What amount of bits commonly equals one byte?

The commonly accepted amount of bits that equals one byte is 8. This is because a byte is the basic unit of memory in most computer systems, and it is used to represent and store a single character of text or a numerical value. In modern digital systems, a byte is typically composed of 8 bits, with each bit representing a binary value of either 0 or 1. This allows for a total of 256 possible combinations (2^8) which can represent a wide range of characters, symbols, and numerical values. Thus, the choice of 8 bits per byte has become a standard in computer architecture and data representation.