Petabit to Gigabit Conversion Calculator: Free Online Tool

Convert petabits to gigabits with our free online data storage converter.

From:

Petabit

To:

Gigabit

How to Use the Calculator:

Enter the value you want to convert in the 'From' field (Petabit).
The converted value in Gigabit will appear automatically in the 'To' field.
Use the dropdown menus to select different units within the Data Storage category.
Click the swap button (⇌) to reverse the conversion direction.

How to Convert Petabit to Gigabit

Converting Petabit to Gigabit involves multiplying the value by a specific conversion factor, as shown in the formula below.

Formula:

1 Petabit = 1000000 gigabits

Example Calculation:

Convert 10 petabits: 10 × 1000000 = 10000000 gigabits

Disclaimer: For Reference Only

These conversion results are provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, we make no guarantees regarding the precision of these results, especially for conversions involving extremely large or small numbers which may be subject to the inherent limitations of standard computer floating-point arithmetic.

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What is a Petabit and a Gigabit?

A petabit (Pb or Pbit) is a multiple of the bit unit for digital information or computer storage. The prefix peta- (symbol P) is defined in the International System of Units (SI) as a multiplier of 1015 (1 quadrillion, or 1 followed by 15 zeros). Therefore, 1 petabit = 1,000,000,000,000,000 bits. This is equivalent to 1,000 terabits (Tb) or 1,000,000 gigabits (Gb).

A gigabit (Gb) is a unit of digital information equal to 109 bits, or 1,000,000,000 bits. It uses the standard SI decimal prefix 'giga-'. It is commonly used to measure data transfer rates.

Note: The Petabit is part of the imperial/US customary system, primarily used in the US, UK, and Canada for everyday measurements. The Gigabit belongs to the imperial/US customary system.

History of the Petabit and Gigabit

As data volumes and network speeds continued to increase dramatically beyond the terabit scale, the petabit became relevant for quantifying extremely large amounts of data and ultra-high transmission capacities. It strictly follows the SI definition of 'peta-' as 1015. The distinction between decimal (petabit, Pb) and binary (pebibit, Pib = 250 bits) became increasingly important at this scale, leading to the formalization of binary prefixes like 'pebi-' by the IEC to avoid ambiguity.

The prefix 'giga-' originates from the Greek word "gigas," meaning "giant," and was adopted as an SI prefix in 1960 to denote a factor of 109 (one billion). In computing and telecommunications, the gigabit became prominent with the rise of high-speed networking technologies like Gigabit Ethernet in the late 1990s and early 2000s. While 'giga-' strictly means 109, its usage sometimes caused confusion with binary multiples (230), leading to the creation of the IEC binary prefix 'gibi-' (Gib).

Common Uses for petabits and gigabits

Explore the typical applications for both Petabit (imperial/US) and Gigabit (imperial/US) to understand their common contexts.

Common Uses for petabits

Petabits are primarily used in contexts involving massive data scales:

Measuring the theoretical or actual data transfer rates of core internet backbones, major international communication links, and large-scale data center networks (often expressed in Pbps - petabits per second).
Quantifying the aggregate data traffic processed by major internet exchange points (IXPs) or national telecommunications networks over specific timeframes.
Describing the capacity of cutting-edge optical fiber communication systems and research networks.
Characterizing the sheer volume of data generated or processed in large scientific endeavors, such as high-energy physics experiments, climate modeling, or large astronomical surveys, especially when discussing data transmission or raw bit counts.
High-performance computing (HPC) environments dealing with massive datasets.

Common Uses for gigabits

Measuring data transfer rates, especially network speeds (e.g., Gigabit Ethernet at 1 Gbps, internet connection speeds).
Specifying the bandwidth of communication channels.
Sometimes used in the context of memory chip density or storage capacity, although Gigabyte (GB) is far more common for storage.
Calculating download/upload times based on file size (in GB or GiB) and network speed (in Gbps).

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions About Petabit (Pb)

How many bits are in a petabit?

There are exactly 1,000,000,000,000,000 bits (one quadrillion bits, or 1015 bits) in 1 petabit (Pb), according to the standard SI definition of the prefix 'peta-'.

What is the difference between a petabit (Pb) and a petabyte (PB)?

A petabit (Pb) measures data in bits and equals 1015 bits. It is commonly used for data transfer rates and network capacity.
A petabyte (PB) measures data in bytes. According to SI standards, it equals 1015 bytes. It is typically used for measuring large storage capacities. (Note: The term pebibyte (PiB) correctly refers to 250 bytes).

Since 1 byte = 8 bits, 1 petabyte (1015 bytes) is equal to 8 x 1015 bits, or 8 petabits. Therefore, a petabyte represents 8 times more data than a petabit.

What is the difference between a petabit (Pb) and a pebibit (Pib)?

A petabit (Pb) uses the decimal SI prefix 'peta-' and equals 1015 bits (1,000,000,000,000,000 bits).
A pebibit (Pib) uses the binary IEC prefix 'pebi-' and equals 250 bits (1,125,899,906,842,624 bits).

A pebibit is approximately 12.6% larger than a petabit (1 Pib ≈ 1.126 Pb). Use Pb for contexts adhering to decimal standards (like network speeds) and Pib when precise binary multiples (powers of 2) are required (often related to memory or specific storage architectures).

How many gigabits (Gb) are in a petabit (Pb)?

There are 1,000,000 gigabits (Gb) in 1 petabit (Pb). This is derived from the SI prefixes: 1 Pb = 1015 bits and 1 Gb = 109 bits. Therefore, 1 Pb / 1 Gb = 1015 / 109 = 106 = 1,000,000.

About Gigabit (Gb)

How many bits are in a gigabit?

There are exactly 1,000,000,000 (one billion or 109) bits in 1 gigabit (Gb).

What is the difference between a gigabit (Gb) and a gigabyte (GB)?

A gigabit (Gb) measures data in bits, while a gigabyte (GB) measures data in bytes. Assuming the standard 1 byte = 8 bits, 1 gigabyte (GB) is equal to 8 gigabits (Gb). Network speeds are usually in Gbps (gigabits per second), while file sizes are usually in GB (gigabytes).

What is the difference between a gigabit (Gb) and a gibibit (Gib)?

A gigabit (Gb) uses the decimal prefix 'giga-' and equals 109 (1,000,000,000) bits. A gibibit (Gib) uses the binary prefix 'gibi-' and equals 230 (1,073,741,824) bits. A gibibit is approximately 7.37% larger than a gigabit.

Is Gbps the same as GBps?

No. Gbps stands for gigabits per second, while GBps stands for gigabytes per second. Since 1 byte = 8 bits, a transfer rate of 1 GBps is eight times faster than a transfer rate of 1 Gbps. Network speeds are almost always advertised in Gbps.

Conversion Table: Petabit to Gigabit

Petabit (Pb)	Gigabit (Gb)
1	1,000,000
5	5,000,000
10	10,000,000
25	25,000,000
50	50,000,000
100	100,000,000
500	500,000,000
1,000	1,000,000,000

All Data Storage Conversions

Bit to Byte Bit to Kilobit Bit to Kilobyte Bit to Megabit Bit to Megabyte Bit to Gigabit Bit to Gigabyte Bit to Terabit Bit to Terabyte Bit to Petabit Bit to Petabyte Bit to Exabit Bit to Exabyte Bit to Kibibit Bit to Kibibyte Bit to Mebibit Bit to Mebibyte Bit to Gibibit Bit to Gibibyte Bit to Tebibit Bit to Tebibyte Bit to Pebibit Bit to Pebibyte Bit to Exbibit Bit to Exbibyte Byte to Bit Byte to Kilobit Byte to Kilobyte Byte to Megabit Byte to Megabyte Byte to Gigabit Byte to Gigabyte Byte to Terabit Byte to Terabyte Byte to Petabit Byte to Petabyte Byte to Exabit Byte to Exabyte Byte to Kibibit Byte to Kibibyte Byte to Mebibit Byte to Mebibyte Byte to Gibibit Byte to Gibibyte Byte to Tebibit Byte to Tebibyte Byte to Pebibit Byte to Pebibyte Byte to Exbibit Byte to Exbibyte Kilobit to Bit Kilobit to Byte Kilobit to Kilobyte Kilobit to Megabit Kilobit to Megabyte Kilobit to Gigabit Kilobit to Gigabyte Kilobit to Terabit Kilobit to Terabyte Kilobit to Petabit Kilobit to Petabyte Kilobit to Exabit Kilobit to Exabyte Kilobit to Kibibit Kilobit to Kibibyte Kilobit to Mebibit Kilobit to Mebibyte Kilobit to Gibibit Kilobit to Gibibyte Kilobit to Tebibit Kilobit to Tebibyte Kilobit to Pebibit Kilobit to Pebibyte Kilobit to Exbibit Kilobit to Exbibyte Kilobyte to Bit Kilobyte to Byte Kilobyte to Kilobit Kilobyte to Megabit Kilobyte to Megabyte Kilobyte to Gigabit Kilobyte to Gigabyte Kilobyte to Terabit Kilobyte to Terabyte Kilobyte to Petabit Kilobyte to Petabyte Kilobyte to Exabit Kilobyte to Exabyte Kilobyte to Kibibit Kilobyte to Kibibyte Kilobyte to Mebibit Kilobyte to Mebibyte Kilobyte to Gibibit Kilobyte to Gibibyte Kilobyte to Tebibit Kilobyte to Tebibyte Kilobyte to Pebibit Kilobyte to Pebibyte Kilobyte to Exbibit Kilobyte to Exbibyte Megabit to Bit Megabit to Byte Megabit to Kilobit Megabit to Kilobyte Megabit to Megabyte Megabit to Gigabit Megabit to Gigabyte Megabit to Terabit Megabit to Terabyte Megabit to Petabit Megabit to Petabyte Megabit to Exabit Megabit to Exabyte Megabit to Kibibit Megabit to Kibibyte Megabit to Mebibit Megabit to Mebibyte Megabit to Gibibit Megabit to Gibibyte Megabit to Tebibit