Torque Conversion Calculator
Convert torque between newton meters, foot-pounds, inch-pounds, kilogram-force meters and more, with a quick chart for common values. Type one value, pick its unit and see it in N·m, kN·m, N·cm, lbf·ft, lbf·in, ozf·in, kgf·m, kgf·cm and dyn·cm at once.
Your numbers
The figure from the spec sheet, torque chart or wrench.
In N·m
–
- Kilonewton meters (kN·m)
- –
- Newton centimeters (N·cm)
- –
- Pound-inches, inch-pounds (lbf·in)
- –
- Ounce-inches (ozf·in)
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- Kilogram-force meters (kgf·m)
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- Kilogram-force centimeters (kgf·cm)
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- Dyne centimeters (dyn·cm)
- –
Factors are exact from the definitions in NIST SP 811 (1 lbf = 4.448 221 615 260 5 N, 1 ft = 0.3048 m, 1 kgf = 9.806 65 N). Torque is written in N·m, never in joules.
Round the result the way the tool or fastener spec does; a torque wrench reads to its own scale.
The calculation runs in your browser and ParrotNotes does not store your numbers. They sit in the page address so you can bookmark or share the result.
How torque conversion works
Every torque unit is a force times a distance, so each one converts to newton meters with a single factor. The calculator turns your value into N·m, then divides by the factor of each other unit. That way every row on the result comes from the same number and they all agree.
The factors come from exact definitions in NIST SP 811, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology guide to SI units: 1 pound-force is 4.448 221 615 260 5 N, 1 foot is 0.3048 m, 1 inch is 0.0254 m and 1 kilogram-force is 9.806 65 N. An ounce-force is a sixteenth of a pound-force. Multiply them out and you get NIST's printed factors: 1 lbf·ft = 1.355 818 N·m, 1 lbf·in = 0.112 985 N·m, 1 ozf·in = 0.007 061 55 N·m.
Torque conversion chart
Common values, worked out with the same factors as the calculator and rounded to two decimals.
| N·m | lbf·ft | lbf·in |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 7.38 | 88.51 |
| 20 | 14.75 | 177.01 |
| 30 | 22.13 | 265.52 |
| 40 | 29.5 | 354.03 |
| 50 | 36.88 | 442.54 |
| 60 | 44.25 | 531.04 |
| 70 | 51.63 | 619.55 |
| 80 | 59 | 708.06 |
| 90 | 66.38 | 796.57 |
| 100 | 73.76 | 885.07 |
| 150 | 110.63 | 1,327.61 |
| 200 | 147.51 | 1,770.15 |
| 250 | 184.39 | 2,212.69 |
| 300 | 221.27 | 2,655.22 |
| lbf·ft | N·m |
|---|---|
| 10 | 13.56 |
| 20 | 27.12 |
| 30 | 40.67 |
| 40 | 54.23 |
| 50 | 67.79 |
| 60 | 81.35 |
| 70 | 94.91 |
| 80 | 108.47 |
| 90 | 122.02 |
| 100 | 135.58 |
| 150 | 203.37 |
| 200 | 271.16 |
| 250 | 338.95 |
| 300 | 406.75 |
Foot-pounds, inch-pounds and ounce-inches
Foot-pounds, pound-feet, ft-lb and lb-ft all name the same torque unit: a pound-force acting one foot from the center. NIST writes it lbf·ft. Inch-pounds (lbf·in) are twelve times smaller and ounce-inches sixteen times smaller again, so 1 lbf·ft = 12 lbf·in = 192 ozf·in.
Small motor, servo and sensor data sheets often use ozf·in or N·cm; fastener charts and torque wrenches use lbf·ft, lbf·in or N·m. When a customer's drawing and your catalogue use different units, convert the number once here and quote in the unit the customer reads.
Newton meters, N·cm, kN·m and kgf·m
The newton meter is the SI unit. With SI prefixes, 1 kN·m is 1,000 N·m (large drives, gearboxes and structural bolting) and 1 N·cm is 0.01 N·m (small screws and electronics). One N·m is 100 N·cm.
Kilogram-force meters (kgf·m) and kilogram-force centimeters (kgf·cm) are older gravitational metric units still found in some manuals and servo data sheets: 1 kgf·m = 9.806 65 N·m. Dyne centimeters are the CGS unit: 10,000,000 dyn·cm = 1 N·m.
Torque is not energy
A newton meter of torque and a joule of energy have the same dimension, force times length, but they measure different things. NIST SP 811 says the SI unit of moment of force is the newton meter, not the joule. In US units NIST keeps them apart by order: lbf·ft for torque, ft·lbf for energy.
Torque turns into power only with speed. For horsepower or kilowatts from torque and rpm, use the horsepower calculator linked below.
For manufacturers' reps and sales engineers
Torque figures come up on the plant walk and the spec call: the breakaway torque on a stuck valve, the tightening spec on a flange, the motor's rated torque, the number the maintenance lead remembers from the last failure. Half of them arrive in the other system of units, and a misheard figure ends up in the quote.
Sources, each read on 2026-10-28. Conversions are exact to the definitions; round to the spec you are working to:
More for manufacturers' reps and sales engineers: Sales engineer, Manufacturers' rep, Manufacturing plant tour, Product spec sheet.
The torque figures come up on the plant walk
The tightening spec, the motor's rated torque and the figure the maintenance lead quotes from memory are all said out loud on the walk or the spec call. Record it in ParrotNotes and get a transcript, a summary and the action items, so the numbers in your notes are the ones the customer gave.
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