How Many Zeros in a Sextillion?
The Short Answer a sextillion has 21 zeros in the U.S. numbering system.
It’s written as: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Scientific notation: 10^21
What Is a Sextillion?
The word "sextillion" comes from the Latin prefix "sex-" meaning six, following the pattern of thousands:
- Million (106)
- Billion (109)
- Trillion (1012)
- ... up to Sextillion (1021)
It's used mostly in theoretical math, astronomy, or economic projections.
How to Write a Sextillion
In standard form: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
That’s 1 followed by 21 zeros.
Comparison Table
| Number Name | Value | Zeros |
|---|---|---|
| Million | 1,000,000 | 6 |
| Billion | 1,000,000,000 | 9 |
| Trillion | 1,000,000,000,000 | 12 |
| Quadrillion | 1,000,000,000,000,000 | 15 |
| Quintillion | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 | 18 |
| Sextillion | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | 21 |
| Septillion | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | 24 |
Questions & Answers
What is the abbreviation of sextillion?
The common abbreviation for sextillion is "sex". In scientific contexts, it’s often denoted as 1021.
How many zeros in 2 sextillion?
2 sextillion = 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
That’s a 2 followed by 21 zeros.
How many zeros in 10 sextillion?
10 sextillion = 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
That’s a 1 followed by 22 zeros.
How many zeros in 100 sextillion?
100 sextillion = 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
That’s a 1 followed by 23 zeros.
How many zeros in half a sextillion?
0.5 sextillion = 500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
That’s a 5 followed by 20 zeros.
What Comes Before Sextillion?
The number that comes before a sextillion is a quintillion.
- Quintillion = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (that’s 18 zeros)
- It’s written as 10¹⁸ in scientific notation
A sextillion is a thousand quintillions.
What Comes After Sextillion?
The next number after a sextillion is a septillion.
- Septillion = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (that’s 24 zeros)
- It’s written as 10²⁴
A septillion is a thousand sextillions.
| Name | Number of Zeros | Scientific Notation |
|---|---|---|
| Quintillion | 18 | 10¹⁸ |
| Sextillion | 21 | 10²¹ |
| Septillion | 24 | 10²⁴ |
How many digits does a sextillion have?
A sextillion has 22 digits in total — that’s the digit 1 followed by 21 zeros.
Is a 21-digit number a sextillion?
Close, but not quite. A 21-digit number is **less than** a sextillion. A true sextillion is 1 followed by 21 zeros, making it a 22-digit number.
How many zeros in a sextillion in the British system?
In the historical British long scale, sextillion = 1 followed by 36 zeros (10^36). In modern usage (UK uses short scale), sextillion = 1 followed by 21 zeros.
Real-World Examples
- Estimated number of grains of sand on Earth: ~
10^21 - Digital data projections in the future could reach sextillions of bytes
Sextillion Summary
- Sextillion = 1 followed by 21 zeros
- Scientific notation:
10^21 - Much larger than common numbers but smaller than a googol
A sextillion is huge — far beyond anything used in daily life — but it’s an important concept in advanced mathematics, large-scale science, and data forecasting.
Related pages:
- How Many Zeros in a Thousand?
- How Many Zeros in a Million?
- How Many Zeros in a Billion?
- How Many Zeros in a Trillion?
- How Many Zeros in a Quadrillion?
- How Many Zeros in a Quintillion?
- How Many Zeros in a Sextillion?
- How Many Zeros in a Septillion?
- How Many Zeros in a Octillion?
- How Many Zeros in a Nonillion?
- How Many Zeros in a Googol?
- How Many Zeros in a Googolplex?