Area loads and point loads across engineering units

Value

For loads, 1 kgf = 9.80665 N. Pressure: 1 kN/m² = 1 kPa.

Converted values

Click any row to copy its value.


About Load & Pressure Converter

The load and pressure converter translates structural engineering quantities between unit systems. The Area load tab covers pressures: kN/m², kPa, MPa (N/mm²), kgf/m², psf, psi, and bar. The Point load tab covers forces: kN, N, kgf, tonnes-force, lbf, and kips. Enter a value with its unit and the full table of equivalents appears.

These conversions come up constantly when working across codes: US references quote floor loads in psf and forces in kips, European documents use kN/m² and kN, and older or field documents still speak in kgf and tonnes-force. The conversions use 1 kgf = 9.80665 N exactly, and the identity 1 kN/m² = 1 kPa keeps pressure units consistent.

Every result row copies to the clipboard with a click, so numbers travel cleanly into calculations and reports. It is a free, browser-based reference for engineers, drafters, and students moving between imperial and SI structural units.

How to use Load & Pressure Converter

  1. Pick the tab: Area load (pressure) or Point load (force).
  2. Enter your value and choose its unit.
  3. Read the converted values in every other unit of that tab.
  4. Click any row to copy the value to the clipboard.

Frequently asked questions

Multiply by 0.04788: a 40 psf floor live load is about 1.92 kN/m². Since 1 kN/m² equals 1 kPa exactly, that same load is 1.92 kPa.

A kilopound — 1,000 pounds-force, about 4.448 kN. US structural drawings use kips for column and connection forces because pounds get unwieldy at building scale.

One kilogram-force is the weight of one kilogram under standard gravity: exactly 9.80665 N. A tonne-force is 1,000 kgf ≈ 9.807 kN — the converter applies these exact factors.

Yes — all are pressure (force per area). 1 kN/m² = 1 kPa, and 1 MPa = 1 N/mm² = 1,000 kPa. Floor loads are usually quoted in kN/m² or psf, while material stresses use MPa or psi.

Because they are physically different quantities: an area load is pressure (kN/m², psf) and a point load is force (kN, lbf). Mixing them is a classic calculation error, so the converter keeps each family on its own tab.

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