A pound is 0.45359237 kilograms. Type a value in pounds and the result appears straight away. The field takes fractions, so a quarter pound goes in as 1/4 and a 7 lb 11 oz baby as 7 11/16. Below you will find the American gym loading ladder with the plate layout.
A pound is exactly 0.45359237 kilograms, a little under half a kilo. The formula is kilograms = pounds × 0.4536. The other way round, a kilogram is 2.2046 pounds.[1]
This is the direction you need when a figure has to leave the imperial world: a customs form, a piece of lab work, a European supplier who quotes in kilograms, or a doctor recording a dose per kilogram of body mass.
Where the number 0.45359237 came from, why a pound is written lb and how it differs from a troy pound are explained on the kilograms to pounds converter page, along with the price-per-unit conversion and body weight in stone.
The simplest method is to divide the pounds by 2.2. A hundred and fifty pounds gives 68.2 kilograms against an exact 68.04, an error of 0.2%. That is enough to judge whether a parcel clears a limit or a load on the bar is within reach.
If you would rather not divide by a decimal, halve the number and take off a tenth. A hundred and fifty pounds: half is 75, minus 7.5 leaves 67.5 kilograms. This one undershoots by just under a percent.
For an order, an invoice or any paperwork, use the converter, because both methods are approximations. At 300 pounds the first is out by 0.3 kilograms and the second by more than half a kilogram.
The table covers the values that come up most often in this conversion: baggage limits, training loads and body weights. The range runs from 1 to 300 pounds and results are rounded to two decimal places.
| Pounds (lb) | Kilograms |
|---|---|
| 1 lb | 0.45 kg |
| 2 lb | 0.91 kg |
| 3 lb | 1.36 kg |
| 4 lb | 1.81 kg |
| 5 lb | 2.27 kg |
| 10 lb | 4.54 kg |
| 15 lb | 6.80 kg |
| 20 lb | 9.07 kg |
| 25 lb | 11.34 kg |
| 30 lb | 13.61 kg |
| 35 lb | 15.88 kg |
| 40 lb | 18.14 kg |
| 45 lb | 20.41 kg |
| 50 lb | 22.68 kg |
| 55 lb | 24.95 kg |
| Pounds (lb) | Kilograms |
|---|---|
| 60 lb | 27.22 kg |
| 65 lb | 29.48 kg |
| 70 lb | 31.75 kg |
| 75 lb | 34.02 kg |
| 80 lb | 36.29 kg |
| 90 lb | 40.82 kg |
| 100 lb | 45.36 kg |
| 110 lb | 49.90 kg |
| 120 lb | 54.43 kg |
| 125 lb | 56.70 kg |
| 130 lb | 58.97 kg |
| 135 lb | 61.23 kg |
| 140 lb | 63.50 kg |
| 145 lb | 65.77 kg |
| 150 lb | 68.04 kg |
| Pounds (lb) | Kilograms |
|---|---|
| 155 lb | 70.31 kg |
| 160 lb | 72.57 kg |
| 165 lb | 74.84 kg |
| 170 lb | 77.11 kg |
| 175 lb | 79.38 kg |
| 180 lb | 81.65 kg |
| 185 lb | 83.91 kg |
| 190 lb | 86.18 kg |
| 200 lb | 90.72 kg |
| 210 lb | 95.25 kg |
| 220 lb | 99.79 kg |
| 225 lb | 102.06 kg |
| 250 lb | 113.40 kg |
| 275 lb | 124.74 kg |
| 300 lb | 136.08 kg |
Working from a figure in kilograms instead? Head to the kilograms to pounds converter, which carries the body-weight table in stone.
Health apps and BMI calculators outside North America work in kilograms. The table covers the usual range from 88 to 265 pounds, which is roughly 40 to 120 kilograms, in steps that land on whole kilograms on the metric side.
| Body weight (lb) | Kilograms |
|---|---|
| 88 lb | 39.92 kg |
| 99 lb | 44.91 kg |
| 110 lb | 49.90 kg |
| 121 lb | 54.88 kg |
| 132 lb | 59.87 kg |
| 143 lb | 64.86 kg |
| Body weight (lb) | Kilograms |
|---|---|
| 154 lb | 69.85 kg |
| 165 lb | 74.84 kg |
| 176 lb | 79.83 kg |
| 187 lb | 84.82 kg |
| 198 lb | 89.81 kg |
| 209 lb | 94.80 kg |
| Body weight (lb) | Kilograms |
|---|---|
| 220 lb | 99.79 kg |
| 231 lb | 104.78 kg |
| 242 lb | 109.77 kg |
| 265 lb | 120.20 kg |
Want the same weights the other way, with the British stone notation? That table sits on the kilograms to pounds converter page.
American loads do not climb in tens. They climb in the steps the plates allow: the bar weighs 45 pounds, the standard plate weighs 45 too, and plates go on in pairs. That is where the run of numbers in training programmes and gym videos comes from, usually with no explanation attached.
| Load | Kilograms | What is on the bar |
|---|---|---|
| 45 lb | 20.41 kg | the bar alone, no plates |
| 95 lb | 43.09 kg | bar plus two 25 lb plates |
| 135 lb | 61.23 kg | bar plus two 45 lb plates |
| 185 lb | 83.91 kg | bar plus two 45 lb and two 25 lb plates |
| 225 lb | 102.06 kg | bar plus four 45 lb plates |
| 275 lb | 124.74 kg | bar plus four 45 lb and two 25 lb plates |
| 315 lb | 142.88 kg | bar plus six 45 lb plates |
| 365 lb | 165.56 kg | bar plus six 45 lb and two 25 lb plates |
| 405 lb | 183.70 kg | bar plus eight 45 lb plates |
| 495 lb | 224.53 kg | bar plus ten 45 lb plates |
Mind the equipment gap: an American bar weighs 45 pounds, or 20.41 kilograms, while the Olympic bar used in competition weighs a round 20 kilograms, or 44.09 pounds. They are two different products, not one bar under two names.
Four situations where a figure in pounds has to cross into the metric world.
Every figure in the tables was computed from the unit definitions and checked arithmetically before publication. Historical values and the names of local units come from the sources listed above.
Content last reviewed: · written and checked by the Arteon team
One pound is exactly 0.45359237 kilograms, or 453.59 grams. The value is defined rather than measured: a six-nation agreement fixed it in 1959.
No. Two pounds are 0.907 kilograms, 93 grams short of a kilo. The approximation is convenient for rough estimates, but the error scales: a hundred pounds is not 50 kilograms, it is 45.36.
No, though it is close. A pound is 453.59 grams and half a kilo is 500 grams, so the pound is 46 grams lighter. Worth remembering with German and French sources, where Pfund and livre mean exactly 500 grams in everyday speech.
150 pounds is 68.04 kilograms. The sum: 150 × 0.4536. A quick check in your head: 150 ÷ 2.2 is about 68.2, so the answer holds.
180 pounds is 81.65 kilograms and 200 pounds is 90.72 kilograms. Each comes from multiplying the pounds by 0.4536.
50 pounds is 22.68 kilograms. That is the standard checked-bag allowance on American carriers. European carriers quote 23 kilograms, so the two differ by only 320 grams.
135 pounds is 61.23 kilograms and 225 pounds is 102.06 kilograms. Both numbers come from the plate layout: 135 is the bar plus two 45 lb plates, 225 is the bar plus four of them. That is why they recur in every American training programme.
An American bar weighs 45 pounds, or 20.41 kilograms. It is not the same equipment as the Olympic competition bar, which weighs a round 20 kilograms, or 44.09 pounds. The difference is under half a kilogram, but they are two different products.
Type a quarter pound as 1/4 or 0.25, either works. For pounds and ounces use a mixed fraction, remembering that a pound holds 16 ounces: 7 lb 11 oz goes in as 7 11/16.
The formula is: kilograms = pounds × 0.45359237. The other way round: pounds = kilograms × 2.2046226218.
Divide the pounds by 2.2. A hundred and fifty pounds gives 68.2 kilograms against an exact 68.04, an error of 0.2%. A simpler variant: halve the number and take off a tenth, which for 150 pounds gives 67.5 kilograms.
No. A pound holds 16 ounces and one ounce is 28.35 grams. For newborn weights and food, Americans quote both units together, as in 7 lb 11 oz. That notation is broken down in the pounds to ounces converter.
A 60-pound bag is 27.22 kilograms and an 80-pound bag is 36.29 kilograms. Those are the two standard sizes in American hardware stores, which is why the figures come up on building and renovation jobs.
Americans use pounds, the British colloquially use stone and pounds, where one stone is 14 pounds. Everywhere else the standard is kilograms. Medicine works in kilograms even in English-speaking countries, because doses are calculated per kilogram of body mass.
If you have spotted an error in the tables or have an idea for improving the converter, drop us a line. We reply to every message.