Question 1

Why do regional units like cent, guntha, and bigha exist alongside acres and hectares?

Accepted Answer

Acres and hectares are internationally standardized, but many regions historically measured land in locally defined units tied to traditional surveying practices. Cents (South India), guntha (Maharashtra/Karnataka), and bigha (North India) are still how land is bought, sold, and listed in property records in those regions, so converting to and from them is often necessary even though they are not part of the metric or imperial systems.

Question 2

Is a bigha always the same size?

Accepted Answer

No — this is the most important caveat on this page. Bigha varies not just by state but sometimes by district, with no single legal standard across India. This converter uses a common North Indian ("pucca") value, but if you're working with a specific property, confirm the locally used bigha size with a local surveyor or the property's registered documents before relying on the converted figure.

Question 3

How precise is the cent-to-acre conversion?

Accepted Answer

A cent is defined as exactly 1⁄100 of an acre, so that conversion is exact, not approximate — unlike guntha and bigha, which carry more regional variation. One acre equals 100 cents, so a plot listed as 20 cents is exactly 0.2 acres.

Question 4

What is the difference between a hectare and an acre?

Accepted Answer

A hectare is a metric unit equal to 10,000 square meters (about 2.47 acres), commonly used outside the US, UK, and a handful of other countries that still favor acres. Both are used for describing plots of land, farmland, and larger parcels — hectares dominate in most of Europe, Latin America, and government land records worldwide, while acres remain standard in the US and parts of South Asia.

Question 5

Can I use this for a small residential plot?

Accepted Answer

Yes — square feet, square meters, square yards, and cents are all well-suited to residential plot sizes, while acres, hectares, guntha, and bigha are more commonly used for larger agricultural or development land. Enter your value in whichever unit your documents use and the table shows every equivalent at once.

Unit	Value
Square Feet	43,560
Square Meters	4,046.856
Square Yards	4,840
Acres	1
Hectares	0.404686
Cents	100
Guntha	40
Bigha (UP/Punjab pucca)	1.6
Square Kilometers	0.004047

Unit	Value
Cents	50
Acres	0.5
Square feet	≈ 21,780

Land Unit & Area Converter

Conversion factors used

A 50-cent plot in acres and square feet

Common questions