CONVERT in Google Sheets: Measurement Units and Dimensions

• Introduced: first introduction date is not established by the reviewed official history; no desktop release number is inferred.
• Availability: documented in the rolling Google Sheets service; these examples use the web worksheet workflow.
• Checked: October 14, 2026; official CONVERT reference. Documentation and independent models, with no native Sheets execution or wider client certification.

=CONVERT(value,start_unit,end_unit)

All three arguments are required. Google’s dedicated reference lists unit codes by category, including in, ft, m and mi for distance; sec, min and hr for time; C, F and K for temperature; and explicit squared or cubed codes for area and volume.

The page documents an error for conversions across incompatible categories but does not specify its exact error code. This guide preserves that distinction rather than importing another application’s error table. Use the published code spelling; arbitrary abbreviations and every prefix are not certified by the short Google list.

Enter this table in A1:C5. In D2 enter =CONVERT(A2,B2,C2) and fill through D5:

The independent factors are 12 inches per foot, 0.3048 meters per foot, 1609.344 meters per statute mile and 3600 seconds per hour. These calculations check the meaning of the examples; they are not native floating-point captures.

Keep both unit columns after conversion. A value such as 1.5 without its output unit can be mistaken for the original measurement, especially when multiple types of measurement share a report.

=CONVERT(25,"C","F")
=CONVERT(77,"F","C")
=CONVERT(0,"C","K")

Expected mathematical outputs are 77, 25 and 273.15. Celsius-to-Fahrenheit uses an offset as well as a multiplier: F=1.8*C+32.

A change from 15 to 25 degrees Celsius corresponds to readings 59 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit, so the change is 18 Fahrenheit degrees. Converting the isolated number 10 as a Celsius temperature gives 50 Fahrenheit, not the desired interval. Convert the endpoints and subtract when the quantity being measured is a change between two readings.

Google’s unit list explicitly includes in^2, ft^2, m^2, ft^3 and m^3.

The area factor is 0.3048 squared and the volume factor is 0.3048 cubed. Converting 25 feet to meters gives 7.62, a length; it is not the conversion of 25 square feet.

Explicit dimensional codes make the formula easier to audit than applying a length conversion repeatedly without explaining why the factor is being squared or cubed.

The Google list distinguishes gal from uk_gal. Using the conventional U.S. liquid gallon and imperial gallon definitions, the independently expected results are:

=CONVERT(2,"gal","l")
=CONVERT(2,"uk_gal","l")

The respective volumes are 7.570823568 and 9.09218 liters. A source label that says only “gallons” is incomplete for a reproducible conversion. Confirm the intended system before choosing a code; an apparently successful calculation does not resolve ambiguous source data.

The guide does not infer support for every Excel alias or binary-prefix spelling from similar function names. Google’s own example supports g to kg, but a universal prefix table would require separate product-specific evidence.

=CONVERT(10,"ft","C") attempts a distance-to-temperature conversion and is documented to fail. The exact displayed error remains unverified here. Invalid data types, unknown-unit errors and overflow boundaries are also outside the successful controls.

If a cell holds a Sheets time fraction, it is measured in days, not seconds. For numeric 0.25, =CONVERT(0.25,"day","hr") gives 6 hours. Passing 0.25 with start code sec asks a different question and gives 1/14400 hour.

Use TIME to construct time-of-day values and ROUND for a separately chosen display precision. CONVERT changes measurement units; it does not change a date’s time zone, validate measurement accuracy or perform currency exchange.

• Google CONVERT reference.
• Editorial testing standards.

Examples use fictional data, English function names and comma separators. Expected outputs are independent mathematical calculations or explicitly documented rules, not native Sheets captures. Check the spreadsheet locale when reproducing punctuation-sensitive formulas.