About

The cent is a customary unit of land measurement prevalent in southern Indian states (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh) and parts of Sri Lanka. One cent equals exactly 40.4686 m², derived from the relationship where 100 cents constitute 1 acre (4046.86 m²). Errors in cent-to-metric conversion propagate directly into property registration documents, stamp duty calculations, and building permit applications. A 5% rounding error on a 10-cent plot misrepresents 20.23 m² of land area. This converter applies the exact statutory factor without intermediate rounding.

Note: the cent is not an SI unit and has no ISO standard. Municipal authorities increasingly require metric submissions. This tool assumes flat, projected area. It does not account for terrain slope, which increases true surface area. Pro tip: verify your local sub-registrar's rounding convention before filing documents. Some offices round to 2 decimal places, others to 4.

Formulas

The conversion rests on the statutory definition that 1 acre = 100 cents, combined with the international acre definition of 4,046.8564224 m².

A_m² = A_cent × 40.468564224

For the reverse direction:

A_cent = A_m²40.468564224

Secondary conversions displayed by the tool:

A_ft² = A_m² × 10.7639

A_acre = A_cent100

A_ha = A_m²10,000

Where A = area in the subscripted unit. The factor 40.468564224 is exact, derived from 4,046.8564224 ÷ 100. The international acre was fixed by agreement in 1959.

Reference Data

Cent	Square Meter (m²)	Square Feet (ft²)	Acre	Hectare (ha)
0.5	20.2343	217.80	0.005	0.002023
1	40.4686	435.60	0.01	0.004047
2	80.9371	871.20	0.02	0.008094
3	121.4057	1,306.80	0.03	0.012141
4	161.8743	1,742.40	0.04	0.016187
5	202.3428	2,178.00	0.05	0.020234
7.5	303.5143	3,267.00	0.075	0.030351
10	404.6856	4,356.00	0.10	0.040469
15	607.0284	6,534.00	0.15	0.060703
20	809.3713	8,712.00	0.20	0.080937
25	1,011.7141	10,890.00	0.25	0.101171
30	1,214.0569	13,068.00	0.30	0.121406
40	1,618.7425	17,424.00	0.40	0.161874
50	2,023.4282	21,780.00	0.50	0.202343
75	3,035.1423	32,670.00	0.75	0.303514
100	4,046.8564	43,560.00	1.00	0.404686
150	6,070.2846	65,340.00	1.50	0.607028
200	8,093.7128	87,120.00	2.00	0.809371
250	10,117.1410	108,900.00	2.50	1.011714
500	20,234.2820	217,800.00	5.00	2.023428

Frequently Asked Questions

The exact international acre equals 4,046.8564224 m², making one cent precisely 40.468564224 m². Many sources round to 40.47 or 40.4686 for convenience. Over a 100-cent plot, rounding to 40.47 introduces an error of approximately 0.14 m². This converter uses the full-precision factor to avoid cumulative rounding drift in large land parcels.

The cent is not part of the SI system and has no ISO designation. However, it remains legally accepted in property registration documents across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh under respective state Revenue Department conventions. Central government land records are increasingly migrating to metric units (hectares, square meters). When filing documents with the sub-registrar, confirm whether they require metric equivalents alongside cent values.

This converter computes projected (plan) area - the horizontal footprint. A plot on a 15° slope has roughly 3.5% more true surface area than its projected area. Revenue surveys typically record projected area, so the converted value matches cadastral records. For agricultural yield estimation or landscaping material calculations on slopes, multiply the result by 1 ÷ cos(θ), where θ is the slope angle.

1 acre = 100 cents. In Tamil Nadu, a related unit called "ground" is common: 1 ground = 2,400 ft² = 222.967 m² ≈ 5.51 cents. These units are not interchangeable without explicit conversion. Mixing them in a sale deed is a common source of dispute.

Yes. Old revenue documents often record land in fractions such as 3.75 cents or 0.5 cents. Enter any positive decimal value. The converter handles precision up to 10 decimal places internally before displaying a rounded result. For very small parcels (below 0.01 cent), the result in square meters remains accurate but may be more practical to read in square feet.

Use the square meter result as an intermediary. 1 m² = 1.19599 yd². Bigha varies by state: in Rajasthan, 1 bigha = 2,529.285 m²; in UP, 1 bigha = 2,508.38 m²; in Bihar, 1 bigha = 1,338.31 m². Always confirm the local bigha definition before converting.