VoriTools

Force Unit Converter

Enter a force in its source unit and convert it to the remaining fields. Kilogram-force and pound-force are force units, not mass.

Runs locally in your browser

How to convert force between N, kN, kgf, gf, lbf, kip and tf

Type a force into any of the seven fields and the other six follow as you edit; there is no Convert button, and the field you are typing in is never reformatted under your cursor. The rows cover kilogram-force, newton, kilonewton, gram-force, pound-force, kip and metric ton-force.

The conversion runs in this browser. No value is sent to a server, the page keeps working offline, and nothing you type is stored.

  1. Click one of the seven fields and type a force, or paste one from a datasheet or a calculation.
  2. Read the other six rows: kilogram-force, newton, kilonewton, gram-force, pound-force, kip and metric ton-force are filled in at the same time.
  3. Type into a different field to convert from that unit instead - the seven rows always describe one force, not seven independent ones.
  4. Empty the field to clear the whole set, or press Reset all to empty every field and start again.
  5. A minus sign is kept: a negative value stays negative in every row and means the opposite direction. If the input cannot be read, the line under the fields names the reason.

Unit definitions, precision and limits

What each row means

Force is measured in newtons; the other six rows are defined from it. One kilogram-force is 9.80665 N, the weight of one kilogram under standard gravity, and one gram-force is a thousandth of that. One pound-force is 4.4482216152605 N, one kip is 1,000 pound-force, one metric ton-force is 1,000 kilogram-force, and one kilonewton is 1,000 N.

Kilogram-force and pound-force are forces, not masses: 1 kgf is what a 1 kg mass weighs under standard gravity, and the same mass would weigh about 0.165 kgf on the Moon. That is also why converting kgf to lbf is not the same as converting kilograms to pounds.

Precision and rounding

Results carry up to 15 significant digits and switch to exponent notation below 0.000001 and at 10^15 and above, so a small force reads as 1.13686837721616e-13 tf instead of a long row of zeros. Integers up to 9,007,199,254,740,991 (2^53 - 1) convert exactly; a longer number is rounded by the browser to the nearest value it can hold, and the page says so under the fields.

The row you type in keeps exactly what you wrote; only the other six are rewritten, so a result never interferes with the digits you are entering. Every row is computed from the same newton value, so converting A to B and then B back to A returns the number you started with.

What the page does not do

There is no dyne, poundal, ounce-force or sthene row, no torque (newton-metre) conversion and no mass or weight calculator: the page converts the seven force units above and nothing else. The result is only as precise as the number you type, and a value taken from a datasheet may already be rounded.

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