Density Converter
Convert density, the mass contained in a unit of volume, between kilograms per cubic meter, grams per cubic centimeter or milliliter, pounds per cubic foot and many other units. Pick two units, enter a value and read the result instantly.
Select two units to see the conversion factor.
This tool converts mass density (mass per volume) only. It is not specific volume (volume per mass), not specific gravity (a ratio without units) and not weight density (force per volume).
Density Formula
Density is mass divided by volume: ρ = m ÷ V. Every density unit is a fixed multiple of the kilogram per cubic meter. Result = value × (source factor ÷ target factor). The building blocks are exact: 1 g/cm³ = 1 g/mL = 1 kg/L = 1,000 kg/m³, 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg, 1 ft = 0.3048 m, 1 in = 0.0254 m, 1 US gallon = 3.785411784 L and 1 UK gallon = 4.54609 L.
What Is Density?
Density is how much mass is packed into a given volume, ρ = m ÷ V. The SI unit is the kilogram per cubic meter (kg/m³). Water is close to 1,000 kg/m³ (1 g/cm³), dry air at room temperature is about 1.2 kg/m³, aluminium is about 2,700 kg/m³ and steel about 7,850 kg/m³. Density depends on temperature, and for gases also on pressure, so a density value is only exact for stated conditions.
Many unit families are in use. Laboratory and materials work uses g/cm³, g/mL and kg/L, which are all the same size because 1 mL = 1 cm³ and 1 L = 1,000 cm³. Environmental and chemical work often reports small densities or concentrations in mg/L or µg/L. US customary engineering uses lb/ft³, lb/in³, lb/gal and slug/ft³, and the US and UK gallons are different sizes, so always check which one a figure means. The list also includes the psi per 1,000 feet unit used for drilling-fluid weight gradients, and the Earth’s mean density, an approximate reference value of 5,518 kg/m³.
Do not confuse density with related quantities. Density is mass per volume. Specific volume is its reciprocal, volume per mass (Specific Volume Converter), so the two are never the same number. Specific gravity is the ratio of a density to the density of water and has no unit. Weight density is force per volume (N/m³). And density is not heat density, which on this site means energy per area (Heat Density Converter).
Supported Units
This converter supports the following 43 density units. The last column gives the value of each unit in the base unit, the kilogram per cubic meter. Prefixed gram-per-liter units such as mg/L and µg/L are exact powers of ten of 1 g/L = 1 kg/m³. “Pound” here is the pound of mass (0.45359237 kg).
| Unit | Symbol | Value in kg/m³ |
|---|---|---|
| Kilogram per cubic meter | kg/m³ | 1 |
| Gram per cubic centimeter | g/cm³ | 1,000 |
| Gram per milliliter | g/mL | 1,000 |
| Kilogram per liter | kg/L | 1,000 |
| Gram per liter | g/L | 1 |
| Kilogram per cubic centimeter | kg/cm³ | 1,000,000 |
| Gram per cubic meter | g/m³ | 0.001 |
| Gram per cubic millimeter | g/mm³ | 1,000,000 |
| Milligram per cubic meter | mg/m³ | 1e-6 |
| Milligram per cubic centimeter | mg/cm³ | 1 |
| Milligram per cubic millimeter | mg/mm³ | 1,000 |
| Pound per cubic foot | lb/ft³ | 16.01846337 |
| Pound per cubic inch | lb/in³ | 27,679.90471 |
| Pound per cubic yard | lb/yd³ | 0.5932764213 |
| Pound per gallon (US) | lb/gal (US) | 119.8264273 |
| Pound per gallon (UK) | lb/gal (UK) | 99.77637266 |
| Ounce per cubic inch | oz/in³ | 1,729.994044 |
| Ounce per cubic foot | oz/ft³ | 1.001153961 |
| Ounce per gallon (US) | oz/gal (US) | 7.489151707 |
| Ounce per gallon (UK) | oz/gal (UK) | 6.236023291 |
| Grain per gallon (US) | gr/gal (US) | 0.01711806105 |
| Grain per gallon (UK) | gr/gal (UK) | 0.01425376752 |
| Grain per cubic foot | gr/ft³ | 0.002288351911 |
| Ton (short) per cubic yard | ton (short)/yd³ | 1,186.552843 |
| Ton (long) per cubic yard | ton (long)/yd³ | 1,328.939184 |
| Slug per cubic foot | slug/ft³ | 515.3788184 |
| Psi per 1000 feet (drilling-fluid weight gradient) | psi/1000 ft | 2.306658726 |
| Exagram per liter | Eg/L | 1e+18 |
| Petagram per liter | Pg/L | 1e+15 |
| Teragram per liter | Tg/L | 1e+12 |
| Gigagram per liter | Gg/L | 1,000,000,000 |
| Megagram per liter | Mg/L | 1,000,000 |
| Hectogram per liter | hg/L | 100 |
| Dekagram per liter | dag/L | 10 |
| Decigram per liter | dg/L | 0.1 |
| Centigram per liter | cg/L | 0.01 |
| Milligram per liter | mg/L | 0.001 |
| Microgram per liter | µg/L | 1e-6 |
| Nanogram per liter | ng/L | 1e-9 |
| Picogram per liter | pg/L | 1e-12 |
| Femtogram per liter | fg/L | 1e-15 |
| Attogram per liter | ag/L | 1e-18 |
| Earth’s mean density (approximate reference value) | ρ⊕ | 5,518 |
How to Use the Density Converter
- Type the density in the value box. Decimals and scientific notation such as 0.0025 or 2.5e-3 are accepted.
- Choose the From unit and the To unit.
- The result appears instantly, or press Convert Now. Very large or very small results are shown in scientific notation.
- Use Swap Units to reverse the conversion, Copy Result to copy the answer, open Show this value in all units for a full list, and Clear to start again.
Step-by-step by hand
- Find the size of each unit in the common base unit (kg/m³): 1 g/cm³ = 1,000 kg/m³ and 1 lb/ft³ = 16.01846337 kg/m³.
- Divide the source size by the target size to get the conversion factor: 1,000 ÷ 16.01846337 = 62.42796058, so 1 g/cm³ = 62.42796058 lb/ft³.
- Multiply by your value: 1 g/cm³ × 62.42796058 = 62.42796058 lb/ft³.
Density cannot be negative, so only zero and positive values are accepted.
Common Density Conversions
- Water: 1 g/cm³ equals 1,000 kg/m³ and 62.42796058 lb/ft³ (near 4 °C the value is 999.97 kg/m³).
- Steel: 7,850 kg/m³ equals 7.85 g/cm³ and 490.0594905 lb/ft³.
- Aluminium: 2.7 g/cm³ equals 2,700 kg/m³ and 0.0975436884 lb/in³.
- Air: 1.2 kg/m³ equals 0.07491355269 lb/ft³.
- Concrete: 150 lb/ft³ equals 2,402.769506 kg/m³.
- Liquids by the gallon: 8.34 lb/gal (US) equals 0.9993524038 g/cm³.
- Trace concentration: 5 mg/L equals 0.005 kg/m³.
Gram per Cubic Centimeter to Other Density Units
Quick reference for frequently used values
| g/cm³ | kg/m³ | lb/ft³ | lb/in³ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.001 | 1 | 0.06242796058 | 3.6127292e-5 |
| 0.5 | 500 | 31.21398029 | 0.018063646 |
| 0.92 | 920 | 57.43372373 | 0.03323710864 |
| 1 | 1,000 | 62.42796058 | 0.036127292 |
| 2.7 | 2,700 | 168.5554936 | 0.0975436884 |
| 7.85 | 7,850 | 490.0594905 | 0.2835992422 |
| 13.6 | 13,600 | 849.0202638 | 0.4913311712 |
| 19.3 | 19,300 | 1,204.859639 | 0.6972567356 |
Where and Why This Conversion Is Used
- Materials and mechanical design: mass estimates from volume (m = ρ × V), weight budgets, and choosing between metals, plastics and composites.
- Civil and construction: concrete, soil, aggregate and fill, often quoted in lb/ft³ or kg/m³.
- Fluid engineering and chemistry: pumps, tanks, buoyancy and mixing, with densities in g/mL or kg/L.
- Oil and gas drilling: mud weights in lb/gal and pressure gradients in psi per 1,000 ft.
- Water quality and environmental testing: mass concentrations in mg/L and µg/L.
- Aerospace: slug/ft³ in US customary aerodynamics.
Limitations
- The converter changes units only. The density of a real substance depends on temperature, pressure and purity, so use a value for your conditions.
- The Earth’s mean density entry is an approximate reference value (5,518 kg/m³), not an exact definition.
- Pounds here are units of mass. In US practice lb/ft³ is sometimes used for weight density; at standard gravity the numbers are the same, but the quantities differ.
Important Differences Between Related Measurements
- Density vs specific volume: density is mass per volume (kg/m³). Specific volume is volume per mass (m³/kg) and equals 1 ÷ density. Water at about 1,000 kg/m³ has a specific volume of about 0.001 m³/kg. A larger density means a smaller specific volume.
- Density vs specific gravity: specific gravity is a pure ratio of a material’s density to that of water. A specific gravity of 7.85 means 7.85 times the density of water, about 7,850 kg/m³.
- Density vs weight density: density uses mass (kg, lb of mass). Weight density (specific weight) uses force (N/m³ or lbf/ft³) and is density times gravitational acceleration.
- Density vs mass concentration: a figure such as mg/L describes how much of a substance is dissolved in a liquid. It has the same units as density but refers to the dissolved substance, not the whole mixture.
Each converter on this site changes units within one quantity only, and none of them mixes quantities. The related tools are: Velocity - Angular, Acceleration, Acceleration - Angular, Density, Specific Volume, Moment of Inertia, Moment of Force and Torque.