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.
Syntax: =CONVERT (number, from_unit, to_unit)
The CONVERT function syntax has 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!Measurement systems
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
Example: Let’s look at some Excel CONVERT function examples and explore how to use the CONVERT function as a worksheet function in Microsoft Excel:
Syntax: =CONVERT(A2,B2,C2)
Result:
Based on the Excel spreadsheet above, the following CONVERT examples would return:
Syntax: =CONVERT(A3,B3,C3)
Result: 86
Syntax: =CONVERT(A4,B4,C4)
Result: 37.77777778
Syntax: =CONVERT(A5,B5,C5)
Result: 3.785411784
Syntax: =CONVERT(A6,B6,C6)
Result: 1076.391042
Syntax: =CONVERT(A7,B7,C7)
Result: #N/A
Syntax: =CONVERT(A8,B8,C8)
Result: 0.45359237
Syntax: =CONVERT(A9,B9,C9)
Result: 50
Syntax: =CONVERT(A10,B10,C10)
Result: 1609.344
Syntax: =CONVERT(A11,B11,C11)
Result: 62.13711922
Syntax: =CONVERT(A12,B12,C12)
Result: 16.66666667
Syntax: =CONVERT(A13,B13,C13)
Result: 39.37007874
Syntax: =CONVERT(A14,B14,C14)
Result: 120
Syntax: =CONVERT(CONVERT(A15,”ft”,”m”),”ft”,”m”)
Result: 23.22576
Note:
- 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 a 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.