Kilobit (kb)

ComputingCurrent unit

1,000 bits (125 bytes). Used for data rates and sizes in telecommunications.

1 kilobit = 125 bytes (exactly).

1 kilobit = 125 bytes

About the kilobit

Kilobit means a thousand bits, and in telecommunications data rates are usually measured in decimal SI multiples. The article on the bit gives a handy example: a channel capacity of 8 kbit/s is 1 kB/s, so dividing kilobits by eight gives kilobytes. The binary counterpart, the kibibit, is 1,024 bits, but it is seldom used.

Symbols cause trouble. The IEC standard says to write kbit, while IEEE 1541-2002 recommends a lowercase b, giving kb, and the lowercase b may be confused with capital B for byte. On this site a kilobit is 125 bytes. The history behind it is that of the bit itself: Ralph Hartley proposed a logarithmic information measure in 1928, and Claude Shannon first used the word in 1948, crediting John W. Tukey.

Sources: Wikipedia: Bit; Wikipedia: Kilobit

Kilobit conversion chart

1 kilobit expressed in every other digital storage unit:

Unit1 kilobit
Bytes125
Kilobytes0.125
Megabytes0.000125
Gigabytes1.25×10⁻⁷
Terabytes1.25×10⁻¹⁰
Bits1,000
Petabytes1.25×10⁻¹³
Kibibytes0.1220703125
Mebibytes0.0001192092896
Gibibytes1.164153218×10⁻⁷
Tebibytes1.136868377×10⁻¹⁰
Megabits0.001
Gigabits0.000001
Exabytes1.25×10⁻¹⁶
Zettabytes1.25×10⁻¹⁹
Yottabytes1.25×10⁻²²
Pebibytes1.110223025×10⁻¹³
Exbibytes1.084202172×10⁻¹⁶
Terabits1×10⁻⁹
Kibibits0.9765625
Mebibits0.0009536743164
Gibibits9.313225746×10⁻⁷
Nibbles250

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