by many international organizations. The IEC proposed alternative metrics, the TibiByte and the GibiByte (TiB and GiB) to denote the binary TB and GB, but almost no one outside niche professional circles has heard of those so the confusion about the definition of the TeraByte continues to this day. Make sure you know what metric is used when converting from TB to GB. If using our TB to GB converter, we have an option to easily switch from one convention to another.
Why is my X TB disk not X TB?
A common question related to disk space regards the difference between advertised disk capacity and actual disk capacity. In theory, both are the same, but in practice they are not, since capacity is advertised using SI units, but measured by most operating systems in binary units. Windows, for example, will show your brand new 4 TB disk as 3.63 TB (3,638 GB or GiB, as the SI would dictate) and the difference of about 10% is all due to the different units used.
Above - a 4 TB WD hard disk as seen by the Windows 10 OS. After a class-action lawsuit against Western Digital (WD) regarding this discrepancy they started noting the capacity in binary units in a small font next to the big font advertised size, so it will be listed in TiB, GiB, or MiB.
Difference between TB and GB
Both units measure storage of digital data on devices like HDDs, SSDs, USB thumb drives (USB sticks), CD-ROMs, and DVDs. The only difference between terabytes and gigabytes is the magnitude. Modern disks are usually listed in TB due to their size, while big files and folders are usually measured in gigabytes.
How to convert TeraBytes to GigaBytes
Converting from TB to GB is an easy task, especially if using our TB to GB converter. If not, just multiply the GB number by 1,024 to get TB in the binary convention, or by 1,000 to get the SI convention. It is one of the few advantages of the decimal system: multiplying by 1,000 is as simple as adding three zeroes or moving the decimal point three positions to the right.
TB to GB conversion example
Sample task: convert 4 terabytes to gigabytes (binary, also TiB to GiB). Solution:
Formula:
TB * 1024 = GB
Calculation:
4 TB * 1,024 = 4,096 GB
End result:
4 TB is equal to 4,096 GB
Sample task: convert 4 terabytes to gigabytes (SI). Solution:
Formula:
TB * 1000 = GB
Calculation:
4 TB * 1,000 = 4,000 GB
End result:
4 TB is equal to 4,000 GB
TB to GB conversion table
TB (binary, also TiB) | GB (binary, also GiB) |
---|---|
4 TB | 4,096 GB |
8 TB | 8,192 GB |
16 TB | 16,384 GB |
32 TB | 32,768 GB |
64 TB | 65,536 GB |
128 TB | 131,072 GB |
256 TB | 262,144 GB |
512 TB | 524,288 GB |
1,024 TB | 1,048,576 GB |
2,048 TB | 2,097,152 GB |
4,096 TB | 4,194,304 GB |
8,192 TB | 8,388,608 GB |
16,384 TB | 16,777,216 GB |
32,768 TB | 33,554,432 GB |
65,536 TB | 67,108,864 GB |
131,072 TB | 134,217,728 GB |
262,144 TB | 268,435,456 GB |
524,288 TB | 536,870,912 GB |
TB (SI) | GB (SI) |
---|---|
4 TB | 4,000 GB |
8 TB | 8,000 GB |
16 TB | 16,000 GB |
32 TB | 32,000 GB |
64 TB | 64,000 GB |
128 TB | 128,000 GB |
256 TB | 256,000 GB |
512 TB | 512,000 GB |
1,024 TB | 1,024,000 GB |
2,048 TB | 2,048,000 GB |
4,096 TB | 4,096,000 GB |
8,192 TB | 8,192,000 GB |
16,384 TB | 16,384,000 GB |
32,768 TB | 32,768,000 GB |
65,536 TB | 65,536,000 GB |
131,072 TB | 131,072,000 GB |
262,144 TB | 262,144,000 GB |
524,288 TB | 524,288,000 GB |
References
1 IEC 60027-2, Second edition, 2000-11, Letter symbols to be used in electrical technology - Part 2: Telecommunications and electronics.
2 IEC 80000-13:2008, Quantities and units, Part 13: Information science and technology