Converting land units is mostly multiplication, but one slip in a factor can move a price by lakhs of rupees. This guide gives you the factors, then works through real examples step by step so you can check any calculator, including ours.
The factors you need
| From | To | Multiply by |
|---|---|---|
| Acre | Square feet | 43,560 |
| Acre | Square yards | 4,840 |
| Acre | Hectares | 0.404686 |
| Acre | Guntha | 40 |
| Acre | Cents | 100 |
| Hectare | Square feet | 107,639 |
| Hectare | Acres | 2.47105 |
| Square metre | Square feet | 10.7639 |
| Square yard | Square feet | 9 |
| Guntha | Square feet | 1,089 |
| Cent | Square feet | 435.6 |
To go the other way, divide instead of multiply.
Example 1: 12.5 acres
You are looking at a farm of 12.5 acres and want the area in other units.
- Square feet: 12.5 × 43,560 = 544,500 sq ft
- Square yards: 12.5 × 4,840 = 60,500 sq yd
- Hectares: 12.5 × 0.404686 = about 5.06 ha
- Guntha: 12.5 × 40 = 500 guntha
- Cents: 12.5 × 100 = 1,250 cents
Check: 500 guntha × 1,089 sq ft = 544,500 sq ft, which matches the first line. A quick cross-check like this catches most typing errors.
Example 2: a mixed area, 1 acre + 20 guntha + 5 cents
Mixed quotes are common in Maharashtra, Karnataka and the south. Convert each part, then add.
- 1 acre = 43,560 sq ft
- 20 guntha = 20 × 1,089 = 21,780 sq ft
- 5 cents = 5 × 435.6 = 2,178 sq ft
Total = 43,560 + 21,780 + 2,178 = 67,518 sq ft. In acres that is 67,518 ÷ 43,560 = 1.55 acres. In square metres, 67,518 ÷ 10.7639 is about 6,273 sq m.
Example 3: 2.5 acres
2.5 × 43,560 = 108,900 sq ft. That is 12,100 sq yd, or 100 guntha. In the Indian way of writing numbers, 108,900 is 1,08,900.
Example 4: from square metres
A layout lists a plot as 250 sq m. 250 × 10.7639 = about 2,691 sq ft, which is roughly 299 sq yd. If the asking rate is ₹4,500 per sq ft, the plot costs about ₹1.21 crore before duty and other charges, because 2,691 × 4,500 = ₹1,21,09,500.
Example 5: from hectares
A revenue record shows 2 ha. 2 × 107,639 = 215,278 sq ft, and 2 × 2.47105 = about 4.94 acres.
Turning area into price
Once you have square feet, price is simple: area × rate. Where sellers quote per acre or per cent, convert the rate too. A rate of ₹30 lakh per acre is 3,000,000 ÷ 43,560 = about ₹68.9 per sq ft. A rate of ₹2 lakh per cent is 200,000 ÷ 435.6 = about ₹459 per sq ft. Putting every offer on a per-square-foot basis is the cleanest way to compare.
Reading and writing Indian numbers
One lakh is 1,00,000 and one crore is 1,00,00,000. A figure such as 1,21,09,500 reads as one crore, twenty-one lakh, nine thousand five hundred. When you check a calculator, make sure it shows both the digits and the words, because a misplaced comma is an easy way to misread a price by a factor of ten.
Common mistakes
- Using the wrong guntha. In some places, people use “guntha” loosely. The standard value is 1,089 sq ft.
- Rounding too early. Keep full precision until the last step, then round.
- Forgetting that bigha and katha are regional. See our guide on why bigha and katha differ.
- Mixing built-up area with plot area. A flat’s carpet, built-up and super built-up areas are different things and are not land units.
If you would rather not do the arithmetic yourself, the Plotwise area converter does these conversions, including mixed areas, and shows the working in every unit at once.