Convert mebibytes to megabytes
1 MiB is exactly 1.048576 MB, so a 512Mi memory limit in Kubernetes is 536.87 MB. Type the mebibytes from a program, a configuration file or a system monitor, and the converter gives you the same amount in decimal megabytes.
What is a mebibyte and how is it different from a megabyte?
A mebibyte (MiB) is 1,048,576 bytes: 220 B, or 1,024 kibibytes. The IEC gave it this name so that a size counted in powers of two would no longer be called a megabyte, a name that belongs to one million bytes[1].
A megabyte (MB) is therefore a little smaller. One mebibyte is exactly 1.048576 MB, and any number of mebibytes grows by 4.86% when you convert it to megabytes.
The same gap, seen from the other side with files moved between a Mac and Windows, is on the MB to MiB converter.
How many MB is 1 MiB? Formula and Excel
Multiply the mebibytes by 1.048576. The factor is exact, because it comes from dividing 1,048,576 bytes by one million, so the result never needs rounding.
256 MiB is 256 × 1.048576 = 268.435456 MB. DigitalOcean prices Droplet memory per GiB, so its 16 GiB configuration[2] has 16,384 MiB, which is 17,179.869184 MB. The result is always almost 5% larger than the number you type.
In Excel, use =CONVERT(A2,"Mibyte","Mbyte"). In this function "Mi" stands for mebi, 220, and plain "M" for mega[3].
The MB to MiB converter does the reverse, and the Swap order button carries your number over. Larger units are covered by the data size converter.
Mi or M? Memory limits in Kubernetes
Kubernetes, the system that runs applications in containers across servers, writes memory as bytes with a suffix. E, P, T, G, M and k are decimal, while Ei, Pi, Ti, Gi, Mi and Ki are binary. Its documentation gives 129M and 123Mi as roughly the same amount of memory[4].
A 512Mi limit is 536.87 MB, while a 512M limit is exactly 512 MB, so the two differ by almost 25 MB. The case of the letter matters too: "400m" means 0.4 bytes, because a small m stands for milli, and whoever typed it most likely meant 400Mi or 400M[4].
How many megabytes is a given number of mebibytes?
| Mebibytes | Megabytes |
|---|---|
| 1 MiB | 1.048576 MB |
| 2 MiB | 2.097152 MB |
| 4 MiB | 4.194304 MB |
| 8 MiB | 8.388608 MB |
| 16 MiB | 16.777216 MB |
| 32 MiB | 33.554432 MB |
| 64 MiB | 67.108864 MB |
| 100 MiB | 104.8576 MB |
| 128 MiB | 134.217728 MB |
| 256 MiB | 268.435456 MB |
| 400 MiB | 419.4304 MB |
| 512 MiB | 536.870912 MB |
| 1,024 MiB | 1,073.741824 MB |
| 2,048 MiB | 2,147.483648 MB |
| 4,096 MiB | 4,294.967296 MB |
Which ways of writing mebibytes does this converter accept?
| What you type | What the converter shows | How we read it |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5 | 1.572864 MB | The point marks the decimal part, so the field holds one and a half mebibytes. |
| 1,500 | 1572.864 MB | A comma before three digits separates thousands in English, so the field holds fifteen hundred mebibytes. A note under the field says so; type one and a half as 1.5. |
| 1.500 | 1.572864 MB | A single dot is always read as a decimal point, so the field counts one and a half mebibytes. A note under the field says so; type fifteen hundred as 1500 or 1,500. |
| 1024 | 1073.741824 MB | A plain number is read as mebibytes: 1,024 MiB is one gibibyte. |
| ½ | 0.524288 MB | A ½ sign on its own, copied from a text, counts as half a mebibyte. |
| 3/4 | 0.786432 MB | We work out fractions with a slash ourselves, so there is no need to turn it into 0.75 first. |
| 512Mi | 536.870912 MB | A value copied from a Kubernetes file works as it is: the letters Mi are dropped and the number goes into the mebibyte field. |
| 512 MiB | 536.870912 MB | The field's own symbol pasted with the number is dropped and only the number counts. |
| 128MiB | 134.217728 MB | A symbol stuck to the number without a space, as in program settings, works just as well. |
| 2 GiB | 2147.483648 MB | Gibibytes pasted into the mebibyte field are rewritten as 2048 MiB, with a note under the field. |
| 1.5 GiB | 1610.612736 MB | One and a half gibibytes are written in the field as 1536 MiB, and the result is given in megabytes. |
| 100 MB | 100 MB | Megabytes pasted into the mebibyte field are rewritten as 95.367432 MiB, so the result comes back to the same 100 MB. |
| 2Gi | 2147.483648 MB | Kubernetes notation without the letter B works too: 2Gi is two gibibytes, so the field holds 2048 MiB. |
Convert other units to Megabytes
Sources
- Megabyte — Wikipedia
- Droplet Pricing — DigitalOcean
- CONVERT function — Microsoft
- Resource Management for Pods and Containers — Kubernetes
Every figure in the tables was computed from the unit definitions and checked arithmetically before publication. Historical values and the names of local units come from the sources listed above.
Content last reviewed: · written and checked by the Arteon team
Frequently asked questions about mebibytes and megabytes
How many kibibytes are in a mebibyte?
A mebibyte holds 1,024 kibibytes, and a kibibyte holds 1,024 bytes, which makes 1,048,576 bytes in total[1]. In decimal kilobytes the same mebibyte is 1,048.576 kB. Smaller sizes are handled by the KiB to KB converter.
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