How Many Zeros in a Ronnabyte?
How many zeros in a ronnabyte? A ronnabyte (RB) has 27 zeros: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes, or 1027 bytes. One ronnabyte equals 1,000 yottabytes or one octillion bytes. It was formally adopted by the BIPM in November 2022 — the first new storage prefix added since the yottabyte in 1991. See also: How many zeros does a megabyte have.
A ronnabyte has
27
zeros
- Written Form
- 1 followed by 27 zeros bytes
- Scientific
- 10²⁷ bytes
Ronnabyte and the 2022 SI Prefix Update
The direct answer: exactly 27 zeros, equal to one octillion — three more than a yottabyte's 24, since each step up the SI storage scale adds exactly three zeros. The prefix "ronna-" was coined by British metrologist Richard Brown, partly inspired by the Greek ennea (nine).
| Unit | Zeros | Bytes | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yottabyte (YB) | 24 | 1024 | 1,000 ZB |
| Ronnabyte (RB) | 27 | 1027 | 1,000 YB |
| Quettabyte (QB) | 30 | 1030 | 1,000 RB |
How Big Is a Ronnabyte?
A ronnabyte is so large that no existing technology comes remotely close to storing one. Related: How many zeros in a bit.
Total global data generated annually — across all devices, data centers, and internet traffic — is estimated in the tens of zettabytes, still six orders of magnitude below a single ronnabyte.
The ronnabyte exists not because we need it today, but because data volumes are growing exponentially and SI units must be defined well before they're needed in practice.
Why Was the Ronnabyte Added to the SI System?
Before 2022, the largest official SI storage prefix was the yottabyte. As global data volumes accelerated toward that scale, metrologists recognized that informal terms — like "brontobyte" — were already appearing in technical literature. The BIPM standardized two new prefixes at once: ronna- and quetta-, both proposed by Richard Brown of the UK's National Physical Laboratory and ratified at the 27th General Conference on Weights and Measures.
The 2022 SI Prefix Update
- ronna- (R) — 1027, the smallest of the two new prefixes
- quetta- (Q) — 1030, the largest
- Also added: ronto- and quecto- for the equivalent tiny fractions
Zeros in a Ronnabyte: FAQ
What comes before a ronnabyte?
Quick answer
Yottabyte comes right before ronnabyte — a ronnabyte is exactly 1,000 yottabytes. See also: Gigabyte zeros.
What comes after a ronnabyte?
Quick answer
Quettabyte comes next — currently the largest officially recognized SI storage unit.
How many digits does a ronnabyte have?
A ronnabyte has 28 digits in total — that's the digit 1 followed by 27 zeros.
Is a ronnabyte the same as an octillion bytes?
Yes — a decimal ronnabyte (1027 bytes) is exactly one octillion bytes.
Who named the ronnabyte?
Richard Brown, a metrologist at the UK's National Physical Laboratory, proposed it alongside the quettabyte; both were ratified by the BIPM in November 2022.
How many ronnabytes are in a quettabyte?
Exactly 1,000 ronnabytes make one quettabyte.