MB to Bytes Converter
Use this converter to easily convert between MegaBytes and Bytes (MB to B).
- How many Bytes equal one MegaByte?
- Difference between MB and Bytes
- How to convert MegaBytes to Bytes
- MB to Bytes conversion table
How many Bytes equal one MegaByte?
According to the two competing definitions, the answer is either 1,048,576 bytes equal 1 megabyte or 1,000,000 bytes equal one megabyte. Both the standard binary and the SI decimal standard have a metric called "megabyte" with a symbol "MB" and the first is defined as powers of 2, while the second as powers of 10. The first one comes from computer science and binary math, the second comes from units for measuring length, weight and force, where decimal makes sense.
Due to the conflict, there is often a confusion. In an attempt to alleviate the IEC proposed a new unit: the MebiByte (MiB) in place of the binary megabyte, but it is yet to see adoption decades after the proposal was accepted. If you need to convert between bytes and megabytes, make sure you understand which definition is appropriate in your particular case.
Difference between MB and Bytes
The two units measure data storage in memory (RAM) or on a disk drive of some sort: HDD, SSD, USB sticks (thumb drives), external drives, and so on. Megabytes are used much more frequently in daily life, as most files we encounter have sizes in megabytes and even gigabytes. A typical audio file is between 2-3 MB and 50-60 MB, depending on compression. A small video can be from several dozens to several hundreds of megabytes.
In contrast, a Byte is a very small quantity of data, only 8 bits. In older character sets such as ASCII a Byte equaled one letter, number, or special symbol, while in newer ones such as Unicode it is even less than that, so its practical application is usually to measure small storage spaces, such as fields in a database. Thus, most of the time it is developers / computer programmers who deal with data in bytes.
Another reason to want to convert MB to bytes is if you want to switch between SI and binary units: converting to bytes, which is the base unit for both, is a convenient approach.
How to convert MegaBytes to Bytes
Converting megabytes to bytes is not so easy if done by hand due to large numbers you need to multiply by. To convert 100 MB to Bytes you need to multiply 100 by 1,048,576, which is easy as you can simply shift the decimal pointer by two, resulting in 104,857,600 Bytes. However, when the number of megabytes is, say 64 or 128, calculation gets difficult. This is where the SI system has an advantage, since in it you always multiply by 1,000,000 - an operation anyone can do by adding zeroes.
While it is much more convenient to use our converter, here are some examples for the math, step by step.
MB to Bytes conversion example
Sample task: convert 2 megabytes to bytes (binary, also MiB). Solution:
Formula:
MB * 1048576 = Bytes
Calculation:
2 MB * 1,048,576 = 2,097,152 Bytes
End result:
2 MB is equal to 2,097,152 Bytes
Sample task: convert 2 megabytes to megabytes (SI). Solution:
Formula:
MB * 1000000 = Bytes
Calculation:
2 MB * 1,000,000 = 2,000,000 Bytes
End result:
2 MB is equal to 2,000,000 Bytes
MB to Bytes conversion table
| MB (binary, also MiB) | Bytes |
|---|---|
| 4 MB | 4,194,304 Bytes |
| 8 MB | 8,388,608 Bytes |
| 16 MB | 16,777,216 Bytes |
| 32 MB | 33,554,432 Bytes |
| 64 MB | 67,108,864 Bytes |
| 128 MB | 134,217,728 Bytes |
| 256 MB | 268,435,456 Bytes |
| 512 MB | 536,870,912 Bytes |
| 1,024 MB | 1,073,741,824 Bytes |
| 2,048 MB | 2,147,483,648 Bytes |
| 4,096 MB | 4,294,967,296 Bytes |
| 8,192 MB | 8,589,934,592 Bytes |
| 16,384 MB | 17,179,869,184 Bytes |
| 32,768 MB | 34,359,738,368 Bytes |
| 65,536 MB | 68,719,476,736 Bytes |
| 131,072 MB | 137,438,953,472 Bytes |
| 262,144 MB | 274,877,906,944 Bytes |
| 524,288 MB | 549,755,813,888 Bytes |
| MB (SI) | Bytes |
|---|---|
| 4 MB | 4,000,000 Bytes |
| 8 MB | 8,000,000 Bytes |
| 16 MB | 16,000,000 Bytes |
| 32 MB | 32,000,000 Bytes |
| 64 MB | 64,000,000 Bytes |
| 128 MB | 128,000,000 Bytes |
| 256 MB | 256,000,000 Bytes |
| 512 MB | 512,000,000 Bytes |
| 1,024 MB | 1,024,000,000 Bytes |
| 2,048 MB | 2,048,000,000 Bytes |
| 4,096 MB | 4,096,000,000 Bytes |
| 8,192 MB | 8,192,000,000 Bytes |
| 16,384 MB | 16,384,000,000 Bytes |
| 32,768 MB | 32,768,000,000 Bytes |
| 65,536 MB | 65,536,000,000 Bytes |
| 131,072 MB | 131,072,000,000 Bytes |
| 262,144 MB | 262,144,000,000 Bytes |
| 524,288 MB | 524,288,000,000 Bytes |
References
1 IEC 60027-2, Second edition, 2000-11, Letter symbols to be used in electrical technology - Part 2: Telecommunications and electronics.
2 IEC 80000-13:2008, Quantities and units, Part 13: Information science and technology
Cite this converter & page
If you'd like to cite this online converter resource and information as provided on the page, you can use the following citation:
Georgiev G.Z., "MegaBytes to Bytes (MB to Bytes) Converter", [online] Available at: https://www.gigacalculator.com/converters/convert-mb-to-bytes.php URL [Accessed Date: 29 May, 2023].