How to use the force converter
- Type the force in Value.
- Choose its unit in From, for example kilograms-force (kp).
- Choose the unit you need in To. The result shows at once, to 12 significant digits.
- Press the swap button to reverse the direction, or read the table below for every unit at once.
What it does and when to use it
Force turns up in two kinds of units. Metric engineering uses newtons and kilonewtons. Older metric equipment and many product labels use kilograms-force, and American work uses pounds-force, ounces-force and kips. The converter moves between all of them, plus the CGS dyne, the poundal and the tonne-force.
Typical jobs: comparing a hoist rated in kgf with a load chart in kN, reading a US structural load in kips, or turning a spring scale reading in grams-force into newtons for a physics report. If you are working with a turning force (a wrench setting), you need the torque converter instead, and for force spread over an area use the pressure converter.
How it works
Each unit is stored as a number of newtons. The tool multiplies your value by the “from” factor to get newtons, then divides by the “to” factor.
| Unit | Newtons | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| dyne | 0.00001 | 1 g·cm/s² |
| poundal | 0.138254954376 | 1 lb·ft/s² (0.45359237 × 0.3048) |
| ounce-force | 0.278013850954 | 1/16 lbf |
| pound-force | 4.4482216152605 | 0.45359237 kg × 9.80665 m/s² |
| kilogram-force | 9.80665 | 1 kg × standard gravity |
| kip | 4,448.2216152605 | 1,000 lbf |
| tonne-force | 9,806.65 | 1,000 kgf |
All of these are exact. They come from the international pound of 1959, the international foot (0.3048 m) and standard gravity, gₙ = 9.80665 m/s², fixed in 1901. NIST lists the same factors in Appendix B of its guide to the SI.
Worked examples
Pound-force to newtons. 1 lbf = 4.44822161526 newtons. The table also shows it as 0.45359237 kgf and 32.1740485564 poundals.
A 50 kgf winch. 50 kgf = 0.4903325 kilonewtons (490.3325 N). In the same table, that is 110.231131092 pounds-force.
Structural load. 5 kips = 22.2411080763 kilonewtons, or 2,267.96185 kgf.
Limits and tips
- Weight is not mass. A 1 kg bag weighs about 9.8 N on Earth but much less on the Moon. The kgf and lbf units assume standard gravity, so they are labels for a force, not a measured local weight.
- Very small or large values switch to scientific notation in the table: 1 dyne shows as 1e-11 meganewtons.
- Short ton-force and long ton-force are not included; convert through pounds-force (2,000 and 2,240 lbf).
- To work out the speed change a force causes on a mass, divide newtons by kilograms to get m/s², then use the acceleration converter for g or ft/s².
Frequently asked questions
How many newtons are in one pound-force?
Is a kilogram a unit of force?
What is a kip?
What is the difference between a poundal and a pound-force?
Can I convert force into mass here?
Sources
- NIST Guide to the SI, Appendix B.8: Factors for units listed alphabetically — NIST, accessed 2026-10-08
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