GB to TB Converter

1. How many GigaBytes in a TeraByte?
2. Difference between GB and TB
3. How to convert GigaBytes to TeraBytes
4. GB to TB conversion table

    How many GigaBytes in a TeraByte?

There are 1024 gigabytes in a terabyte if you ask RAM manufacturers and 1000 GB in one TB if you ask disk drive manufacturers. You should keep this in mind when converting from GB to TB and make sure you are using the appropriate standard for your case.

But why is that? This happens due to there being two conventions, each defining a "terabyte" (TB) in a different manner. The standard binary convention works with powers of 2 and according to it 1 TB = 1,024 GB and this is what is shown in your operating system, for example Windows systems. The decimal convention adopted by the International System of Units defines 1 TB = 1,000 GB, following units for length and weight in which giga and tera are defined as powers of ten. This is useful when doing the calculations manually, but is not useful in that due to their binary nature, digital data is stored in 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048 etc. pieces.

Attempting to get out of a confusing situation, in which an already widely adopted metric was redefined in standard, the IEC proposed a different unit: TibiByte (symbol: TiB), which equals 1024 GibiBytes (GiB). However, this unit never caught traction even decades after its proposal and despite adoption by the likes of the ISO, IEEE, NIST, and the EU. Most users and even most developers have never heard of the unit or are not using it in daily work.

Following a lawsuit against Western Digital, one of the most prominent hard disk manufacturers, many manufacturers now list both the SI unit, e.g. 4 TB, and the binary unit, for example 3.63 TiB or its equivalent in GiB (GibiByte), MiB (MibiByte) or KiB (KibiByte). The last three are again creations of the IEC. You should take this into account when planning the purchase of an HDD, SSD or a USB stick (thumb drive).

A 4 TB disk as seen by the Windows operating system (only 3.63 TB big):

    Difference between GB and TB

Both units measure data quantities, with GB being significantly smaller than the TB. Both are used mostly when discussing disk drives, e.g. a 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB, 8 TB drives, or a 256 GB, 512 GB or 1024 GB SSD drive. As noted above, caution should be used when converting from SI TB to SI GB and from binary TB to binary GB. The gigabyte is used for large files, e.g. HD or Ultra HD video, games, HI-Fi Audio files.

    How to convert GigaBytes to TeraBytes

To convert from GB to TB you need to divide by 1,024 if using binary GB and TB, or by 1,000 if using the SI standard. The division by 1,000 is easier to do by hand as you can just shift the decimal point 3 places to the left. Still, using a converter like the above makes the calculation much easier.

GB to TB conversion example

Sample task: convert 2048 gigabytes to terabytes (binary, also GiB to TiB). Solution:

Formula:
GB / 1024 = TB
Calculation:
2048 GB / 1,024 = 2 TB
End result:
2048 GB is equal to 2 TB

Sample task: convert 2000 gigabytes to terabytes (SI). Solution:

Formula:
GB / 1000 = TB
Calculation:
2000 GB / 1,000 = 2 TB
End result:
2000 GB is equal to 2 TB

    GB to TB conversion table