Grams to pounds converter, g to lb, and pounds and ounces.

To convert grams to pounds, divide the grams by 453.59237. So 500 g is 1.10231 lb, 1,000 g is 2.20462 lb and 100 g is 0.22046 lb. The factor is the exact number of grams in an avoirdupois pound, so the answer is a division and never ends. As a quick figure, remember that 454 g is about one pound.

How to use the converter

1. Type the weight in the Grams (g) box, for example 500.
2. The big result shows Pounds (lb) as a decimal. The Pounds and ounces card shows the form a scale or a recipe uses.
3. Other cards give kilograms and ounces. Type pounds in the second box to go back to grams.
4. Set Decimals to 2 for a parcel and 0 for a rough figure.
5. Click a row in Common values to load it, then press Copy result, Copy link or Print chart.

The definition

NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C lists 1 pound, avoirdupois, as 453.592 37 grams exactly, and 1 ounce, avoirdupois, as 437.5 grains exactly, which is one sixteenth of the pound. Page checked 18 Oct 2026. The gram is one thousandth of the kilogram. So grams to pounds is a division by 453.59237. 1 g is 0.0022046226 lb to ten places.

Shortcuts and how wrong they are

Divide by 454. The answer comes out 0.09 percent low, which is close: 5,000 g gives 11.01 lb against the exact 11.023 lb. Dividing by 450 is easier but runs 0.8 percent high, so 500 g gives 1.111 lb against 1.102. Multiplying by 0.0022 is 0.21 percent low. US labels use a different rule: 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii) says 1 oz in weight means 28 g for nutrition labelling, so a pound would be 448 g there. That is 1.23 percent below the true 453.6 g.

Worked examples

• A 500 g bag. 500 ÷ 453.59237 = 1.10231 lb, or 1 lb 1.6 oz.
• A 250 g pack. 0.55116 lb, or 8.8 oz.
• A 340 g bag. 0.74957 lb. That is 11.99 oz, so a bag sold as 12 oz holds about 340 g.
• A 2,500 g parcel. 2,500 ÷ 453.59237 = 5.51156 lb, or 5 lb 8.2 oz.
• A baby weighing 3,400 g. 7.49572 lb, which is 7 lb 7.9 oz.

Grams to pounds and ounces, for common weights

Decimal pounds are not how a US scale or a recipe reads. The table gives the pounds and ounces form next to the decimal.

Notice that 454 g is 1.0009 lb, a hair above one pound, and that 1,000 g is a little over two pounds and three ounces. Ounces in this form are rounded to a tenth.

Mistakes that are specific to grams and pounds

The first is reading decimal pounds as pounds and ounces. 1.1 lb is not 1 lb 10 oz. The 0.10 is a tenth of a pound, which is 1.6 ounces, so it is 1 lb 1.6 oz. The second is dividing by 1,000 first and treating the answer as pounds. 500 g is 0.5 kg, but 0.5 kg is 1.10231 lb, not 0.5 lb. The third is to use the gram for something that is sold by volume. A recipe that gives 500 g of flour is a weight, and cups do not convert to grams without knowing the food. For that see the Ounces to cups converter. The fourth is the troy pound, which is only used for precious metals and weighs 373.24 g, about 82.3 percent of an avoirdupois pound.

Check the answer by going back

Multiply the pounds by 453.59237 and you should be back at the grams. For 500 g: 1.10231 lb × 453.59237 = 500 g. If you get a number far from the one you started with, you divided where you meant to multiply. Pounds are always the smaller number, about 0.0022 of the grams.

How many decimals to keep

A parcel rate is set by the pound, so round up to the next whole pound and not to the nearest: 5.51 lb is billed as 6 lb by a carrier that charges by the whole pound, even though it is nearer to 5.5. For a recipe, one decimal of a pound or the pounds and ounces card is enough. For a laboratory or a jeweler, grams stay in grams. Use Decimals to make every row of the table the same.

Who uses grams to pounds

People posting or buying parcels, where the label gives grams and the rate card gives pounds. Cooks following an American recipe with metric packs. Parents comparing a birth weight in grams with the pounds and ounces a family expects. Anyone who sees a weight in grams on a product and wants the US figure. For large weights in kilograms use the KG to LBS converter, and for ounces see the Grams to ounces converter.