Million vs Billion — Which Is Bigger?
1 billion is bigger — it equals 1,000 million. Written out, 1 billion is 1,000,000,000 and 1 million is 1,000,000. Going the other way, 1 million is 0.001 billion.
Side by side
| 1 Million, Indian digits | 10,00,000 |
| 1 Million, international digits | 1,000,000 |
| 1 Million as a power of ten | 10⁶ |
| 1 Million on the other scale | 10 Lakh |
| 1 Billion, Indian digits | 1,00,00,00,000 |
| 1 Billion, international digits | 1,000,000,000 |
| 1 Billion as a power of ten | 10⁹ |
| 1 Billion on the other scale | 1 Arab |
Both directions
To go from billion to million, multiply by 1,000. So 5 billion is 5,000 million, and 100 billion is 100,000 million.
To go the other way, divide by 1,000. 500 million is 0.5 billion, and 1 million is 0.001 billion.
Where each one is used
Million is the international workhorse and the unit most global press, company filings and sports coverage default to. Indian readers meet it constantly in imported copy, which is exactly why it has to be converted back into lakh and crore to feel like a real amount.
Billion is the international unit for company valuations, national budgets and populations. Because 1 billion is exactly 1 arab and exactly 100 crore, it is also the cleanest bridge between the two systems.
Million to Billion at a glance
| Amount | Equals |
|---|---|
| 1 Million | 0.001 Billion |
| 2 Million | 0.002 Billion |
| 5 Million | 0.005 Billion |
| 10 Million | 0.01 Billion |
| 25 Million | 0.025 Billion |
| 50 Million | 0.05 Billion |
| 100 Million | 0.1 Billion |
| 500 Million | 0.5 Billion |
| 1,000 Million | 1 Billion |
The full scale
| Indian unit | Digits | Power | International |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thousand | 1,000 | 10³ | 1 Thousand |
| Lakh | 1,00,000 | 10⁵ | 100 Thousand |
| Crore | 1,00,00,000 | 10⁷ | 10 Million |
| Arab | 1,00,00,00,000 | 10⁹ | 1 Billion |
| Kharab | 1,00,00,00,00,000 | 10¹¹ | 100 Billion |
| Neel | 1,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 10¹³ | 10 Trillion |
| Padma | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 10¹⁵ | 1 Quadrillion |
| Shankh | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 10¹⁷ | 100 Quadrillion |
Convert any amount
Indian system
International system
Frequently asked questions
Which is bigger, million or billion?
Billion. One billion equals 1,000 million, so it is 1,000 times the size.
How many millions are in 1 billion?
1,000. In digits, 1 billion is 1,000,000,000 and 1 million is 1,000,000.
Why do the two systems have different units at all?
The international system introduces a new name every three digits — thousand, million, billion, trillion. The Indian system introduces one every two digits after a thousand — lakh, crore, arab, kharab. Both count the same way; they just group and name the digits differently, which is also why Indian commas fall at 1,00,00,000 rather than 10,000,000.
Is 1,00,00,00,000 the same as 1,000,000,000?
Yes — those are the same number written with Indian and international commas. Only the punctuation changes; the digits and the value do not.