Convert zettabytes to exabytes
1 ZB is 1,024 EB in the binary standard or 1,000 EB in the decimal one. Enter a number of zettabytes and the converter gives it in exabytes in the standard you pick with the switch below the fields.
How many exabytes are in 1 ZB?
1 ZB is 1,000 EB in the SI, while the zebibyte (ZiB), the zettabyte counted in powers of two, is 1,024 exbibytes (EiB)[1]. The same ZB symbol can therefore stand for two values, and the switch below the fields picks one of them.
At this step the gap stops being small. A zebibyte is 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 bytes, just over 18% more than a zettabyte. Paste 1 ZiB into the field, choose the Decimal (1000) standard, and the converter shows 1,180.5916 EB.
How do you convert zettabytes to exabytes? Formula and Excel
Multiply the number of zettabytes by one of two multipliers:
- binary: EB = ZB × 1,024,
- decimal: EB = ZB × 1,000.
Half a zettabyte is therefore 512 EB in binary or 500 EB in decimal. The multiplier is the same as between any two neighbouring units, because each prefix sits one step above the one before it.
In Excel, =CONVERT(A2,"Zbyte","Ebyte") gives the decimal result and =CONVERT(A2,"Zibyte","Eibyte") the binary one[2]. The EB to ZB converter turns exabytes back into zettabytes, and the data unit converter handles every other unit.
How many exabytes is a given number of zettabytes?
| Zettabytes | Binary (1024) | Decimal (1000) |
|---|---|---|
| 0.001 ZB | 1.024 EB | 1 EB |
| 0.01 ZB | 10.24 EB | 10 EB |
| 0.1 ZB | 102.4 EB | 100 EB |
| 0.25 ZB | 256 EB | 250 EB |
| 0.5 ZB | 512 EB | 500 EB |
| 1 ZB | 1,024 EB | 1,000 EB |
| 1.5 ZB | 1,536 EB | 1,500 EB |
| 2 ZB | 2,048 EB | 2,000 EB |
| 4 ZB | 4,096 EB | 4,000 EB |
| 5 ZB | 5,120 EB | 5,000 EB |
| 8 ZB | 8,192 EB | 8,000 EB |
| 10 ZB | 10,240 EB | 10,000 EB |
| 16 ZB | 16,384 EB | 16,000 EB |
| 50 ZB | 51,200 EB | 50,000 EB |
| 64 ZB | 65,536 EB | 64,000 EB |
| 100 ZB | 102,400 EB | 100,000 EB |
Which number formats does this converter accept?
| What you type | What the converter shows | How we read it |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5 | 1536 EB | The dot is a decimal point, so the field holds one and a half zettabytes. |
| 1.500 | 1536 EB | A single dot is always read as a decimal point, so we count one and a half zettabytes. A hint appears below the field, and you can type fifteen hundred zettabytes as 1500 or 1,500. |
| 2ZB | 2048 EB | A unit stuck to the number without a space matches the field's unit, so you don't need to delete it. |
| 2 zettabytes | 2048 EB | The full unit name is recognised too, in the singular or the plural. |
| 1 ZiB | 1024 EB | A zebibyte is always 2⁷⁰ bytes, so in the Decimal (1000) standard the same entry gives 1180.5916 EB. |
| 5000 EB | 5000 EB | Exabytes pasted into the zettabytes field are rewritten as 4.882813 ZB, so the result comes back to the same number. |
| 0.001 | 1.024 EB | Small fractions keep their exact value, so a thousandth of a zettabyte gives just over one exabyte. |
| 1e-3 | 1.024 EB | Scientific notation is read directly: 1e-3 is a thousandth of a zettabyte. |
| 3/4 | 768 EB | A fraction is divided straight away, so the field holds three quarters of a zettabyte. |
| ½ | 512 EB | A ½ character copied from text is read as half a zettabyte. |
Which standard should you pick?
You set the standard with the Unit standard switch below the fields. The right choice depends on where the zettabyte figure comes from.
A disk or file system limit
Pick Binary (1024). Such limits come from powers of two and are given in ZiB, like 8 ZiB for a GPT partition table.A figure from a report or statistic
Pick Decimal (1000). Totals of data use SI prefixes, where a zettabyte is an even thousand exabytes.A value given in ZiB
Pick Binary (1024). ZiB stands for zebibyte, and one zebibyte is exactly 1,024 EiB.
Is a zettabyte a sextillion bytes everywhere?
In English, yes: a zettabyte is one sextillion bytes, because both the US and the UK use the short scale. The UK government adopted the short scale in 1974. Most of continental Europe keeps the long scale, where 1021 is a trilliard and the word sextillion means 1036[3].
This matters when you read data figures in other languages. A German Trilliarde or a French trilliard of bytes is the same zettabyte, so when in doubt, compare the powers of ten.
How many exabytes fit on a disk with a GPT partition table?
A GPT partition table can address a disk of up to 8 ZiB with 512-byte sectors, or up to 64 ZiB with 4,096-byte sectors[4]. In exbibytes that is 8,192 EiB and 65,536 EiB, and in decimal zettabytes about 9.44 ZB and 75.6 ZB.
You can check this in the converter: enter 8 in the Binary (1024) standard and it shows 8,192 EB.
Convert other units to Exabytes
Convert Zettabytes to other units
Sources
- Binary prefix — Wikipedia
- CONVERT function — Microsoft
- Long and short scales — Wikipedia
- GUID Partition Table — Wikipedia
- ZFS — Wikipedia
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 zettabytes and exabytes
Where does the name ZFS come from?
ZFS once stood for Zettabyte File System. Today it is just a name, and the file system can store up to 256 quadrillion zettabytes[5].
How many bits are in a zettabyte?
A byte has eight bits, so a zettabyte holds 8,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bits and a zebibyte 9,444,732,965,739,290,427,392 bits.
Got a question or a suggestion?
If you spot a mistake in a table or the field won't accept a format you copy, let us know.