Convert Byte (B) to Kilobyte (10^3 bytes) (kB (10^3)) instantly.
About these units
Byte (B)
A byte consists of 8 bits, forming the standard grouping used in computing for representing characters, numbers, and machine instructions. This 8-bit size became dominant due to hardware design choices in early microprocessors, especially the IBM System/360 architecture. Bytes allow computers to represent values from 0 to 255, enabling ASCII encoding, color values, file metadata, and vast amounts of structured data. The byte is the basis for nearly all storage units—kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes—and remains the fundamental digital "counting unit" for memory, disk space, and network transfers.
Kilobyte (10^3 bytes) (kB (10^3))
A decimal kilobyte equals 1,000 bytes, reflecting the SI prefix kilo = 10³. Storage device manufacturers standardize on this definition because it scales cleanly and simplifies marketing and specification. This creates a mismatch with binary kilobytes (1,024 bytes) historically used in RAM and file systems. As storage capacities grew, this discrepancy became increasingly noticeable, leading standards bodies to promote explicit binary prefixes (KiB, MiB) for clarity. Despite these efforts, decimal kilobytes remain dominant in contexts such as hard drives, flash memory packaging, and communication standards.