How to use CONVERT Function in Excel

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:

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.