Bits to Bytes Converter
Type a number of bits and the equivalent in bytes appears straight away. Because one byte holds eight bits, the converter simply divides by 8.
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Created by the Reeliy Editorial Team. Last updated: Oct 19, 2026
How many bits make one byte?
A byte is a group of 8 bits. That is the universal convention today: processors, memory chips, file formats and network protocols all count in 8-bit bytes, which the standards documents sometimes call octets to avoid any doubt.
It was not always so. Some older machines grouped 6, 7 or 9 bits together and called the result a byte. The 8-bit version won out because 8 bits give 256 distinct values, enough for a letter, a digit or a punctuation mark in a single unit, and because 8 is a power of two, which suits binary hardware.
bytes = bits ÷ 8
bits = bytes × 8
Difference between bits and bytes
A bit (binary digit) is the smallest piece of information a computer handles: a single 0 or 1. A byte is the smallest unit that a computer normally addresses, so memory sizes and file sizes are counted in bytes. Bits show up when the subject is data in motion, such as the speed of an internet connection, and when describing the width of a number or key.
The symbols matter. A lowercase b stands for bit and an uppercase B for byte, so 100 Mb is a hundred megabits and 100 MB is a hundred megabytes, an eightfold difference. Sizes of familiar things are easier to picture in bytes:
- An IPv4 address is 32 bits, which is 4 bytes; an IPv6 address is 128 bits, or 16 bytes.
- A SHA-256 hash is 256 bits, or 32 bytes, and a 128-bit AES key is 16 bytes.
- A pixel stored with 24 bits of colour takes 3 bytes.
How to convert bits to bytes
- Enter the number of bits in the Bits box.
- The Bytes box updates as you type: it shows your number divided by 8.
- Read the answer, or copy it with the clipboard button next to it.
Decimals are accepted, so 4 bits gives 0.5 bytes. The answer is rounded to four decimal places, which means a very small input such as 0.00001 bits displays as 0. A byte cannot really be split, so fractional results mostly matter when you are doing arithmetic on averages or rates.
Example: a full Ethernet frame payload
The standard maximum payload of an Ethernet frame is 1,500 bytes, which is 12,000 bits. Going the other way, 12,000 ÷ 8 = 1,500 bytes. A shorter message of 100 bits works out to 100 ÷ 8 = 12.5 bytes, which in practice would be stored in 13 whole bytes.
Bits to bytes conversion table
| Bits (b) | Bytes (B) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.125 |
| 4 | 0.5 |
| 8 | 1 |
| 16 | 2 |
| 32 | 4 |
| 64 | 8 |
| 128 | 16 |
| 256 | 32 |
| 512 | 64 |
| 1,024 | 128 |
| 8,192 | 1,024 |
| 12,000 | 1,500 |
A half byte (4 bits) is called a nibble; it holds exactly one hexadecimal digit. To go the other direction use the bytes to bits converter, and for larger storage units see the data storage and bandwidth converter.
Frequently asked questions
How many bytes are in 1 bit?
One bit is 1 ÷ 8 = 0.125 bytes, because a byte contains eight bits.
How do I convert bits to bytes?
Divide the number of bits by 8. For example, 64 bits ÷ 8 = 8 bytes.
Is a byte always 8 bits?
In modern computing, yes. A few historical systems used bytes of 6, 7 or 9 bits, but every current standard assumes 8-bit bytes.
What is the difference between b and B?
Lowercase b means bit and uppercase B means byte. Internet speeds are usually quoted in bits per second, while file sizes are quoted in bytes.
Cite this converter and page
If you use this page in your work, you can cite it as:
Reeliy Editorial Team. (2026). Bits to Bytes Converter. Reeliy. https://reeliy.com/converters/convert-bits-to-bytes“Bits to Bytes Converter.” Reeliy, 2026, https://reeliy.com/converters/convert-bits-to-bytes.