Kibibyte (KiB)

ComputingCurrent unit

Exactly 1,024 bytes (2¹⁰). The IEC name for the binary kilobyte, used by operating systems and memory specifications.

1 kibibyte = 1,024 bytes (exactly).

1 kibibyte = 1,024 bytes

About the kibibyte

Kibibyte is the first of the names the IEC approved in December 1998 for binary multiples, built from kilobinary. The IUPAC's Interdivisional Committee on Nomenclature and Symbols had proposed binary prefixes in 1995, and the IEC published them in January 1999. The symbol KiB adds an i to the SI symbol, with the K capitalized. NIST says the names keep the first two letters of each SI prefix and add bi, to signal binary.

One KiB is exactly 1,024 bytes, about 2.4 percent more than a kilobyte. The standard is now IEC 80000-13, supported by the BIPM, IEC and NIST. In practice the symbols are rarely used outside a few places such as KDE and Qt-based applications, which can switch between SI and binary units. Donald Knuth jokingly suggested in 1999 calling it a large kilobyte, KKB.

Sources: NIST: Prefixes for binary multiples; Wikipedia: Kibibyte

Kibibyte conversion chart

1 kibibyte expressed in every other digital storage unit:

Unit1 kibibyte
Bytes1,024
Kilobytes1.024
Megabytes0.001024
Gigabytes0.000001024
Terabytes1.024×10⁻⁹
Bits8,192
Petabytes1.024×10⁻¹²
Mebibytes0.0009765625
Gibibytes9.536743164×10⁻⁷
Tebibytes9.313225746×10⁻¹⁰
Kilobits8.192
Megabits0.008192
Gigabits0.000008192
Exabytes1.024×10⁻¹⁵
Zettabytes1.024×10⁻¹⁸
Yottabytes1.024×10⁻²¹
Pebibytes9.094947018×10⁻¹³
Exbibytes8.881784197×10⁻¹⁶
Terabits8.192×10⁻⁹
Kibibits8
Mebibits0.0078125
Gibibits0.000007629394531
Nibbles2,048

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