What Is a Binary Decimal Hex Base Calculator?
Every number can be written in different "bases," or numeral systems — binary (base 2), octal (base 8), decimal (base 10) and hexadecimal (base 16) are the four most common in computing. This calculator takes a number in whichever base you're starting from and converts it to all four at once, using the same digit-by-digit positional math computers use internally.
It's a handy reference for programming, networking, color codes, and any time you need to translate between the way computers represent numbers and the decimal numbers people are used to.
How to Read Your Results
Decimal Value
The everyday base-10 number equivalent — this is the "true" numeric value regardless of which base you typed it in.
Binary
The base-2 representation using only 0s and 1s — this is literally how the value is stored in computer memory as individual bits.
Octal & Hexadecimal
Octal (base 8) groups bits in sets of three and shows up in Unix file permission notation (like 755). Hexadecimal (base 16) groups bits in sets of four and is the standard shorthand for memory addresses, color codes, and MAC addresses.
Real-World Example
You see the value 11111111 in binary and want to know what it means in more familiar terms.
| Base | Value |
|---|---|
| Binary | 11111111 |
| Decimal | 255 |
| Octal | 377 |
| Hexadecimal | FF |
255 (or 0xFF, or 11111111) is a familiar number in networking and graphics — it's the maximum value a single 8-bit byte can hold, which is why RGB color channels and IPv4 address octets both max out at 255.
Tips for Working With Number Bases
- One hex digit always equals exactly 4 binary bits, which is why hex is the preferred shorthand for long binary strings.
- Leading "0x" or "0b" prefixes in code mean hexadecimal or binary respectively — you can omit them when entering a value here.
- An 8-bit byte ranges from 0 to 255 in decimal, 00000000 to 11111111 in binary, and 00 to FF in hex.
- Case doesn't matter for hex letters — "ff" and "FF" convert to the same value.
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Last updated: August 2026 · Reviewed by: Simple Calculator Tools Editorial Team