CONVERT Function

Converts a number from one measurement system to another

What is the Excel CONVERT units Function?

The Excel CONVERT Function[1] is an Excel Engineering Function. The function is useful for conversion of units from one measurement system to another measurement system. For example, CONVERT will help us to convert pounds to kilograms, feet to centimeters, or Fahrenheit to Celsius. Learn Excel unit conversion in this guide.

Formula

=CONVERT(number, “from unit “,”to unit”)

The Excel CONVERT function uses the following arguments:

Number (required argument) – The numeric value we wish to convert.
From Unit – This is the unit you are converting from. Quotations are necessary!
To Unit – This is the unit you are trying to convert to. Quotations are necessary!

The function accepts certain text values for from_unit to_unit. They are:

Weight & Mass	“From unit” or “to unit”
Gram	g
Slug	sg
Pound mass (avoirdupois)	Ibm
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	imperial ton

For Distance, CONVERT accepts the following:

Distance	“From unit” or “to unit”
Meter	m
Statute mile	mi
Nautical mile	Nmi
Inch	in
Foot	ft
Yard	yd
Angstrom	ang
EII	eII
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

For Time, CONVERT accepts the following:

Time	“From unit” or “to unit”
Year	yr
Day	day or d
Hour	hr
Minute	mn or min
Second	Sec or s

For Pressure, CONVERT accepts the following

Pressure	“From unit” or “to unit”
Pascal	Pa (or p)
Atmosphere	atm (or at)
mm of Mercury	mmHg
PSI	psi
Torr	Torr

For Force, CONVERT accepts the following:

Force	“From unit” or “to unit”
Newton	N
Dyne	dyn (ordy)
Pound force	ibf
Pond	pond

For Energy, CONVERT accepts the following:

Energy	“From unit” or “to 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)

For Power, CONVERT accepts the following:

Power	“From unit” or “to unit”
Horsepower	HP (orh)
Pferdestärke	PS

For Magnetism, CONVERT accepts the following:

Magnetism	“From unit” or “to unit”
Tesla	T
Gauss	ga

For Temperature, CONVERT accepts the following:

Temperature	“From unit” or “to unit”
Degree Celsius	C (or cel)
Degree Fahrenheit	F (or fah)
Kelvin	K (or kel)
Degrees Rankine	Rank
Degrees Réaumur	Reau

For Volume, CONVERT accepts the following:

Volume (or liquid measure )	“From unit” or “to 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)
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

For Area, CONVERT accepts the following:

Area	“From unit” or “to 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

For Information, CONVERT accepts the following:

Information	“From unit” or “to unit”
Bit	bit
Byte	byte

For Speed, CONVERT accepts the following:

Speed	“From unit” or “to unit”
Admiralty knot	admkn
Knot	kn
Meters per hour	m/h or m/hr
Meters per second	m/s or m/sec
Miles per hour	mph

We can use the following abbreviated unit prefixes for any metric “From unit” or “to unit”:

How to use the Excel CONVERT units function?

To understand the uses of the Excel CONVERT units function, let us consider a few examples:

CONVERT Function

Notes about converting units in Excel:

When the data types are incorrect, we will get #VALUE! error.
The units and prefixes are case-sensitive.
#N/A error occurs when:
- The given unit does not exist.
- When the unit doesn’t support the binary prefix.
- When units are in different groups.

Click here to download the sample Excel file

Additional Resources

Thanks for reading CFI’s guide to the Excel CONVERT function. By taking the time to learn and master these functions, you’ll significantly speed up your financial analysis. To learn more, check out these additional CFI resources:

Article Sources

CONVERT Function