Convert Kilobyte (kB) to Kilobyte (10^3 bytes) (kB (10^3)) instantly.
About these units
Kilobyte (kB)
A kilobyte traditionally represents 1,024 bytes (2¹⁰), reflecting binary-based memory design. Historically, operating systems, RAM modules, and floppy disks all used the binary kilobyte because memory addressing naturally aligned with powers of two. Kilobytes were once considered large: early computer programs and operating systems were measured in just a few kB. The first text-based adventure games fit entirely within 32 kB. Although kilobytes seem tiny today, they remain important for low-level embedded systems, boot loaders, configuration memory, and microcontrollers. The kilobyte is a reminder of computing's early constraints and the precision of binary address spaces.
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.