Terabit to Terabyte Conversion Calculator: Free Online Tool
Convert terabits to terabytes with our free online data storage converter.
Terabit to Terabyte Calculator
How to Use the Calculator:
- Enter the value you want to convert in the 'From' field (Terabit).
- The converted value in Terabyte 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 Terabit to Terabyte
Converting Terabit to Terabyte involves multiplying the value by a specific conversion factor, as shown in the formula below.
Formula:
1 Terabit = 0.125 terabytes
Example Calculation:
Convert 10 terabits: 10 × 0.125 = 1.25 terabytes
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 Terabit and a Terabyte?
A terabit (Tb or Tbit) is a multiple of the bit unit for digital information or computer storage. The prefix tera- (symbol T) is defined in the International System of Units (SI) as a multiplier of 1012 (1 trillion, or 1 followed by 12 zeros). Therefore, 1 terabit = 1,000,000,000,000 bits. This is equivalent to 1,000 gigabits (Gb).
A terabyte (TB) is a multiple of the byte unit for digital information storage. The prefix tera- (symbol T) is defined in the International System of Units (SI) as a multiplier of 1012 (1 trillion, or 1 followed by 12 zeros). Therefore, 1 terabyte = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. This is equivalent to 1,000 gigabytes (GB).
Note: The Terabit is part of the imperial/US customary system, primarily used in the US, UK, and Canada for everyday measurements. The Terabyte belongs to the imperial/US customary system.
History of the Terabit and Terabyte
The SI prefix 'tera-' (meaning 1012) was adopted for use in computing as data scales grew into the trillions of bits. Initially, 'tera-' was sometimes used ambiguously to refer to either 1012 or the nearest power of 2 (240). This ambiguity led the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to introduce the binary prefix 'tebi-' (Ti) specifically for 240, clarifying that terabit (Tb) strictly refers to 1012 bits.
The SI prefix 'tera-' (meaning 1012) was adopted for use in computing as storage capacities reached trillions of bytes. Historically, the term 'terabyte' was often used ambiguously to refer to either 1012 bytes (the strict SI definition) or 240 bytes (1,099,511,627,776 bytes), which is the power of 2 closest to a trillion. This ambiguity, particularly noticeable in how operating systems reported disk sizes versus how manufacturers advertised them, led the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to introduce the distinct binary prefix 'tebi-' (Ti) for 240. Thus, tebibyte (TiB) specifically denotes 240 bytes, while terabyte (TB) formally refers to 1012 bytes.
Common Uses for terabits and terabytes
Explore the typical applications for both Terabit (imperial/US) and Terabyte (imperial/US) to understand their common contexts.
Common Uses for terabits
Terabits are commonly used in contexts involving high-capacity data transmission and large-scale data measurement:
- Measuring the data transfer rates of high-speed networks, internet backbones, and data center interconnects (often expressed in Tbps - terabits per second).
- Quantifying the throughput of network equipment like routers and switches.
- Describing the capacity of optical fiber communication systems.
- Sometimes used alongside terabytes (TB) in marketing large storage devices, although TB (bytes) is more common for capacity.
- Discussing large datasets in scientific computing and big data analytics, particularly concerning transmission speeds.
Common Uses for terabytes
Terabytes are widely used to measure large amounts of digital data storage capacity:
- Specifying the capacity of consumer and enterprise hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs).
- Measuring the size of large files, databases, archives, and backups.
- Quantifying the storage space available in cloud storage plans and data centers.
- Describing the amount of data transferred over networks or used in monthly internet data caps.
- Indicating the capacity of personal computers, laptops, external drives, and network-attached storage (NAS) devices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions About Terabit (Tb)
How many bits are in a terabit?
There are exactly 1,000,000,000,000 bits (one trillion bits, or 1012 bits) in 1 terabit (Tb), according to the standard SI definition of the prefix 'tera-'.
What is the difference between a terabit (Tb) and a terabyte (TB)?
- A terabit (Tb) measures data in bits and equals 1012 bits. It is commonly used for data transfer rates.
- A terabyte (TB) measures data in bytes. According to SI standards, it equals 1012 bytes. It is typically used for measuring storage capacity. (Note: The term tebibyte (TiB) correctly refers to 240 bytes).
Since 1 byte = 8 bits, 1 terabyte (1012 bytes) is equal to 8 x 1012 bits, or 8 terabits. Therefore, a terabyte represents 8 times more data than a terabit.
What is the difference between a terabit (Tb) and a tebibit (Tib)?
- A terabit (Tb) uses the decimal SI prefix 'tera-' and equals 1012 bits (1,000,000,000,000 bits).
- A tebibit (Tib) uses the binary IEC prefix 'tebi-' and equals 240 bits (1,099,511,627,776 bits).
A tebibit is approximately 9.95% larger than a terabit (1 Tib ≈ 1.0995 Tb). Use Tb for contexts adhering to decimal standards (like network speeds) and Tib when precise binary multiples (powers of 2) are required (often related to memory or specific storage architectures).
How many gigabits (Gb) are in a terabit (Tb)?
There are 1,000 gigabits (Gb) in 1 terabit (Tb). This is derived from the SI prefixes: 1 Tb = 1012 bits and 1 Gb = 109 bits. Therefore, 1 Tb / 1 Gb = 1012 / 109 = 103 = 1,000.
About Terabyte (TB)
How many bytes are in a terabyte (TB)?
According to the standard SI definition, there are exactly 1,000,000,000,000 bytes (one trillion bytes, or 1012 bytes) in 1 terabyte (TB).
How many gigabytes (GB) are in a terabyte (TB)?
There are 1,000 gigabytes (GB) in 1 terabyte (TB). This follows the SI prefixes: 1 TB = 1012 bytes and 1 GB = 109 bytes. Therefore, 1 TB / 1 GB = 1012 / 109 = 103 = 1,000.
What is the difference between a terabyte (TB) and a tebibyte (TiB)?
- A terabyte (TB) uses the decimal SI prefix 'tera-' and equals 1012 bytes (1,000,000,000,000 bytes). It's commonly used in storage device marketing.
- A tebibyte (TiB) uses the binary IEC prefix 'tebi-' and equals 240 bytes (1,099,511,627,776 bytes). It's often used by operating systems to report storage capacity based on powers of 2. A tebibyte (TiB) is approximately 9.95% larger than a terabyte (TB) (1 TiB ≈ 1.0995 TB).
What is the difference between a terabyte (TB) and a terabit (Tb)?
- A terabyte (TB) measures data storage capacity in bytes and equals 1012 bytes.
- A terabit (Tb) measures data quantity or data transfer speed in bits and equals 1012 bits. Assuming the standard definition of 1 byte = 8 bits, 1 terabyte (TB) is equal to 8 terabits (Tb). Calculation: 1 TB = 1012 bytes = 1012 * 8 bits = 8 * 1012 bits = 8 Tb. Therefore, a terabyte represents 8 times more data storage capacity than the equivalent number of terabits.
Why is TB often used in marketing instead of TiB?
Storage manufacturers typically market drive capacities using the decimal prefix terabyte (TB) because 1012 bytes yields a larger, rounder number compared to the equivalent value expressed using the binary prefix tebibyte (TiB) (which is 240 bytes). For instance, a hard drive containing exactly 1,000,000,000,000 bytes is advertised as 1 TB. If measured in tebibytes, this same physical capacity would be approximately 0.909 TiB (since 1012 / 240 ≈ 0.909). Using TB allows manufacturers to present higher capacity figures, which is advantageous for marketing, even though operating systems might report the capacity using the smaller TiB value.
Conversion Table: Terabit to Terabyte
Terabit (Tb) | Terabyte (TB) |
---|---|
1 | 0.125 |
5 | 0.625 |
10 | 1.25 |
25 | 3.125 |
50 | 6.25 |
100 | 12.5 |
500 | 62.5 |
1,000 | 125 |
All Data Storage Conversions
Other Units from Data Storage
- Bit (b)
- Byte (B)
- Kilobit (kb)
- Kilobyte (KB)
- Megabit (Mb)
- Megabyte (MB)
- Gigabit (Gb)
- Gigabyte (GB)
- Petabit (Pb)
- Petabyte (PB)
- Exabit (Eb)
- Exabyte (EB)
- Kibibit (Kib)
- Kibibyte (KiB)
- Mebibit (Mib)
- Mebibyte (MiB)
- Gibibit (Gib)
- Gibibyte (GiB)
- Tebibit (Tib)
- Tebibyte (TiB)
- Pebibit (Pib)
- Pebibyte (PiB)
- Exbibit (Eib)
- Exbibyte (EiB)