Marla, Kanal and Acre Conversion: The Complete Guide (Pakistan & India)

If you’ve bought, sold or even browsed property in Pakistan or northern India, you’ve met the marla and the kanal. They’re the everyday units for plots, but the “official” size of a marla depends on where you are and who you ask. Here’s how they work and how to convert them reliably.

The short answer

• 1 kanal = 20 marla, everywhere.
• 1 marla = 225, 250 or 272.25 sq ft, depending on the standard used.
• 1 acre = 43,560 sq ft = 8 kanal (using the 272.25 sq ft revenue marla).

Why are there three different marlas?

The marla comes from the traditional land revenue system, where:

• 1 marla = 9 sarsahi, and 1 sarsahi = 30.25 sq ft → 272.25 sq ft
• 1 kanal = 20 marla = 5,445 sq ft
• 1 acre = 8 kanal = 43,560 sq ft

Because 272.25 is awkward, cities and housing authorities rounded it:

A “10 marla house” can therefore be 2,250, 2,500 or 2,722.5 sq ft. That’s a difference of over 470 sq ft on the same advertised size. Always ask which marla a listing uses.

Conversion tables

Marla to square feet

Kanal and acre (revenue standard)

Larger rural units

• 1 killa ≈ 1 acre (Punjab)
• 1 murabba = 25 acres = 25 killa
• 1 bigha varies widely by state: 27,225 sq ft (pucca bigha) is common, but it ranges from about 14,400 to 27,225 sq ft depending on the region

How to convert yourself

1. Convert to square feet using the right marla standard.
2. Convert square feet to anything else:
   • sq yards = sq ft ÷ 9
   • sq metres = sq ft × 0.092903
   • acres = sq ft ÷ 43,560

Example: a 1-kanal plot in Islamabad = 20 × 225 = 4,500 sq ft = 500 sq yd = 418.06 m².

Or select the marla standard in the area calculator and switch to Convert land units; it converts across all 18 units at once.

Working out marla from plot dimensions

Multiply length by width in feet, then divide by the marla size:

• 25 × 50 ft = 1,250 sq ft → 5 marla (250 standard) or 5.56 marla (225 standard)
• 35 × 70 ft = 2,450 sq ft → ≈ 10.9 marla (225) or 9.0 marla (272.25)

For plots that aren’t rectangles, see How to Calculate the Area of an Irregular Plot of Land.

Practical advice

• Get it in writing. Ask the seller or society which marla standard applies, and check the measurements on the transfer documents.
• Verify with land records. Official revenue records (fard) normally use the traditional 272.25 sq ft standard.
• Compare price per square foot, not price per marla, when comparing plots across societies.

Try the converter below: set the standard to 225, enter 1 kanal, and see the equivalent in square feet, square yards and acres.