Grams to Kilograms (g to kg)

How to convert grams to kilograms

Divide the grams by 1,000:

kilograms = grams ÷ 1,000

Dividing by 1,000 moves the decimal point three places to the left. Count the places carefully with small numbers, where the most common mistake happens:

To go back, multiply kilograms by 1,000 — type the kilograms in the second field and the grams follow.

Grams to kilograms chart

For a list of masses — lab readings, packages, a class worksheet — open Convert a list of values and paste the grams one per line.

Grams to kilograms and pounds

Outside the U.S., and in U.S. hospitals and labs, mass is recorded in grams; at home, people think in pounds. The converter shows both:

• 3,400 g = 3.4 kg = 7 lb 7.93 oz (a typical newborn)
• 1,250 g = 1.25 kg = 2 lb 12.09 oz
• 454 g = 0.454 kg = 1.001 lb

For kilograms in pounds and ounces, the kilograms to pounds converter has a table of body weights; for small amounts in ounces, use grams to ounces.

When you need kilograms

Grams are convenient for small amounts — a serving of cereal, a letter, a spice. Kilograms take over when the numbers grow past a few thousand grams, and many forms ask for them:

• International shipping forms and airline baggage rules give weight limits in kilograms; a package your kitchen scale shows as 2,350 g goes on the form as 2.35 kg.
• Medical records often list body weight and medicine doses per kilogram, while a baby’s birth weight is written in grams.
• Bulk food sold by weight outside the U.S. is priced per kilogram: 750 g at a price per kg costs three quarters of that price.

When the form wants whole kilograms, round only at the end — 2,350 g is 2.35 kg, which rounds to 2 kg, but a limit of 2 kg would already be exceeded.

Milligrams, grams and kilograms

Metric mass units step by a factor of 1,000:

Each step is three decimal places. For micrograms to milligrams, see mcg to mg.