Acceleration Converter

Convert between acceleration units instantly — pick any from and to unit.

Value

Convert to

Free to use — premium coming soon

FREE

✓ All units
✓ Adjustable decimals
✓ Instant results

PREMIUM

★ Remove ads
★ Bulk conversions
★ Conversion history

About the Acceleration Converter

The Acceleration Converter changes a rate-of-velocity-change value from one unit into another, covering the units engineers and physics students actually use: metres per second squared (m/s2), feet per second squared (ft/s2), standard gravity (g), and the Gal (galileo, used in gravimetry). Acceleration measures how quickly velocity changes over time, so every unit on the list describes the same physical quantity in a different scale. Whether you are reading a vehicle spec, a seismograph trace, or a textbook problem, this tool gives you the equivalent figure without hand calculation or rounding errors.

Reach for this converter whenever a value arrives in the wrong unit for your work. Car and motorbike reviews often quote acceleration in g, while a physics assignment expects m/s2; aerospace and pilot training talk in g-force, but flight-dynamics software wants m/s2; and seismologists and geophysicists record ground motion in Gal or milligal. Students checking homework, mechanical and civil engineers, MEMS sensor designers reading datasheets in g, and anyone curious how many g a roller coaster pulls all need a quick, reliable cross-unit answer. It removes the guesswork of remembering whether to multiply or divide.

Every conversion routes through a single base unit, metres per second squared, using exact internationally agreed factors. Standard gravity is defined as exactly 9.80665 m/s2, so 1 g = 9.80665 m/s2; one foot per second squared is exactly 0.3048 m/s2 (matching the exact foot definition); and one Gal equals exactly 1 cm/s2, or 0.01 m/s2. To convert m/s2 to g you divide by 9.80665, and to g-force back to m/s2 you multiply by it. Because these constants are exact definitions rather than measured approximations, the conversions carry no rounding ambiguity beyond your chosen display precision.

Results are computed entirely in your browser using JavaScript double-precision arithmetic, so nothing you type is uploaded, logged, or stored on a server. That keeps the tool fast and private. One accuracy caveat worth knowing: g here means standard gravity (9.80665 m/s2), the agreed reference value at sea level and 45 degrees latitude. Local gravitational acceleration varies slightly with altitude and location, from roughly 9.78 m/s2 at the equator to 9.83 m/s2 near the poles, so for high-precision geophysical work use your site-specific g rather than the standard constant.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert m/s2 to g-force?

Divide the value in metres per second squared by 9.80665, the exact value of standard gravity. For example, 19.6133 m/s2 equals 2 g. To go the other way, multiply g by 9.80665.

What is the exact value of 1 g in m/s2?

One standard gravity (1 g) is defined as exactly 9.80665 m/s2. This figure was adopted internationally in 1954 as the nominal acceleration of free fall at sea level and 45 degrees latitude.

What is a Gal and where is it used?

The Gal, or galileo, is a CGS unit of acceleration equal to 1 cm/s2 (0.01 m/s2). It is used mainly in gravimetry, seismology, and geophysics to express small changes in Earth's gravitational field, often as milligal (mGal).

How do feet per second squared relate to m/s2?

One foot per second squared equals exactly 0.3048 m/s2, since the foot is defined as exactly 0.3048 metres. Standard gravity in imperial units is about 32.174 ft/s2.

Is the converter accurate enough for engineering work?

Yes. It uses exact defined constants (9.80665 m/s2 for g, 0.3048 m/s2 for ft/s2, 0.01 m/s2 for Gal) and double-precision math, so the only limit is your display precision. For local-gravity geophysics, substitute your site-specific g value instead of the standard constant.

From our blog

Which Speed Unit Should You Use, and How to Convert Between Them

By the Super Simple Digital Tools Team · Updated June 2026

Speed is one number measured in many ways, and the unit you meet usually depends on where you are and what you are doing. Drivers see mph in the United States and the United Kingdom and km/h across most of the rest of the world. Scientists and engineers prefer metres per second because it is the SI standard and slots cleanly into physics formulas. Pilots, sailors and meteorologists speak in knots. Knowing which unit belongs to which context is the first step to converting confidently rather than guessing.

The everyday conversions rely on a few exact ratios worth memorising. One mile per hour is 1.609344 km/h, one knot is exactly 1.852 km/h, and one km/h is 1/3.6 m/s. From these you can chain any conversion: to turn mph into m/s, convert to km/h first, then divide by 3.6. The convenient mental shortcut is that dividing km/h by 3.6 gives m/s, which is why a 36 km/h cyclist is moving at a tidy 10 m/s.

Knots deserve special mention because they look arbitrary until you understand the geometry behind them. A nautical mile is defined as one arcminute of latitude, so a vessel travelling at a steady number of knots covers a predictable number of latitude minutes per hour, which makes chart navigation straightforward. That practical link is why knots survive in aviation and shipping even though km/h would be simpler arithmetic. When you see a wind or current forecast in knots, multiply by 1.852 to picture it in km/h.

Mach is the trickiest unit because it is a ratio, not a fixed speed. Mach 1 is the local speed of sound, which depends on air temperature: at sea level on a standard day it is roughly 661 knots, but near 36,000 feet, where the air is far colder, it drops to around 573 knots. That is why high-altitude jet speeds are quoted in Mach rather than a fixed mph figure, and why any Mach conversion based on a single sea-level reference is an approximation. Use the Mach output here for rough comparisons, not precise aircraft performance.

In practice, a converter saves you from both the wrong factor and arithmetic slips. Enter your number once, then read every unit at the same time so you can sanity-check the result against something familiar, such as a highway speed or a brisk run. Because the calculation happens in your browser, it is instant and private, and you can convert back and forth as many times as you like while comparing figures from different sources.

To estimate m/s from km/h in your head, divide by 3.6: a 90 km/h car is moving at about 25 m/s.
When reading marine or aviation forecasts, multiply knots by roughly 1.85 to get km/h, or by about 1.15 to get mph.
For a rough mph-to-km/h sanity check, add about 60 percent: 50 mph is near 80 km/h.
Treat any Mach figure as a sea-level estimate; a real aircraft at cruise altitude is slower at the same Mach because the air is colder.

Read the full guide →

Tool by the Super Simple Digital Tools Team. Reviewed by our editorial team. Free to use, no signup required.