Capacitance unit converter

Capacitance conversion

Convert capacitance values between farads, millifarads, microfarads, nanofarads and picofarads. The interactive unit ladder keeps the physical value unchanged while making every decimal-prefix relationship visible.

Flat isometric illustration of ceramic, film and electrolytic capacitors arranged along a conversion path

Converted capacitance

Farads

1e-7 F

1e-7 × 1 F

Millifarads

0.0001 mF

0.0001 × 0.001 F

Microfarads

0.1 µF

0.1 × 0.000001 F

Nanofarads

100 nF

100 × 1e-9 F

Picofarads

100,000 pF

100,000 × 1e-12 F

Decimal SI conversion

The physical capacitance is unchanged; only the prefix and displayed number have changed.

Capacitance unit ladder

Each step toward a smaller SI prefix multiplies the displayed number by 1,000.

1 F = 10³ mF = 10⁶ µF = 10⁹ nF = 10¹² pF

farads10⁰: 1e-7 F
millifarads10⁻³: 0.0001 mF
microfarads10⁻⁶: 0.1 µF
nanofarads10⁻⁹: 100 nF
picofarads10⁻¹²: 100,000 pF

SI prefixes are decimal powers. Keep the unit symbol with the value so 1 mF, 1 µF and 1 nF are not confused.

How to convert a capacitance value

Keep the original unit attached to the number, then move by powers of 1,000 between the engineering prefixes most often used for capacitors.

01
Read the value and its prefix together
A value of 1 mF is one thousand times larger than 1 µF. Copying only the number creates a three-decade error.
02
Convert through farads
Multiply by the input prefix factor to obtain farads, then divide by the factor for the desired output unit.
03
Check the direction of the decimal shift
Moving from µF to nF makes the displayed number 1,000 times larger; moving from nF to µF makes it 1,000 times smaller.

Capacitance prefix relationships

The farad is the SI derived unit of capacitance. The common capacitor prefixes are decimal powers, not binary multiples.

Millifarads

1 mF = 10⁻³ F

Microfarads

1 µF = 10⁻⁶ F

Nanofarads

1 nF = 10⁻⁹ F

Picofarads

1 pF = 10⁻¹² F

Common bridge

1 µF = 1,000 nF = 1,000,000 pF

Each adjacent engineering prefix in this calculator differs by 10³. For example, 0.1 µF, 100 nF and 100,000 pF describe exactly the same ideal capacitance. The conversion changes notation only; it does not change tolerance, voltage rating, dielectric behavior or effective capacitance under bias.

A converted number is not a substitute specification. Confirm the capacitor technology, tolerance, rated voltage, temperature characteristic, polarity, ESR and package before choosing a part.

Checks that prevent unit mistakes

Most capacitance conversion errors come from a lost prefix or from treating a printed component marking as a complete SI value.

Keep prefix capitalization exact

m means milli and µ means micro. Uppercase M is the SI symbol for mega and should not be used for microfarads.

Count groups of three

Between µF, nF and pF, shift the decimal three places for every prefix step.

Separate unit conversion from code decoding

A marking such as 104 is normally decoded using a capacitor-code convention before its result is converted between pF, nF and µF.

Preserve the original specification

Conversion does not preserve information that was never entered, including tolerance, voltage, polarity and dielectric class.