How to Convert Marla to Kanal? Land Units in Pakistan

Land in Pakistan is measured in Marla, Kanal and Acre, not in square metres. A house plot is sold as 5 Marla or 10 Marla, a farm is sold in Kanal, and a large piece of agricultural land is sold in Acres. If you do not know the conversions, you cannot compare two plots, you cannot check a property dealer's figures, and you cannot work out how many square feet you are actually buying.

This guide explains the land units used in Pakistan step by step, with the exact conversions, real examples, and the mistakes that cost buyers money. It covers Marla, Kanal, Acre and square feet, and the differences between the units used in Punjab and in other provinces. The free Marla to Kanal Converter on this site does the same conversion in seconds, with no signup and no login.

What Is the Marla to Kanal Converter?

A Marla is the smallest common land unit in Pakistan. One Marla is 272.25 square feet, which is about 25.29 square metres. A Kanal is 20 Marla, which is 5,445 square feet. An Acre is 8 Kanal, which is 160 Marla or 43,560 square feet. These are the standard units used in Punjab, and they are the ones property dealers, patwaris and housing societies use in their documents.

The Marla is not the same everywhere in Pakistan. In some areas, a Marla is 225 square feet, and in others it is 272.25 square feet. The difference is large: a 10 Marla plot can be 2,250 square feet in one place and 2,722 square feet in another. Always ask which Marla is used in your area, and check the area in square feet on the registry document before you pay.

The Land Unit Conversions

1 Kanal = 20 Marla | 1 Marla = 272.25 sq ft | 1 Acre = 8 Kanal = 160 Marla

To convert Marla to Kanal, divide by 20. Ten Marla is half a Kanal, and 40 Marla is 2 Kanal. To convert Kanal to Marla, multiply by 20. To convert Marla to square feet, multiply by 272.25. To convert square feet to Marla, divide by 272.25. To convert Kanal to Acre, divide by 8. Write the conversion down before you calculate, because mixing up multiply and divide is the most common mistake.

Square feet and square metres are different units, and mixing them up is expensive. One square metre is about 10.76 square feet, so a plot of 500 square metres is about 5,380 square feet, which is nearly 20 Marla. If a dealer quotes a price per square metre and you think it is per square foot, you will underestimate the price by ten times.

How to Use the Marla to Kanal Converter — Step by Step

Follow these five steps one by one. Each step builds on the last one, so do them in order and check your answer at the end.

Step 1 — Find the area and the unit it is written in

Read the plot document or the dealer's listing and write down the area and its unit: for example, 10 Marla, or 1 Kanal, or 5,000 square feet. Check whether the Marla is the 272.25 square feet standard or the 225 square feet local Marla, because the answer depends on it.

Step 2 — Convert everything to square feet first

If you need to compare two plots, convert both to square feet. Multiply Marla by 272.25, and multiply Kanal by 5,445. Now both plots are in the same unit, and you can see which one is actually bigger, even if one was written in Marla and the other in Kanal.

Step 3 — Convert square feet to Marla or Kanal

To get Marla, divide the square feet by 272.25. To get Kanal, divide by 5,445, or divide the Marla by 20. For example, 5,445 square feet divided by 272.25 is 20 Marla, which is exactly 1 Kanal. Keep two decimal places, because a fraction of a Marla can be worth a lot of money.

Step 4 — Work out the total price

Multiply the area by the price per unit. If a 10 Marla plot costs Rs 100,000 per Marla, the total is Rs 1,000,000. If the price is quoted per Kanal, convert the area to Kanal first, or the total will be twenty times too large or too small.

Step 5 — Check the answer against the registry

Compare your conversion with the area written on the registry or the fard document. If the numbers do not match, ask the patwari or the housing society which Marla they used, and do not pay until the documents agree with your calculation.

Worked Example

A buyer is offered a 10 Marla plot in Lahore for Rs 1,500,000. Ten Marla is 10 times 272.25, which is 2,722.5 square feet, so the price is about Rs 551 per square foot. Another dealer offers a 1 Kanal plot for Rs 5,000,000. One Kanal is 5,445 square feet, so that price is about Rs 918 per square foot. The first plot is cheaper per square foot, even though the second plot is bigger. If the first plot had used the 225 square feet Marla instead, it would be only 2,250 square feet, and the price per square foot would be Rs 667 — still cheaper, but by a smaller margin, which shows why the Marla size matters.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake: Assuming all Marla are the same. A Marla can be 272.25 or 225 square feet depending on the area, so always check which one is used before you buy.

Mistake: Mixing up square feet and square metres. One square metre is about 10.76 square feet, so confusing them makes a plot look ten times bigger or smaller than it really is.

Mistake: Multiplying when you should divide. To go from Marla to Kanal you divide by 20, and to go from Kanal to Marla you multiply by 20. Getting this backwards makes a 10 Marla plot look like 200 Kanal.

Mistake: Trusting the dealer's area without checking the registry. The area on the fard or registry is the legal area, and if it is smaller than what the dealer claims, you are paying for land you do not own.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many square feet are in 1 Marla? In the standard Punjab measurement, 1 Marla is 272.25 square feet. In some areas a Marla is 225 square feet, so always check which one is used where you are buying.

How many Marla are in 1 Kanal? There are 20 Marla in 1 Kanal. So 10 Marla is half a Kanal, 40 Marla is 2 Kanal, and 100 Marla is 5 Kanal.

How many Kanal are in 1 Acre? There are 8 Kanal in 1 Acre, which is 160 Marla or 43,560 square feet. An Acre is mostly used for agricultural land, not for house plots.

What is the difference between Marla and Square Yard? One Marla is about 30.25 square yards, because one square yard is 9 square feet and 272.25 divided by 9 is 30.25. Square yards are used more in Karachi, while Marla is used more in Punjab.

Why Use SmartToolkit for This?

You now know the land units used in Pakistan, how to convert between them, and how to check a property deal before you pay. Always convert to square feet to compare plots fairly, and always check the area on the registry. Use the free Marla to Kanal Converter on this site for a fast check — it works in your browser, needs no signup and no login, and your numbers never leave your device.

Use the Marla to Kanal Converter — free, no signup, no login, and your data never leaves your browser.