Convert Kilobyte (kB) to Megabyte (MB) 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.
Megabyte (MB)
A megabyte is traditionally 1,048,576 bytes (2²⁰), though storage manufacturers sometimes use the decimal version of 1,000,000 bytes. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, megabytes represented substantial storage: early PCs had 256 kB or 512 kB of RAM, and hard drives with 10–40 MB were considered spacious. Software developers worked within tight memory budgets, optimizing every byte. Megabytes remain relevant today for file sizes such as images, audio files, small binaries, and executable programs. They mark a transitional era when computing moved from kilobytes to the far larger storage capacities we now expect.