Last updated: July 3, 2026
Why a Land Area Converter Needs Regional Presets
You find a listing that says “5 kanal” in Lahore and another that says “2 bigha” in Bihar. Both sound like reasonable plots, but how do they compare to each other—or to the half-acre lot you looked at in Texas? A basic land area converter can swap acres for hectares, but it falls apart the moment you hit a unit whose size changes by region. That’s the gap this tool fills: pick a region preset, and the converter applies the right reference factor for that specific locale instead of guessing.
The most common mistake people make with regional units is treating every “bigha” or “marla” as the same size. A Punjab bigha and a UP bigha can differ by more than 60 %. Getting that wrong during a family land discussion or a purchase negotiation isn’t just confusing—it can cost real money.
Common Land-Area Conversions at a Glance
| From | To | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 acre | sq ft | 43,560 |
| 1 acre | hectares | 0.4047 |
| 1 hectare | acres | 2.4711 |
| 1 sq m | sq ft | 10.764 |
| 1 kanal (PK) | sq ft | 5,445 |
| 1 marla (PK) | sq ft | 272.25 |
| 1 bigha (UP) | sq ft | 27,000 |
| 1 bigha (Punjab IN) | sq ft | 9,070 |
| 1 ropani (Nepal) | sq ft | 5,476 |
| 1 rai (Thailand) | sq m | 1,600 |
Regional values are standard references; actual definitions may shift by district. Always confirm with local land offices for legal work.
What a Region Preset Changes (and Why It Matters)
When you select a preset—say “Pakistan” or “India – Uttar Pradesh”—the converter swaps the internal reference factor for every regional unit in that group. A “bigha” under the UP preset maps to roughly 27,000 sq ft, while the same label under Punjab (IN) maps to about 9,070 sq ft. Select the wrong preset and your result triples or shrinks by two-thirds without any visible error message.
The same issue shows up with “marla.” In Pakistan the standard marla is 272.25 sq ft (20 marla = 1 kanal), but older references in parts of India peg it closer to 250 sq ft. That 9 % gap adds up fast on a 20-marla plot.
The safest habit: whenever you convert a regional unit, glance at the preset name before you read the number. If you’re not sure which preset your area follows, ask your local patwari, tehsildar, or land revenue office—they’ll know which standard applies in your jurisdiction.
Try This Scenario
Situation: Your uncle in Faisalabad lists a plot as “8 marla.” You live in the US and think in square feet.
Steps: Select the Pakistan preset. Enter 8 in the marla field. The converter multiplies 8 × 272.25 = 2,178 sq ft. It also shows ≈ 0.050 acres and ≈ 202 m².
Reality check: 2,178 sq ft is roughly the footprint of a mid-sized US house lot—tight for a lawn but workable for a single-family build. Now you have a mental picture without memorizing any conversion factor.
If the listing had said “8 marla” in an older Indian standard (250 sq ft each), the total would be 2,000 sq ft instead—a 178 sq ft gap from a single preset mismatch. That difference is roughly the size of a bedroom, so the preset choice genuinely matters.
Mistakes That Cost Money
- Squared-unit confusion. 1 meter = 3.281 feet, but 1 m² = 10.764 ft² (the factor gets squared). People who multiply by 3.281 instead of 10.764 end up quoting an area that’s three times too small.
- Same name, different size. A buyer hears “10 bigha” and pictures UP-sized plots (6.2 acres). The seller means Punjab-IN bigha (2.1 acres). That’s a 3× gap in land and price expectations.
- Rounded mental math carried into contracts. “1 hectare ≈ 2.5 acres” is fine for a quick estimate, but the real factor is 2.4711. On a 200-hectare farm, that rounding adds a phantom 5.8 acres —worth thousands of dollars depending on the region.
- Skipping the reverse check. After converting 3 kanal to sq ft, punch the sq ft result back in and see if you get 3 kanal. If the round-trip doesn’t match, you probably picked the wrong preset.
Regional units, one by one, with the state caveat that trips people up
The presets above apply these for you. Here are the reference numbers if you just want to read them off, plus the part most converters skip: several of these units, bigha above all, change size by state and sometimes by district. Where a single number would be a lie, I’ve said so.
Bigha to square feet depends entirely on the state
There is no national bigha. It runs from roughly 6,806 sq ft in western Uttar Pradesh to 27,225 sq ft in Rajasthan, a four-to-one spread for the same word. A price quoted in bigha means nothing until you know where the land sits.
| State | 1 bigha (sq ft) | In acres |
|---|---|---|
| Rajasthan (pucca) | 27,225 | 0.625 |
| Rajasthan (kaccha) | 17,424 | 0.400 |
| Uttar Pradesh (eastern) | 27,225 | 0.625 |
| Uttar Pradesh (western) | 6,806.25 | 0.156 |
| West Bengal | 14,400 | 0.331 |
| Bihar (Patna) | 27,225 | 0.625 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 12,000 | 0.275 |
| Assam | 14,400 | 0.331 |
Rajasthan runs two bighas at once: the pucca (27,225 sq ft, a 165 ft square) and the smaller kaccha (17,424 sq ft, a 132 ft square). West Bengal’s is pinned to 1,600 square yards, which is where 14,400 comes from. Punjab and Haryana are off this list on purpose. They measure in kanal and marla, and the bigha figures quoted for them don’t agree across sources, so I won’t print one and pretend it’s settled.
Marla and kanal: always 20 marla to a kanal, but two marla sizes
A kanal is 20 marla wherever you are. The marla itself is where India and Pakistan diverge. The British standard, still used in Pakistan and across Indian Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal, is 272.25 sq ft per marla (the old square rod, 30.25 square yards, 25.29 m²). That puts one kanal at 5,445 sq ft, exactly an eighth of an acre.
India later trimmed its “small marla” to 25 square yards, or 225 sq ft, and some Pakistani housing schemes (newer Lahore societies among them) quote 225 as well, which drops the kanal to 4,500 sq ft. Same words, about 17 % less land. Confirm which marla the seller means before anything gets signed.
Cent to square feet is 435.6, straight off the acre
One cent is a hundredth of an acre, so 1 cent = 435.6 sq ft (about 40.5 m²). This value is dependable because it’s defined from the acre, not from local custom. You’ll hear it in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. A hundred cents make an acre, so 30 cents is 0.30 acre and the arithmetic never surprises you.
Ground to square feet is 2,400 in Tamil Nadu
Around Chennai and across Tamil Nadu, 1 ground = 2,400 sq ft (close to 223 m²). Plots get advertised in it, so a “1.5 ground” site is 3,600 sq ft. That’s about 5.5 cents, since 2,400 over 435.6 lands near 5.51.
Guntha to square feet is 1,089 across the Deccan
1 guntha = 1,089 sq ft = 121 square yards, and 40 guntha make an acre. It’s the working unit in Maharashtra and Karnataka, with Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha on the same figure. Quick cross-check when you’re reading a document: one guntha is 2.5 dismil.
Katha and dhur are eastern India, and they don’t match
Katha is where the east gets slippery. West Bengal fixes it at 720 sq ft, with 20 katha to a bigha (20 × 720 = 14,400). Bihar is bigger and not uniform: Patna and Arrah run 1,361.25 sq ft to the katha, while Muzaffarpur sits near 1,901 and parts of West Champaran push past 3,000. Assam uses 2,880 sq ft through most of the state.
Dhur is the katha’s subdivision. In Bihar, 1 katha = 20 dhur, so a dhur is 68.06 sq ft. Nepal uses katha and dhur too, on different reference values, so a Bihar dhur doesn’t carry across the border.
Dismil, also called decimal, is 435.6 sq ft
Dismil (you’ll also see it written “decimal”) is a hundredth of an acre, so 1 dismil = 435.6 sq ft, the same area as a South Indian cent. It turns up in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Different name, identical size.
Acres and hectares
1 acre = 0.404686 hectare, and 1 hectare = 2.47105 acres. If you keep one number in your head, make it this: a hectare is roughly two and a half acres. The acre is 43,560 sq ft, or 4,046.86 m² on the international definition.
Square feet and acres
1 acre = 43,560 sq ft, so square feet to acres means dividing by 43,560. A 10,000 sq ft plot works out to 0.2296 acre. The factor is exact rather than rounded, because the acre is defined as 43,560 sq ft.
Square metres and square feet
1 m² = 10.7639 sq ft, and 1 sq ft = 0.092903 m². The classic error is squaring the wrong way: a metre is 3.281 feet, but a square metre is 3.281², which is 10.764 square feet, not 3.281.
On sourcing, since these numbers get quoted carelessly all over the web: the standard conversions are fixed by the international definitions of the acre and the hectare. The regional values follow published state land-revenue conventions, cross-checked against multiple references. Bigha, katha, and dhur are genuinely non-standardized, so read the state figures as the common local standard, not a legal guarantee. For a deed or a boundary dispute, the patwari’s record and a licensed survey are what actually bind.
Quick Clarifications
Does this tool measure land? No. It converts between units only. If you need to find the actual area of a plot from coordinates, use a GPS area calculator first, then convert the result here.
Are the regional factors exact for legal documents? They’re standard references, not certified survey values. For deeds, tax filings, or boundary disputes, get a licensed surveyor to confirm.
Why does my result differ slightly from another site? Different tools round at different stages. A tiny difference (a few square feet on a multi-acre plot) is normal and irrelevant for planning purposes.
Accuracy Notes
Metric-to-imperial factors follow NIST Handbook 44 unit tables. Regional unit references (kanal, marla, bigha, ropani, rai, katha) are drawn from commonly published land-revenue figures for each country or state. Actual legal definitions may vary at the district level. This tool is for planning and education—not a substitute for an official survey.
Already know the plot dimensions? Calculate area from length × width and come back here to convert.