How Many Gigabytes in a Terabyte?
1 terabyte (TB) = 1,024 gigabytes (GB) — that’s the technically correct answer used by operating systems and computer science.
However, hard drive and SSD manufacturers use a slightly different calculation (1 TB = 1,000 GB in decimal), which is why your 1 TB drive shows only 931 GB in Windows or macOS. More on why this happens below.
Quick Conversion Table: GB to TB
| Gigabytes (GB) | Terabytes (TB) — Binary | Terabytes (TB) — Decimal |
|---|---|---|
| 500 GB | 0.488 TB | 0.5 TB |
| 1,000 GB | 0.977 TB | 1 TB |
| 1,024 GB | 1 TB | 1.024 TB |
| 2,048 GB | 2 TB | 2.048 TB |
| 4,096 GB | 4 TB | 4.096 TB |
| 8,192 GB | 8 TB | 8.192 TB |
TB to GB Conversion Table
| Terabytes (TB) | Gigabytes (binary: 1 TB = 1,024 GB) | Gigabytes (decimal: 1 TB = 1,000 GB) |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 TB | 512 GB | 500 GB |
| 1 TB | 1,024 GB | 1,000 GB |
| 2 TB | 2,048 GB | 2,000 GB |
| 4 TB | 4,096 GB | 4,000 GB |
| 8 TB | 8,192 GB | 8,000 GB |
| 10 TB | 10,240 GB | 10,000 GB |
Why Your 1 TB Drive Shows 931 GB in Windows
This confuses nearly everyone. Here’s the simple explanation:
- Storage manufacturers advertise using decimal measurements: 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes = 1,000 GB.
- Operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux) measure in binary: 1 TB = 1,073,741,824,000 bytes = 1,024 GB.
When you buy a “1 TB” hard drive and Windows reads it, Windows calculates: 1,000,000,000,000 bytes ÷ 1,073,741,824 = 931 GB. The drive has exactly what the manufacturer advertised — the discrepancy is purely a matter of which counting system is used.
The Full Storage Size Hierarchy
| Unit | Abbreviation | Equal to |
|---|---|---|
| Kilobyte | KB | 1,024 bytes |
| Megabyte | MB | 1,024 KB |
| Gigabyte | GB | 1,024 MB |
| Terabyte | TB | 1,024 GB |
| Petabyte | PB | 1,024 TB |
| Exabyte | EB | 1,024 PB |
How Much Can 1 TB Actually Store?
To put 1 TB in practical terms:
- ~250,000 photos (4 MB average)
- ~500 hours of HD video at 2 GB/hour
- ~17,000 hours of music at 3 minutes/song at 10 MB/song
- ~200 modern PC games at 5 GB average
- ~1,000 copies of the entire English Wikipedia
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 1 TB 1,000 GB or 1,024 GB?
Technically 1,024 GB (binary, used by operating systems). Practically 1,000 GB (decimal, used by storage manufacturers). Both are “correct” depending on the context — hence why your 1 TB drive shows 931 GB in Windows.
How many GB is in 1 TB exactly?
In binary: 1 TB = 1,024 GB exactly. In decimal: 1 TB = 1,000 GB exactly. The binary definition is used by computers; the decimal definition is used by storage device makers.
Is a terabyte bigger than a gigabyte?
Yes. 1 terabyte is 1,024 times larger than 1 gigabyte. A TB is the next unit above a GB in the storage hierarchy.
How many gigabits are in a terabyte?
1 terabyte = 8,192 gigabits (since 1 byte = 8 bits, 1 GB = 8 Gb, and 1 TB = 1,024 GB × 8 = 8,192 Gb).
How many MB is 1 TB?
1 TB = 1,024 GB = 1,048,576 MB (binary). Or 1,000,000 MB (decimal, as used by storage manufacturers).