We utilize our computers every day, and more frequently than not, we’re presented with situations in which knowing the precise dimensions of different storage units is significant.
Whether calculating the required space for your image collection or purchasing a new storage device, it’s crucial to know if Megabyte or Terabyte is the larger and right unit for your needs.
Luckily, this guide explains it all in a very simple way, so without further ado, let’s take a look at what you need to know.
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What’s Larger Megabytes Or Gigabytes?
The short answer is, Gigabyte is a larger unit than Megabyte. One Gigabyte contains 1024 megabytes.
However, if you wish to learn more about units of storage and how they’re ordered in a list starting from the smallest to the largest, keep on reading as we’ll explain everything in this section.
To answer the MB vs. GB question, we first need to look at where it all starts.
Is Megabytes Smaller Than Gigabytes?
Computers function using transistors that function with “ON” and “OFF” signals represented by ones and zeros. In this context, one means electricity and zero means no electricity.
We group these ones and zeros to send more complex information to our systems, such as letters, for example.
Now, a bit (b) is the smallest unit, and it stores only one number in it. That can either be a one or a zero. Not much, honestly.
Fortunately, we possess the byte (B), which encompasses eight times greater data than the bit. It can comprise a mix of ones and zeros, up to eight. It’s adequate for, for example, a single character like “01000001,” representing the letter “A” in binary, or more simply, in ones and zeros.
But, we can’t do much with just one letter, can we? True, but that’s why we have the next larger storage unit, the kilobyte (KB). It contains a staggering 1000 of the previous, smaller storage unit, which is bytes. So, a kilobyte is a thousand bytes. This is enough to roughly store about half a typewritten page of characters, but that’s nowhere sufficient for today’s standards, right?
Well, that’s when the Megabyte (MB) comes into play, which is essentially a thousand kilobytes. This, depending on the document type, is enough storage for a book-long number of letters, which could satisfy some of our modern needs, but is nowhere near enough for quality images, songs, or any other software.
Fortunately, the list doesn’t end there, as gigabytes (GB) is what comes after megabytes, today’s most popular storage unit. One Gigabyte contains 1000 megabytes, and that alone answers the “which one is bigger MB or GB” question. Multiple gigabytes combined are usually enough storage space to install most computer programs a modern user would require for their daily needs.
Then comes the terabyte (TB), which contains a thousand gigabytes and is by itself enough storage room for most modern-day computers. Combine multiple terabytes, and you’ll have plenty of room for all your needs, including storing high-resolution images, music, video games, and a lot more.
The next unit is the petabyte (PB), which is hardly used because it is unnecessarily large for regular computer use, as it contains a thousand terabytes. You can find storage space measured in petabytes only in special locations, like large servers, archives, and databases for well-developed companies.
Next on the list are the exabyte (EB), zettabyte (ZB), and yottabyte (YB), and each one contains a thousand of its previous unit. These are way too large to even get into and mostly exist just for knowledge purposes.
You can take a look at the more concise and simplified list below:
- bit (b) = 1/8 of a byte
- byte (B) = 1 byte
- kilobyte (KB) = 1,000 bytes
- megabyte (MB) = 1,000,000 bytes
- gigabyte (GB) = 1,000,000,000 bytes
- terabyte (TB) = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes
- petabyte (PB) = 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes
- exabyte (EB) = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes
- zettabyte (ZB) = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes
- yottabyte (YB) = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes
This should provide ample details to understand the various storage units utilized in early computers up to the contemporary systems we currently utilize.
Megabyte to Gigabyte Calculator (Or Gigabyte to Megabyte Calculator)
To make things even easier for you, we’ve created a calculator that allows you to convert kilobytes to megabytes and vice versa. Feel free to use it for any needs.
If you still have questions, take a look at the FAQ section below, where we discuss some of the most frequently asked questions with short, concise answers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sometimes you need quick answers, and that’s perfectly fine. We’re here to provide them.
Below are all of the popular questions asked by users when the units of storage discussion is brought up, along with the right answers.
Gigabyte (GB) is bigger than Megabyte (MB). One Gigabyte contains a thousand megabytes, so that means a GB is one thousand times bigger than MB.
Yes, a megabyte is a thousand times smaller than a gigabyte.
The smallest storage unit is a bit (b) and it contains only one number, either a one or a zero. A bit is one eight of a byte.
A megabyte (MB) is larger than a kilobyte (KB) because one Megabyte contains a thousand kilobytes, as shown in the list above.
A thousand gigabytes “form” a terabyte. The terabyte is a larger storage unit than the Gigabyte, and it’s marked by “TB” as shown in the list above. One TB is a thousand GB.
Yes. GB (Gigabyte) is bigger than MB (Megabyte). One Gigabyte contains 1000 megabytes, therefore it’s the larger unit of storage.
If you need to convert multiple kilobytes to megabytes or the other way around, but you don’t want to do the math on your own, we created an easy-to-use KB to MB (and vice versa) calculator that should help you out.
Conclusion
That covers everything you need to know about computer storage units when it comes to comparing them by size.
A gigabyte is one thousand megabytes, and hopefully, you can now use the information gathered from this guide to have a better picture of the rest of the conversions.
