Cent to Square Meter Converter
Enter an area in cents to convert it to square meters, square feet, square yards, acres, and guntha instantly. Switch the direction to convert square meters back to cents. The cent is a traditional unit of land area used in South India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, equal to exactly 1/100 of an acre or 40.4686 square meters.
What is a cent (land area)?
A cent is a unit of land area equal to exactly one hundredth of an acre, or 40.46856422 square meters. It is part of the traditional land measurement system used across South Asia, particularly in India (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh), as well as in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. The name comes directly from the Latin "centum" (hundred), reflecting its position as 1/100 of an acre. In everyday property transactions across South India, plots are commonly described in cents: a typical urban residential plot might be 5 to 20 cents, while agricultural holdings are measured in hundreds of cents.
The exact conversion formula
The conversion is based on the international acre, defined in 1959 as exactly 4046.8564224 square meters. One cent (1/100 acre) therefore equals exactly 40.468564224 square meters. To convert cents to square meters, multiply by 40.4686. To reverse (square meters to cents), divide by 40.4686 or multiply by 0.024711. In terms of square feet, 1 cent = 435.6 sq ft (because 1 acre = 43,560 sq ft exactly). In terms of square yards, 1 cent = 48.4 sq yd. These figures are exact and are used in legal and cadastral documentation across India.
Cent vs other Indian land units
The cent sits alongside several other regional land units used in South Asia. A guntha (also spelled gunta) equals 2.5 cents in many parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra, and 1 guntha = 101.17 sq m. Forty guntha make one acre. A ground (used in Tamil Nadu and Kerala) equals 5.5 cents or about 222.97 sq m. A cent is also related to the decimal (1 cent = 1 decimal = 1/100 acre), which is the preferred term in West Bengal and Bangladesh. These units often appear together in property documents, so this converter also provides guntha equivalents alongside square meters and square feet. The internationally recognized SI unit is the square meter, which is used in government surveys, building regulations, and modern property registration systems across India.
How to use this converter
Select "Cents to Square Meters" (the default) to enter an area in cents and see its equivalent in square meters, square feet, square yards, acres, and guntha. Switch to "Square Meters to Cents" to go the other direction. The stepped calculation panel shows every arithmetic step so you can verify the result. The reference table lists common cent values from 1 to 500 cents with pre-computed equivalents. All values are based on the international acre of 4046.8564224 square meters, which is the legal standard used by the Survey of India and the Government of India for land registration.
Cents to square meters - common values
| Cents | Square Meters (m²) | Square Feet (sq ft) | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40.47 | 435.60 | 0.0100 |
| 2 | 80.94 | 871.20 | 0.0200 |
| 5 | 202.34 | 2,178.00 | 0.0500 |
| 10 | 404.69 | 4,356.00 | 0.1000 |
| 20 | 809.37 | 8,712.00 | 0.2000 |
| 25 | 1,011.71 | 10,890.00 | 0.2500 |
| 50 | 2,023.43 | 21,780.00 | 0.5000 |
| 75 | 3,035.14 | 32,670.00 | 0.7500 |
| 100 | 4,046.86 | 43,560.00 | 1.0000 |
| 200 | 8,093.71 | 87,120.00 | 2.0000 |
| 500 | 20,234.28 | 217,800.00 | 5.0000 |
Reference values using the international acre definition: 1 cent = 40.46856422 m².
Frequently asked questions
How many square meters is 1 cent?
1 cent equals exactly 40.46856422 square meters, which is 1/100 of the international acre (4046.8564224 sq m). For practical purposes, round to 40.47 sq m.
How many square feet is 1 cent?
1 cent = 435.6 square feet exactly, because 1 acre = 43,560 sq ft and 1 cent = 1/100 acre. This is a common conversion in South Indian property listings, which often show both cent and sq ft values.
How many cents make one acre?
100 cents make exactly one acre. This is the definition of the cent: it is simply 1/100 of an acre. So 50 cents = 0.5 acre, 200 cents = 2 acres, and so on.
Is a cent the same as a decimal?
Yes. In West Bengal, Bangladesh, and several other parts of South Asia, the same unit is called a "decimal" rather than a "cent." Both terms refer to 1/100 of an acre (40.47 sq m), so the conversion factors are identical.
How many cents is a guntha?
1 guntha = 2.5 cents in the standard definition used in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Conversely, 1 cent = 0.4 guntha. One acre contains 40 guntha or 100 cents.
How many cents in a ground (Tamil Nadu)?
In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, 1 ground = 5.5 cents = approximately 222.97 square meters. So to convert grounds to cents, multiply by 5.5; to convert cents to grounds, divide by 5.5.
Is the cent a legal unit in India?
The cent (along with the decimal) is accepted in official land records in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Modern property registration systems across India increasingly use square meters as the primary unit alongside traditional units, as directed by the National Building Code and government standardization efforts.