CONVERT Function
Converts a number from one measurement system to another
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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:
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:
- Excel Functions for Finance
- Advanced Excel Formulas You Must Know
- Excel Shortcuts for PC and Mac
- AND Function
- See all Excel resources
