CONVERT Function in Excel: Convert Units

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EngineeringLevel: IntermediateAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article

1. Syntax
2. Examples
3. Example 1
4. Example 2
5. Common errors and fixes
6. CONVERT in practice
7. Where you will use it
8. Worked example
9. Mistakes people make
10. Related functions
11. Continue learning

CONVERT changes units: km to miles, °C to °F, kg to pounds, hours to minutes. Unit codes are case-sensitive.

Syntax

=CONVERT(number, from_unit, to_unit)

Argument	What it means
from_unit	Text code such as “km”, “mi”, “C”, “F”, “kg”, “lbm”.

Examples

Example 1

=CONVERT(A2, "C", "F")

Celsius to Fahrenheit.

Example 2

=CONVERT(B2, "km", "mi")

Kilometres to miles.

Common errors and fixes

You see	Why, and the fix
#N/A	Unknown unit code (check the case — “Kg” fails), or units of different kinds such as km to kg.

CONVERT in practice

Where you will use it

• Kilograms to pounds for export invoices
• Fahrenheit to Celsius
• Square feet to square metres in property sheets

Worked example

Value	From	To	Formula	Result
50	kg	lbm	=ROUND(CONVERT(A2,B2,C2),2)	110.23
98.6	F	C	=ROUND(CONVERT(A3,B3,C3),2)	37
1200	ft2	m2	=ROUND(CONVERT(A4,B4,C4),2)	111.48

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

Mistake	What to do instead
Wrong unit codes	Codes are case-sensitive: "kg", "C", "ft2"
Converting between categories	Mass to length gives #N/A

Related functions

ROUND

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📎 Practice files for this article

• 📗
  Practice workbook: Engineering & conversion15 tasks on realistic sales data — type your formula, the Check column turns green when it is right. Answers sheet included.
  ⬇ XLSX · 34 KB

Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.