Tyre placards
Modern door-jamb placards often list all three units. 220 kPa, 2.2 bar and 32 psi describe the same inflation; kPa is the primary figure in many markets because it is SI.
Pressure
Convert psi to kpa
1 pound per square inch equals 6.8947573 kilopascals. Enter a value below to convert instantly.
PSI to kilopascals converts the US pressure unit into the SI-derived one used on most modern vehicle placards and in engineering standards. One psi is 6.894757 kPa, so the arithmetic is a straightforward multiplication with no offset.
1 psi
6.8947573 kPa
Multiply the number of pounds per square inch by 6.89475729317 to get kilopascals. How this is calculated
Need the other direction? Convert kilopascal to pound per square inch →
Formula
Multiply the number of pounds per square inch by 6.89475729317 to get kilopascals.
Step by step
- Start with 1 psi.
- Multiply by the conversion factor 6.89475729317.
- 1 × 6.89475729317 = 6.8947573 kPa.
Pounds per Square Inch to Kilopascals conversion table
| Pounds per Square Inch (psi) | Kilopascals (kPa) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 6.8947573 |
| 2 | 13.789515 |
| 5 | 34.473786 |
| 10 | 68.947573 |
| 20 | 137.89515 |
| 50 | 344.73786 |
| 100 | 689.47573 |
| 500 | 3,447.3786 |
| 1,000 | 6,894.7573 |
Where pounds per square inch and kilopascals are used together
Structural and materials engineering
Material strengths are quoted in MPa (1 MPa = 1,000 kPa = 145 psi), and load calculations stay in SI throughout. Converting a psi rating into kPa is the first step in using a US-sourced component in a metric calculation.
Medical and laboratory equipment
Gas supply pressures and vacuum levels in clinical and lab settings are specified in kPa under most standards, while imported equipment may be labelled in psi.
Meteorology
Atmospheric pressure is reported in hectopascals — 1,013.25 hPa is standard sea level, which is 101.325 kPa or 14.696 psi. The hectopascal and the millibar are numerically identical.
Everyday pounds per square inch worth knowing
Values people actually look up, with the reason each one comes up. Every figure is calculated with the same engine as the converter above.
| Pound per Square Inch (psi) | Kilopascal (kPa) | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6.8947573 | The base conversion |
| 14.6959 | 101.32466 | One standard atmosphere |
| 30 | 206.84272 | A common car tyre pressure |
| 32 | 220.63223 | A common car tyre pressure |
| 35 | 241.31651 | A common car tyre pressure |
| 100 | 689.47573 | Shop air line pressure |
| 145.038 | 1,000.0018 | Exactly one megapascal |
| 3,000 | 20,684.272 | A diving cylinder |
How these two units are defined
The pascal is the SI derived unit of pressure: one newton per square metre. It is a very small unit — atmospheric pressure is about 101,325 Pa — so practical work uses kilopascals or megapascals. The kilopascal is the unit most vehicle manufacturers now print on tyre placards alongside psi, and the one engineering standards prefer because it composes cleanly with other SI units. The psi is exactly 6,894.757293168 Pa.
Rounding and precision
Tyre gauges resolve to about 1 psi, which is roughly 7 kPa, so quoting a converted tyre pressure to the nearest kilopascal is already at the limit of what the gauge supports and decimals are meaningless. In structural work the governing precision comes from the material standard, not from the conversion — follow the tolerance the standard states rather than carrying converted digits forward.
Mistakes people make with this conversion
-
Mixing kPa and MPa
A factor of 1,000 sits between them. A 350 MPa steel yield strength is 350,000 kPa or about 50,800 psi; reading it as 350 kPa understates it by three orders of magnitude.
-
Comparing gauge and absolute figures
Tyre and system pressures are usually gauge; atmospheric and process pressures are often absolute. The two differ by about 101 kPa.
-
Assuming hPa and kPa are the same
A hectopascal is 100 Pa and a kilopascal is 1,000 Pa. Weather reports use hPa (identical to the millibar), so 1,013 hPa is 101.3 kPa.
Read more about these units
Sources for this page
- SI Brochure — The International System of Units (SI), 9th edition
- Special Publication 811 — Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI)
Content on this page last reviewed 12 August 2026. Spotted an error? Report it — see also how these values are calculated.
Convert Pound per Square Inch to other pressure units
1 psi expressed in every other pressure unit on this site.
- Pascal Pa 6,894.7573
- Kilopascal kPa 6.8947573
- Megapascal MPa 0.0068947573
- Gigapascal GPa 0.0000068947573
- Hectopascal hPa 68.947573
- Decipascal dPa 68,947.573
- Millipascal mPa 6,894,757.3
- Micropascal µPa 6,894,757,300
- Nanopascal nPa 6,894,757,300,000
- Picopascal pPa 6.8947573e+15
- Femtopascal fPa 6.8947573e+18
- Attopascal aPa 6.8947573e+21
- Centipascal cPa 689,475.73
- Dekapascal daPa 689.47573
- Terapascal TPa 6.8947573e-9
- Petapascal PPa 6.8947573e-12
- Exapascal EPa 6.8947573e-15
- Newton per Square Centimeter N/cm² 0.68947573
- Newton per Square Millimeter N/mm² 0.0068947573
- Bar bar 0.068947573
- Millibar mbar 68.947573
- Microbar µbar 68,947.573
- Dyne per Square Centimeter dyn/cm² 68,947.573
- Standard Atmosphere atm 0.068045964
- Technical Atmosphere at 0.070306958
- Torr Torr 51.714933
- Millitorr mTorr 51,714.933
- Pound per Square Inch psi 1
- Kip per Square Inch ksi 0.001
- Pound per Square Foot psf 144
- Poundal per Square Foot pdl/ft² 4,633.063
- Short Ton-force per Square Foot tonf/ft² (US) 0.072
- Long Ton-force per Square Foot tonf/ft² (UK) 0.064285714
- Short Ton-force per Square Inch tonf/in² (US) 0.0005
- Long Ton-force per Square Inch tonf/in² (UK) 0.00044642857
- Kilogram-force per Square Meter kgf/m² 703.06958
- Kilogram-force per Square Centimeter kgf/cm² 0.070306958
- Kilogram-force per Square Millimeter kgf/mm² 0.00070306958
- Gram-force per Square Centimeter gf/cm² 70.306958
- Millimeter of Mercury mmHg 51.714925
- Centimeter of Mercury cmHg 5.1714925
- Inch of Mercury inHg 2.0360207
- Millimeter of Water mmH₂O 703.06958
- Centimeter of Water cmH₂O 70.306958
- Meter of Water mH₂O 0.70306958
- Inch of Water inH₂O 27.679905
- Foot of Water ftH₂O 2.3067822
- Inch of Mercury (60 °F) inHg (60 °F) 2.0417719
- Inch of Water (60 °F) inH₂O (60 °F) 27.707258
- Foot of Water (60 °F) ftH₂O (60 °F) 2.3089382
About the pound per square inch
The pound per square inch (psi) is a Imperial unit of pressure.
About the kilopascal
The kilopascal (kPa) is a SI unit of pressure.
Related conversions
Frequently asked questions
How many kPa is one psi?
6.894757 kPa. The relationship is exact, following from the exact definitions of the pound-force and the inch.
What is 32 psi in kPa?
32 psi is 220.6 kPa. Vehicle placards usually print this as 220 kPa, alongside 2.2 bar and 32 psi for the same recommendation.
How does a megapascal relate to psi?
One MPa is 1,000 kPa, which is 145.038 psi. Material strengths in MPa are therefore roughly 145 times the psi figure — a 400 MPa steel is about 58,000 psi.
How many kilopascals are in a pound per square inch?
One pound per square inch equals 6.8947573 kilopascals.
How do you convert pounds per square inch to kilopascals?
Multiply the number of pounds per square inch by 6.89475729317 to get kilopascals.
What is 1 kilopascal in pounds per square inch?
One kilopascal equals 0.14503774 pounds per square inch.
When would I convert pounds per square inch to kilopascals?
This conversion is common when tire inflation, weather forecasting, diving, and industrial systems.