Summary

The Excel CONVERT function converts a number in one measurement system to another. For example, you can use CONVERT to convert feet into meters, pounds into kilograms, Fahrenheit to Celsius, gallons into liters, and for many other unit conversions.

Purpose 

Convert measurement units

Return value 

A number in the new measurement system

Syntax

=CONVERT(number,from_unit,to_unit)
  • number - The numeric value to convert.
  • from_unit - The starting units for number.
  • to_unit - The ending units for the result.

How to use 

The CONVERT function converts a number in one measurement system to another. For example, you can use CONVERT to convert feet into meters, pounds into kilograms, gallons into liters, and for many other unit conversions.

Examples

The formulas below use the CONVERT function to convert yards to meters, Celsius to Fahrenheit, gallons to liters, and square meters to square yards:

=CONVERT(100,"yd","m") // returns 91.44
=CONVERT(22,"C","F") // returns 71.6
=CONVERT(1,"gal","l") // returns 3.79
=CONVERT(100,"m2","ft2") // returns 1076.39

Measurement units

The tables below show the units available to the CONVERT function in each category. In all cases, Unit can be used for either from_unit or to_unit in the same category. Note: the CONVERT function is case-sensitive.

Weight and mass Unit
Gram "g"
Slug "sg"
Pound mass (avoirdupois) "lbm"
U (atomic mass unit) "u"
Ounce mass (avoirdupois) "ozm"
Grain "grain"
U.S. (short) hundredweight "cwt" or "shweight"
Imperial hundredweight "uk_cwt" or "lcwt" ("hweight")
Stone "stone"
Ton "ton"
Imperial ton "uk_ton" or "LTON" ("brton")
Distance Unit
Meter "m"
Statute mile "mi"
Nautical mile "Nmi"
Inch "in"
Foot "ft"
Yard "yd"
Angstrom "ang"
Ell "ell"
Light-year "ly"
Parsec "parsec" or "pc"
Pica (1/72 inch) "Picapt" or "Pica"
Pica (1/6 inch) "pica"
U.S survey mile (statute mile) "survey_mi"
Time Unit
Year "yr"
Day "day" or "d"
Hour "hr"
Minute "mn" or "min"
Second "sec" or "s"
Pressure Unit
Pascal "Pa" (or "p")
Atmosphere "atm" (or "at")
mm of Mercury "mmHg"
PSI "psi"
Torr "Torr"
Force Unit
Newton "N"
Dyne "dyn" (or "dy")
Pound force "lbf"
Pond "pond"
Energy Unit
Joule "J"
Erg "e"
Thermodynamic calorie "c"
IT calorie "cal"
Electron volt "eV" (or "ev")
Horsepower-hour "HPh" (or "hh")
Watt-hour "Wh" (or "wh")
Foot-pound "flb"
BTU "BTU" (or "btu")
Power Unit
Horsepower "HP" (or "h")
Pferdestärke "PS"
Watt "W" (or "w")
Magnetism Unit
Tesla "T"
Gauss "ga"
Temperature Unit
Degree Celsius "C" (or "cel")
Degree Fahrenheit "F" (or "fah")
Kelvin "K" (or "kel")
Degrees Rankine "Rank"
Degrees Réaumur "Reau"
Liquid measure Unit
Teaspoon "tsp"
Modern teaspoon "tspm"
Tablespoon "tbs"
Fluid ounce "oz"
Cup "cup"
U.S. pint "pt" (or "us_pt")
U.K. pint "uk_pt"
Quart "qt"
Imperial quart (U.K.) "uk_qt"
Gallon "gal"
Imperial gallon (U.K.) "uk_gal"
Liter "l" or "L" ("lt")
Volume Unit
Cubic angstrom "ang3" or "ang^3"
U.S. oil barrel "barrel"
U.S. bushel "bushel"
Cubic feet "ft3" or "ft^3"
Cubic inch "in3" or "in^3"
Cubic light-year "ly3" or "ly^3"
Cubic meter "m3" or "m^3"
Cubic Mile "mi3" or "mi^3"
Cubic yard "yd3" or "yd^3"
Cubic nautical mile "Nmi3" or "Nmi^3"
Cubic Pica "Picapt3", "Picapt^3", "Pica3" or "Pica^3"
Gross Registered Ton "GRT" ("regton")
Measurement ton (freight ton) "MTON"
Area Unit  
International acre "uk_acre"  
U.S. survey/statute acre "us_acre"  
Square angstrom "ang2" or “ang^2"  
Are "ar"  
Square feet "ft2" or "ft^2"  
Hectare "ha"  
Square inches "in2" or "in^2"  
Square light-year "ly2" or "ly^2"  
Square meters "m2" or "m^2"  
Morgen "Morgen"  
Square miles "mi2" or "mi^2"  
Square nautical miles "Nmi2" or "Nmi^2"  
Square Pica "Picapt2", "Pica2", "Pica^2" or "Picapt^2"  
Square yards "yd2" or "yd^2"  
Information Unit
Bit "bit"
Byte "byte"

Metric prefixes

The prefixes shown in the table below can be used with metric units by prepending the abbreviation to the unit.

Prefix Multiplier Abbreviation
yotta 1E+24 "Y"
zetta 1E+21 "Z"
exa 1E+18 "E"
peta 1E+15 "P"
tera 1E+12 "T"
giga 1000000000 "G"
mega 1000000 "M"
kilo 1000 "k"
hecto 100 "h"
dekao 10 "da" or "e"
deci 0.1 "d"
centi 0.01 "c"
milli 0.001 "m"
micro 0.000001 "u"
nano 0.000000001 "n"
pico 1E-12 "p"
femto 1E-15 "f"
atto 1E-18 "a"
zepto 1E-21 "z"
yocto 1E-24 "y"

Binary prefixes

The binary unit prefixes below can be used with "bits" and "bytes". 

Binary Prefix Value Abbreviation Decimal
yobi 2^80 "Yi" yotta
zebi 2^70 "Zi" zetta
exbi 2^60 "Ei" exa
pebi 2^50 "Pi" peta
tebi 2^40 "Ti" tera
gibi 2^30 "Gi" giga
mebi 2^20 "Mi" mega
kibi 2^10 "ki" kilo

Notes

  • The CONVERT function is case-sensitive.
  • CONVERT will return the #N/A error when a unit string is not recognized.
  • CONVERT will return the #N/A error when units are not compatible.
  • CONVERT will return the #VALUE! error when a number is not valid.
  • A number of measurement units were added to CONVERT in Excel 2013.
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Dave Bruns

Hi - I'm Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.