Bytes to Bits Converter
Enter a number of bytes and the matching number of bits is filled in for you. The converter multiplies by 8, since every byte is made of eight bits.
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Created by the Reeliy Editorial Team. Last updated: Oct 19, 2026
How many bits are in a byte?
There are 8 bits in 1 byte. A bit is a single binary digit, either 0 or 1, and a byte is a row of eight of them. With eight positions the byte can take 28 = 256 different values, from 00000000 to 11111111, which is why one byte is enough to represent a single character in many text encodings.
bits = bytes × 8
bytes = bits ÷ 8
The same factor applies at every scale. A kilobyte of 1,000 bytes is 8,000 bits, and a megabyte of 1,000,000 bytes is 8,000,000 bits. Only the byte-to-byte prefixes change between decimal and binary conventions; the 8 never does.
Difference between bytes and bits
Storage is counted in bytes (symbol B): a photo is a few megabytes, a laptop drive a few hundred gigabytes. Transmission is counted in bits (symbol b): a connection runs at so many megabits per second. When a file size meets a link speed, as in a download, one of the two has to be converted before they can be compared.
Because a bit is one eighth of a byte, a number written in bits is always larger than the same quantity written in bytes. Mixing up the symbols is the classic slip: a plan advertised as 80 Mbps moves at most 10 megabytes each second, not 80.
How to convert bytes to bits
- Type the number of bytes into the Bytes box.
- The Bits box shows the value multiplied by 8 immediately.
- Copy the result if you need it elsewhere.
Fractions of a byte are fine: 0.5 bytes is 4 bits. The answer is rounded to four decimal places, and clearing the input box sets the result to 0.
Example: sending a 1,500-byte packet
A network packet of 1,500 bytes contains 1,500 × 8 = 12,000 bits. On a link running at 10 megabits per second (10,000,000 bits per second) it takes 12,000 ÷ 10,000,000 = 0.0012 seconds, or 1.2 milliseconds, to put that packet on the wire.
Another everyday case: the word "Hello" in plain ASCII uses 5 bytes, which is 5 × 8 = 40 bits.
Bytes to bits conversion table
| Bytes (B) | Bits (b) |
|---|---|
| 0.5 | 4 |
| 1 | 8 |
| 2 | 16 |
| 4 | 32 |
| 8 | 64 |
| 16 | 128 |
| 32 | 256 |
| 64 | 512 |
| 128 | 1,024 |
| 256 | 2,048 |
| 512 | 4,096 |
| 1,024 | 8,192 |
| 1,500 | 12,000 |
For the opposite direction use the bits to bytes converter. Larger units, with the binary or SI choice, are handled by the data storage and bandwidth converter.
Frequently asked questions
How many bits are in a byte?
There are 8 bits in a byte, so 1 byte = 8 bits.
How do I convert bytes to bits?
Multiply the number of bytes by 8. For example, 25 bytes × 8 = 200 bits.
Why are network speeds quoted in bits and file sizes in bytes?
Communication hardware moves data one bit at a time, so link speeds are naturally counted in bits per second. Storage is addressed in whole bytes, so file sizes are counted in bytes.
Is a kilobyte 8,000 bits or 8,192 bits?
It depends on the convention for kilo. With SI prefixes 1 kilobyte is 1,000 bytes, which is 8,000 bits. With the binary convention it is 1,024 bytes, which is 8,192 bits.
Cite this converter and page
If you use this page in your work, you can cite it as:
Reeliy Editorial Team. (2026). Bytes to Bits Converter. Reeliy. https://reeliy.com/converters/convert-bytes-to-bits“Bytes to Bits Converter.” Reeliy, 2026, https://reeliy.com/converters/convert-bytes-to-bits.