Abbreviated as K, kB, KB, K-byte, and KByte, a kilobyte was initially equal to 1,024 bytes because of base 2. However, in 1998, the IEC approved standard 60027-2, which defined 1,024 bytes as a kibibyte and not a kilobyte. Today, a kilobyte is equal to 1,000 bytes, and a kibibyte is equal to 1,024 bytes.

What comes before a kilobyte?

A byte comes before a kilobyte.

When the “b” is lowercase (Kb), this refers to a kilobit.

  • What comes before a kilobyte?
  • What comes after a kilobyte?
  • Converting kilobytes to another unit.
  • Related information

What comes after a kilobyte?

A megabyte comes after a kilobyte.

Converting kilobytes to another unit

Below is a listing of kilobyte values where a kilobyte is considered 1,000 bytes. Using this chart, you can find how many kilobytes are in other measurements. For example, you can see 1,000 kilobytes in a megabyte. For measurements that are smaller than a kilobyte, the decimal value is shown.

Byte, Computer abbreviations, Hard drive terms, Kibibyte, Kilobit, Measurement, Storage device

See our kibibyte (KiB) definition for a listing of kibibyte values where a kibibyte is equal to 1,024 bytes.

  • Compare kilobyte and other measurements with our conversion tool.
  • How much is 1 byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, etc.?