Kilograms to Grams (kg to g)

How to convert kilograms to grams

Multiply the kilograms by 1,000:

g = kg × 1,000

2.5 kg × 1,000 = 2,500 g. Multiplying by 1,000 moves the decimal point three places to the right, adding zeros where needed:

To go the other way, divide grams by 1,000, or use grams to kg.

Kilograms to grams chart

Kitchen, shipping and gym weights

Recipes, nutrition labels and postal rates often use grams even when a scale shows kilograms. A 1.2 kg bag of flour is 1,200 g, so a recipe that needs 300 g uses a quarter of it. A 0.75 kg parcel is 750 g, which matters when a rate changes at 500 g or 1,000 g. Gym plates and kettlebells are labeled in kilograms; 2.5 kg plates are 2,500 g each.

Why grams are used for small amounts

Grams keep small numbers whole. A nutrition label lists 12 g of sugar rather than 0.012 kg, and a jeweler or a pharmacist works in grams and milligrams for the same reason. Kilograms suit people, luggage and parcels. When a form asks for grams and you know kilograms, convert first and round at the end: 1.237 kg is 1,237 g, not 1,240 g. For milligrams, the next step down, see mcg to mg.

Precision matters more as the numbers grow: a 0.1% error is 1 g on a kilogram of flour but 25 g on a 25 kg sack. Digital scales usually show grams to the nearest gram up to 5 kg and in 5 g steps above that, so 2.5 kg may read 2,500 g or 2,505 g depending on the scale.

Kilograms, grams and pounds

The result also shows pounds and ounces, for readers who think in U.S. units: 1 kg is 2.2046 lb, or 2 lb 3.27 oz, and 500 g is about 1.1 lb. For a pounds answer as the main result, use kg to lbs; for small amounts in ounces, grams to ounces. Metric mass units step by 1,000 each time — micrograms, milligrams, grams, kilograms, tonnes — so the same rule of moving the decimal point works all the way up and down.