One pica is exactly 4.233333333e-06 kilometers, so converting picas to kilometers is a single multiplication. Enter any figure and the result appears as you type — the arithmetic runs in your browser, so nothing is sent anywhere.
One thousand metres — the standard road-distance unit almost everywhere outside the US and UK. Twelve points, or 1/6 inch — the column-width unit of print layout.
The mil and the millimetre are not the same thing and are out by a factor of about forty. A mil is one thousandth of an inch — 0.0254 mm — and a spec sheet that quotes film thickness in mils means the small unit. British drawings write the same size as "thou". The tables underneath give both a plain step-by-step lookup and a list of real quantities expressed in kilometers, so you can sanity-check whether your answer is a plausible size.
The formula
picas- The amount you are converting, in picas
4.23333333333e-06- The exact number of kilometers in one pica
kilometers- The converted result
How it works, step by step
- Enter the value in picas.
- It is multiplied by 4.23333333333e-06, the exact factor between the two units.
- The answer is shown in kilometers, with the reverse conversion beneath it.
- Check the reference table if you want a figure of comparable size.
Worked examples
An Olympic pool: 1.18e+04 pica in kilometers
An Olympic pool comes to about 1.18e+04 pica. Multiplying by the factor: 1.18e+04 × 4.23333e-06 = 0.0499533 km. Dividing the answer back by 4.23333e-06 returns the figure you started with, which is the quickest way to check you have the factor the right way up.
A door height: 480 pica in kilometers
Take a door height, roughly 480 pica. The conversion is a single multiplication — 480 × 4.23333e-06 — giving 0.002032 km. Because the relationship is proportional, doubling the input doubles the answer to 0.004064 km.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many kilometers are in one pica?
Exactly 4.23333333333e-06. Every figure on this page is that one number multiplied by your input, so the only rounding is at the display step.
What is the formula to convert picas to kilometers?
kilometers = picas × 4.23333333333e-06. Reversed, picas = kilometers ÷ 4.23333333333e-06, which is the same as multiplying by 236,220.472441.
Which is the bigger unit, the pica or the kilometer?
The kilometer. One pica is only 4.23333e-06 of a kilometer, so it takes 236,220 picas to make one kilometer.
What does this quantity actually measure?
Both units measure length. That is why a single factor is enough: there is no temperature offset and no material property involved, unlike conversions that cross between different quantities.
What is a pica?
Twelve points, or 1/6 inch — the column-width unit of print layout.
What is a kilometer?
One thousand metres — the standard road-distance unit almost everywhere outside the US and UK.
Why does my answer differ from another converter?
Almost always because the other tool rounded the factor before multiplying. This page keeps full double precision through the calculation and rounds only for display, and it prints the factor it used so you can see where any difference came from.
Is there a quick way to do pica to km in my head?
Plenty of people do this in their head: divide by 240,000 instead of using the exact factor 0.000004. At 100 that shortcut gives 0.00041666667 kilometers, off by 0.000007 kilometers or about 1.57%. Fine for a rough estimate, not fine for anything you are cutting to size or dosing.
Picas to kilometers reference tables
| Picas | Kilometers |
|---|---|
| 0.5 pica | 2.11667e-06 km |
| 1 pica | 4.23333e-06 km |
| 2 pica | 8.46667e-06 km |
| 3 pica | 1.27e-05 km |
| 5 pica | 2.11667e-05 km |
| 10 pica | 4.23333e-05 km |
| 20 pica | 8.46667e-05 km |
| 25 pica | 0.000105833 km |
| 50 pica | 0.000211667 km |
| 75 pica | 0.0003175 km |
| 100 pica | 0.000423333 km |
| 250 pica | 0.00105833 km |
| 500 pica | 0.00211667 km |
| 1000 pica | 0.00423333 km |
| 5000 pica | 0.0211667 km |
Exact factor: 1 pica = 4.23333333333e-06 kilometers.
| Quantity | pica | km |
|---|---|---|
| A credit card’s long edge | 20.22 pica | 8.56e-05 km |
| A door height | 480 pica | 0.002032 km |
| An Olympic pool | 1.181e+04 pica | 0.05 km |
| The Eiffel Tower | 7.795e+04 pica | 0.33 km |
| A marathon | 9.967e+06 pica | 42.2 km |
| Earth’s diameter | 3.01e+09 pica | 1.274e+04 km |
Published reference values, converted with the same factor this page uses.