The megabyte (MB) is a unit of digital information. It is a multiple of the byte and equals 10^6 bytes (one million bytes).
MB vs MiB
In computing, the megabyte is often confused with 2^20 B (1,048,576 bytes). Per IEC 60027-2 and IEC 80000-13:2008 standards, that quantity should be called a mebibyte (MiB).
| Unit | Value | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Megabyte (MB) | 10^6 = 1,000,000 bytes | Hard drives, network speeds, SI-prefix contexts |
| Mebibyte (MiB) | 2^20 = 1,048,576 bytes | RAM, operating systems, binary-prefix contexts |
Etymology
The prefix mega comes from the Greek μέγας (mégas), meaning “large”.