Convert newton-meters to pound-feet, pound-inches, kilogram-force meters, dyne-centimeters and more
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Faiq Ur Rahman is a web designer, digital product developer, and founder of Toolraxy, a growing platform of web-based calculators and utility tools. He specializes in building structured, user-friendly tools focused on health, finance, productivity, and everyday problem-solving.
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The newton-meter is the SI derived unit of torque, defined as one newton of force applied at one metre from the axis of rotation. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures maintains this definition in the SI Brochure. It is written N·m to distinguish it from the joule (J), which has the same dimensions but measures energy rather than torque.
You convert torque units by multiplying the input value by the source unit’s newton-meter factor, then dividing by the target unit’s newton-meter factor. The converter handles this automatically: type a number, select the from unit and to unit, and the result recalculates on every keystroke. The unit label beside the input field confirms which unit you’re entering.
Select the from unit: the unit your input value is currently expressed in. The dropdown groups options by system: Metric / SI, Gravitational, and Imperial / US.
Select the to unit: the unit you want the result in. The converter defaults to N·m → lb·ft, but you can pick any pair from the 14 supported units.
Enter the torque value in the input field. The unit label beside the field updates automatically to match your from-unit selection.
Read the hero result: the large number at the top of the results panel shows the converted value with your chosen precision.
Check the quick conversion grid below the hero result to see the same torque in four common units at a glance.
Scan the full unit table to see the result across all 14 supported units, from kilonewton-meters to ounce-inches.
Adjust decimal places using the 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 / 10 segmented control if you need more or fewer digits.
The formula converts any torque unit to any other torque unit through the newton-meter as the base. Each unit has a fixed multiplier that expresses one unit of that torque in newton-meters.
Formula: Result = Input value × (Source unit’s newton-meter factor) ÷ (Target unit’s newton-meter factor)
The newton-meter factor for each unit is fixed by definition. The pound-foot factor, 1.3558179483314004 N·m, derives from the pound-force and the foot. The kilogram-force meter factor, 9.80665 N·m, is the torque produced by one kilogram-force at one metre under standard gravity. A dyne-centimeter is 1×10⁻⁷ N·m by definition in the centimetre-gram-second system. A kip-foot is 1,355.8179483314004 N·m, which is 1,000 pound-force feet. These factors are exact, not approximations, and the tool uses full precision internally before formatting the displayed result.
Suppose a US service manual specifies a cylinder head bolt torque of 85 lb·ft, but your torque wrench is calibrated in newton-meters. You need to set the wrench correctly.
Step 1. Select lb·ft as the from unit and N·m as the to unit.
Step 2. Enter 85 in the value field.
Step 3. The converter multiplies 85 by 1.3558179483314004 (the lb·ft newton-meter factor), giving 115.24 N·m.
Step 4. The full unit table shows the same torque as 115.24 N·m, 11.75 kgf·m, 1,020.21 lb·in, and 0.1152 kN·m.
The result tells you to set the wrench to 115.2 N·m, not 115 exactly. The 0.24 N·m difference is small about 0.2% but on a cylinder head with a specific tightening sequence, hitting the spec matters. A second check: the same torque in pound-inches is 1,020.21, so if your wrench only has lb·in markings, set it to 1,020 lb·in.
The newton-meter became the SI derived unit of torque when the International System of Units was formalized in 1960. It is defined as one newton of force applied at one metre from the axis of rotation. The unit combines the SI force unit (newton) with the SI distance unit (metre), which makes it coherent with the rest of the system. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures maintains this definition in the SI Brochure.
The newton-meter shares its dimensions with the joule, the SI unit of energy. Both are force times distance. The difference is that torque is a vector quantity (it has direction) while energy is a scalar. To avoid confusion, the newton-meter is written N·m for torque and the joule is written J for energy. The distinction matters in physics and engineering, even though the units cancel out the same way on paper.
Before the newton-meter, torque was measured in gravitational units: pound-foot in the English-speaking world, kilogram-force meter in metric countries, and a scattering of other units like the dyne-centimeter in the centimetre-gram-second system. Each developed independently because torque measurement evolved differently in different industries. The National Institute of Standards and Technology lists the exact conversion factors between the newton-meter and all common torque units in its guide to the SI.
Divide the newton-meter value by 1.3558179483314004. For example, 100 N·m ÷ 1.3558 = 73.76 lb·ft. The converter does this instantly when you select N·m as the from unit and lb·ft as the to unit.
One kilogram-force meter equals exactly 9.80665 newton-meters. The factor comes from standard gravity: one kilogram-force is 9.80665 N, and the meter is the same in both units.
There are exactly 12 pound-inches in one pound-foot. The relationship is the same as inches to feet. A torque spec of 85 lb·ft equals 1,020 lb·in.
Newton-meter is the SI derived unit of torque, based on the newton. Kilogram-force meter is a gravitational unit based on the weight of one kilogram under standard gravity. One kgf·m equals 9.80665 N·m, so the two units differ by nearly a factor of 10.
No. Both have the same dimensions (force × distance), but they measure different quantities. The newton-meter measures torque, which is a vector. The joule measures energy, which is a scalar. The units are written differently to avoid confusion: N·m for torque, J for energy.
Multiply the kip·ft value by 1,355.8179483314004. One kip·ft equals 1,355.82 N·m. The kip is 1,000 pound-force, so a kip-foot is 1,000 pound-force feet.
A dyne-centimeter is the torque unit in the centimetre-gram-second system, equal to exactly 1×10⁻⁷ newton-meters. It appears in older physics texts and some legacy instrumentation specs. It is rarely used in modern engineering.
Yes. The converter accepts negative inputs and returns negative results. Negative torque values typically indicate direction, such as a loosening torque or a reaction torque in a gear train.
The conversion is mathematically exact for the unit definitions used. The displayed result is rounded to your chosen decimal places, but the underlying calculation runs at full precision. Any inaccuracy comes from the input value’s precision, not the conversion itself.
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