Electrical Capacitance Conversion Calculator
Written by Thierno Sadou Diallo, formula verified per our methodology • Last checked on 9/9/2026
To convert an electrical capacitance, it is brought back to farads (F) and then converted to the desired unit. Example: a 100 nF capacitor equals 0.1 µF.
Explanation
The farad (F), the International System unit of electrical capacitance, measures the amount of electric charge a capacitor can store per volt applied across its terminals. Since the farad is an extremely large unit for most common electronic components (a 1-farad capacitor would be physically bulky for typical use), commercial capacitors are almost always expressed in submultiples: the microfarad (µF) for common filtering or decoupling capacitors, and the nanofarad (nF) and picofarad (pF) for very low-value capacitors used in high-frequency or precision filtering applications. This calculator converts between these different scales by going through the farad as a pivot unit, useful in particular for reading a capacitor whose value is marked in a different unit than the one expected by an electronic schematic.
Example: a 100 nF capacitor
Inputs
Value: 100. Starting unit: nF. Target unit: µF.
Calculation
The "nano" prefix equals 10⁻⁹ and "micro" equals 10⁻⁶: 100 nF = 100 × 10⁻⁹ F = 0.1 × 10⁻⁶ F = 0.1 µF.
Result
A 100 nF capacitor is equivalent to 0.1 µF.
Frequently asked questions
Why are capacitors rarely expressed in raw farads?
Because the farad is a very large unit relative to the needs of most electronic circuits: a 1-farad capacitor is a bulky, specialized component (often used as an energy buffer), while the vast majority of capacitors in an ordinary circuit fall between a picofarad and a few hundred microfarads.
How do you read the value of a ceramic capacitor marked with a three-digit code?
A ceramic capacitor often carries a three-digit code in picofarads: the first two digits form the value, and the third indicates the number of zeros to add. For example, the code "104" means 10 followed by 4 zeros, or 100,000 pF, which this calculator converts directly to 100 nF or 0.1 µF depending on the unit wanted.
Does this calculator also work for supercapacitors?
Yes: supercapacitors, which store far more energy than conventional capacitors, are precisely the ones expressed directly in farads (or even tens or hundreds of farads), unlike common electronic capacitors expressed in submultiples.
Do resistors and inductors follow the same prefix logic?
Yes, each electronic component simply has its own typical order of magnitude: see our electrical resistance conversion calculator for resistors (usually in ohms and kilohms) and our frequency conversion calculator for the same submultiple/multiple logic applied to another electrical quantity.