How to convert newtons to kilograms-force
Divide the value in newtons by 9.80665. The number you get is the weight, in kilograms, of an object that would press just as hard on Earth: it is a way of reading a figure written in newtons, not a unit to put back on a drawing.
N = kgf × 9.80665
Everyday forces in newtons and in kilograms-force
| 1 N | 0.10 kgf |
| 5 N | 0.51 kgf |
| 10 N | 1.02 kgf |
| 20 N | 2.04 kgf |
| 50 N | 5.10 kgf |
| 100 N | 10.20 kgf |
| 200 N (pushing a car) | 20.39 kgf |
| 400 N (tailgate strut) | 40.79 kgf |
| 500 N | 50.99 kgf |
| 1,000 N | 101.97 kgf |
| 5,000 N | 509.86 kgf |
Show every value
- 1 N = 0.102 kgf
- 2 N = 0.2039 kgf
- 3 N = 0.3059 kgf
- 4 N = 0.4079 kgf
- 5 N = 0.5099 kgf
- 6 N = 0.6118 kgf
- 7 N = 0.7138 kgf
- 8 N = 0.8158 kgf
- 9 N = 0.9177 kgf
- 10 N = 1.0197 kgf
- 11 N = 1.1217 kgf
- 12 N = 1.2237 kgf
- 13 N = 1.3256 kgf
- 14 N = 1.4276 kgf
- 15 N = 1.5296 kgf
- 16 N = 1.6315 kgf
- 17 N = 1.7335 kgf
- 18 N = 1.8355 kgf
- 19 N = 1.9375 kgf
- 20 N = 2.0394 kgf
- 21 N = 2.1414 kgf
- 22 N = 2.2434 kgf
- 23 N = 2.3453 kgf
- 24 N = 2.4473 kgf
- 25 N = 2.5493 kgf
- 26 N = 2.6513 kgf
- 27 N = 2.7532 kgf
- 28 N = 2.8552 kgf
- 29 N = 2.9572 kgf
- 30 N = 3.0591 kgf
- 31 N = 3.1611 kgf
- 32 N = 3.2631 kgf
- 33 N = 3.3651 kgf
- 34 N = 3.467 kgf
- 35 N = 3.569 kgf
- 36 N = 3.671 kgf
- 37 N = 3.7729 kgf
- 38 N = 3.8749 kgf
- 39 N = 3.9769 kgf
- 40 N = 4.0789 kgf
- 41 N = 4.1808 kgf
- 42 N = 4.2828 kgf
- 43 N = 4.3848 kgf
- 44 N = 4.4868 kgf
- 45 N = 4.5887 kgf
- 46 N = 4.6907 kgf
- 47 N = 4.7927 kgf
- 48 N = 4.8946 kgf
- 49 N = 4.9966 kgf
- 50 N = 5.0986 kgf
- 51 N = 5.2006 kgf
- 52 N = 5.3025 kgf
- 53 N = 5.4045 kgf
- 54 N = 5.5065 kgf
- 55 N = 5.6084 kgf
- 56 N = 5.7104 kgf
- 57 N = 5.8124 kgf
- 58 N = 5.9144 kgf
- 59 N = 6.0163 kgf
- 60 N = 6.1183 kgf
- 61 N = 6.2203 kgf
- 62 N = 6.3222 kgf
- 63 N = 6.4242 kgf
- 64 N = 6.5262 kgf
- 65 N = 6.6282 kgf
- 66 N = 6.7301 kgf
- 67 N = 6.8321 kgf
- 68 N = 6.9341 kgf
- 69 N = 7.036 kgf
- 70 N = 7.138 kgf
- 71 N = 7.24 kgf
- 72 N = 7.342 kgf
- 73 N = 7.4439 kgf
- 74 N = 7.5459 kgf
- 75 N = 7.6479 kgf
- 76 N = 7.7498 kgf
- 77 N = 7.8518 kgf
- 78 N = 7.9538 kgf
- 79 N = 8.0558 kgf
- 80 N = 8.1577 kgf
- 81 N = 8.2597 kgf
- 82 N = 8.3617 kgf
- 83 N = 8.4636 kgf
- 84 N = 8.5656 kgf
- 85 N = 8.6676 kgf
- 86 N = 8.7696 kgf
- 87 N = 8.8715 kgf
- 88 N = 8.9735 kgf
- 89 N = 9.0755 kgf
- 90 N = 9.1774 kgf
- 91 N = 9.2794 kgf
- 92 N = 9.3814 kgf
- 93 N = 9.4834 kgf
- 94 N = 9.5853 kgf
- 95 N = 9.6873 kgf
- 96 N = 9.7893 kgf
- 97 N = 9.8912 kgf
- 98 N = 9.9932 kgf
- 99 N = 10.0952 kgf
- 100 N = 10.1972 kgf
- 125 N = 12.7465 kgf
- 150 N = 15.2957 kgf
- 175 N = 17.845 kgf
- 200 N = 20.3943 kgf
- 225 N = 22.9436 kgf
- 250 N = 25.4929 kgf
- 275 N = 28.0422 kgf
- 300 N = 30.5915 kgf
- 325 N = 33.1408 kgf
- 350 N = 35.6901 kgf
- 375 N = 38.2394 kgf
- 400 N = 40.7886 kgf
- 425 N = 43.3379 kgf
- 450 N = 45.8872 kgf
- 475 N = 48.4365 kgf
- 500 N = 50.9858 kgf
- 550 N = 56.0844 kgf
- 600 N = 61.183 kgf
- 650 N = 66.2816 kgf
- 700 N = 71.3801 kgf
- 750 N = 76.4787 kgf
- 800 N = 81.5773 kgf
- 850 N = 86.6759 kgf
- 900 N = 91.7745 kgf
- 950 N = 96.873 kgf
- 1,000 N = 101.9716 kgf
- 1,500 N = 152.9574 kgf
- 2,000 N = 203.9432 kgf
- 2,500 N = 254.9291 kgf
- 3,000 N = 305.9149 kgf
- 3,500 N = 356.9007 kgf
- 4,000 N = 407.8865 kgf
- 4,500 N = 458.8723 kgf
- 5,000 N = 509.8581 kgf
- 5,500 N = 560.8439 kgf
- 6,000 N = 611.8297 kgf
- 6,500 N = 662.8155 kgf
- 7,000 N = 713.8013 kgf
- 7,500 N = 764.7872 kgf
- 8,000 N = 815.773 kgf
- 8,500 N = 866.7588 kgf
- 9,000 N = 917.7446 kgf
- 9,500 N = 968.7304 kgf
- 10,000 N = 1,019.7162 kgf
The factor 0.1019716213 is the exact reciprocal of 9.80665, the standard gravity fixed by convention in 1901. No measurement enters that number, and it depends on neither place nor altitude. Methodology & sources.
Frequently asked questions
Can you divide by 10 instead of 9.80665?
For a rough figure yes, for a calculation no. Dividing by 10 understates the result by 1.94 per cent: 5,000 newtons give 500 kilograms-force by that shortcut and 509.86 in truth, ten kilograms-force apart. On a 50 kilonewton anchor the error reaches close to a hundred kilograms-force, which is no longer an approximation but a safety margin you only think you have.
What does a gas strut marked 400 N lift?
A little under 41 kilograms-force, and a pair of struts a little under 82. Tailgate struts are sold by their nominal force in newtons, measured with the rod extended at 20 degrees, and that is the figure stamped on the tube. It drops by about a third of a per cent per degree lost, so a tailgate that holds in summer sinks by itself at minus ten without the strut being faulty.
Does a 50 kg stack on a cable machine pull 490 newtons?
On the cable yes, at the handle not always. Fifty kilograms of plates weigh 490 newtons, but a movable pulley halves the effort and the handle then asks for only 245 newtons, that is 25 kilograms-force. Two machines showing the same stack therefore do not ask for the same effort, and it is the pulley arrangement, hidden under the cover, that decides.
At what force does a line rated 10 kg break?
Around 98 newtons. IGFA line classes are counted in kilograms, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15, 24 and 37, and those are kilograms-force: the line gives way when the pull passes that weight. A reel drag is usually set at a quarter or a third of the figure, so 25 to 33 newtons for a 10 kg line, because a fish that bolts adds its own acceleration to the pull.
What is a 20 N/mm spring in kgf/mm?
2.04 kilograms-force per millimetre. Fork and shock springs are sold in newtons per millimetre by European makers and in kilograms-force per millimetre by Japanese ones, and moving between the two scales is still the same 9.80665. A European 20 N/mm spring is 2.04 kgf/mm, a 49 N/mm spring is 5.0 kgf/mm. Comparing two catalogues without converting suggests a tenfold gap in stiffness that is not there.