Weight & Mass Converter
Convert between milligrams, grams, kilograms, ounces, pounds, and tons.
Quick reference
- 1 kilogram ≈ 2.2 pounds
- 1 pound = 453.6 grams
- 1 ounce ≈ 28.35 grams
- 1 US ton = 907.18 kg
- 1 metric ton = 1,000 kg
About this converter
This one gets used for a lot of different reasons: a recipe written in grams when your kitchen scale reads ounces, an airline's luggage limit quoted in kilograms, a shipping quote that only gives you pounds. It covers the metric scale from milligrams up to metric tons, and the US/imperial scale from ounces up to tons.
One thing worth knowing about "tons": there are three of them, and they're not the same. The US short ton is 2,000 pounds. The UK long ton is 2,240 pounds. The metric tonne sits in between at 2,204.6 pounds. The difference traces back to how a hundredweight was defined in each country, and it's a genuinely common source of shipping and freight mistakes when the wrong one gets used.
Frequently asked questions
- Is weight the same as mass?
- Not technically. Mass is how much matter something has; weight is the force gravity exerts on that mass, so your weight would change on the Moon and your mass wouldn't. For everyday conversions like this one, nobody cares about the distinction, kilograms and pounds get used interchangeably for both.
- Which ton does this use?
- The US short ton (2,000 lb). The metric ton and UK long ton are both in the unit list too, so pick whichever one your source actually meant.
- Why is gold priced by the ounce, but it's a different ounce?
- Precious metals are weighed in troy ounces (31.1 grams), not the regular avoirdupois ounce (28.35 grams) this converter uses for everyday weight. It's an old jeweler's system that stuck around specifically for metals, so a troy pound and a regular pound aren't the same weight either.
- What's a stone?
- 14 pounds. Common in the UK and Ireland for body weight ("12 stone" instead of 168 lb), rare almost everywhere else.