How a chosen marla size fixes kanal, sarsai and acre areas
A marla is not one fixed size. Punjab's land-revenue records and KP's bye-laws use 272.25 square feet, so 160 marlas make an acre. Punjab's private housing scheme rules use 272 outside Lahore, Multan's MDA uses 270 in urban areas, and Lahore and Faisalabad districts and the DHAs use 225. A 5-marla plot can therefore be 1,361.25 or 1,125 square feet. This converter asks which marla you mean, converts through square feet, and shows the answer under a second size for comparison.
The revenue marla comes from the old Punjab land measure: a karam of 66 inches squared is a sarsai of 30.25 sq ft, and nine sarsais make a marla of 272.25 sq ft, so eight kanals make an acre. A 60-inch karam gives the 225 sq ft marla, with a 4,500 sq ft kanal. Square feet, square yards, square meters and acres are fixed units.
Every answer is shown beside a comparison marla size, 225 or 272.25 sq ft, so a mismatch in a plot document is visible before it costs you. The selector also offers the 272 and 270 sq ft local roundings.
How area, units and the marla-size choice change a plot's size
Three of the seven units change with the marla size, and four are fixed. These notes cover entering a plot correctly and reading the comparison line.
- Area
- The figure from the advertisement, deed or plan, from zero to one billion in the source unit. Mixed sizes must be combined first: 1 kanal 5 marla is 25 marla, which converts to 1.25 kanal. The result scales directly, so 10 marla is twice 5 marla under any one marla size.
- From and to units
- Marla, kanal and sarsai change with the selected size; square feet, square yards (gaz), square meters and acres are fixed. Converting between two fixed units ignores the size choice, and the comparison line says so. The two units must differ, or the form asks for a different target.
- Marla size
- The square feet in one marla: 272.25, 272, 270 or 225. A kanal is always 20 of them, so it is 5,445, 5,440, 5,400 or 4,500 sq ft. The choice can change a plot's size by about 21%: a 10 marla plot is 2,722.5 sq ft at 272.25 but 2,250 sq ft at 225.
- Comparison size
- The second result uses 225 sq ft unless 225 is already selected, in which case it uses 272.25. Choosing 272 or 270 therefore compares against 225, not against 272.25. For example, one kanal at 272 is 5,440 sq ft, shown beside 4,500 sq ft at 225.
- Four-decimal rounding
- Results are rounded half up to four decimal places, so one acre at the 272 sq ft size reads 8.0074 kanal. Converting a very small area into a large unit can therefore display 0, so use square feet or marla for small figures.
Steps
- Enter the area and choose the unit it is in, such as marla or kanal.
- Choose the unit you want, such as square feet or acre.
- Choose the marla size used in your record, then convert and compare the two results.
Reading tip: If a plot's size is given in both marlas and square feet, divide the square feet by the marlas to see which marla size was used. A ratio near 225 or 272 tells you which option to choose.
Plot and record checks where the marla size matters
Check a plot advertisement
Convert an advertised 5, 10 or 20 marla plot to square feet under both marla sizes before visiting.
Read a revenue record
Turn kanals and marlas from a fard or mutation into acres or square feet using the 272.25 sq ft marla.
Plan construction
Get the plot area in square feet or square meters to use with construction, tile and paint estimates.
Compare societies
Compare a kanal in a 225 sq ft society with a kanal measured in revenue marlas elsewhere.
How the calculation works
- M
- The marla size you choose, in square feet; it sets the size of the marla, kanal and sarsai.
- value
- The area you enter, in the source unit such as marlas or kanals.
- sq ft(source)
- Square feet in one source unit, for example 5,445 for a kanal when M is 272.25.
- sq ft(target)
- Square feet in one target unit; dividing by it gives the area in that unit.
Square feet, square yards, square meters and acres are fixed units; only marla, kanal and sarsai change with M.
What every part means
- M
- The marla size you choose, in square feet; it sets the size of the marla, kanal and sarsai.
- value
- The area you enter, in the source unit such as marlas or kanals.
- sq ft(source)
- Square feet in one source unit, for example 5,445 for a kanal when M is 272.25.
- sq ft(target)
- Square feet in one target unit; dividing by it gives the area in that unit.
Calculate it step by step
M is the marla size you choose: 272.25 sq ft (revenue records), 272 or 270 sq ft (rounded local usage), or 225 sq ft (Lahore and Faisalabad urban areas, DHA Lahore).
Every conversion goes through square feet, so the marla size only matters when marla, kanal or sarsai is involved.
The same input is recalculated with the other marla size so a mismatch is easy to spot.
Definitions come from rule 2(xxii) of the Punjab Private Housing Schemes Rules 2010 (225 sq ft in Lahore district, 272 elsewhere), the Multan Development Authority's 2020 regulations (270 urban, 272.25 rural), the KP Model Building Bye-laws 2017 (272.25), the Faisalabad Development Authority's 2020 regulations, Rawalpindi's 2007 regulations, DHA Lahore's 2014 regulations (25 square yards) and para 4.40 of the Punjab Land Records Manual. One square foot is exactly 0.09290304 m².
See how Calculation Guide tests examples and handles calculation limits.
See it in practice
- Area
- 5
- From unit
- Marla
- To unit
- Square feet (sq ft)
- Marla size
- 272.25 sq ft (Punjab revenue records, KP bye-laws)
5 marlas × 272.25 sq ft ÷ 1 sq ft = 1,361.25 sq ft. With M = 225: 5 × 225 = 1,125 sq ft. One acre ÷ 4,500 sq ft per kanal = 9.68 kanals when M = 225.
- Area in square feet1,361.25 sq ft
- Area in square meters126.4643 m²
Interpretation & limitations
How to read your result
Example: 5 marlas with a 272.25 sq ft marla is 5 × 272.25 = 1,361.25 sq ft, or 126.4643 m². With a 225 sq ft marla the same 5 marlas is 1,125 sq ft. The difference, 236.25 sq ft, is why a buyer should confirm which marla a sale deed, revenue record or society plan uses.
Where this estimate stops
The converter does not measure land or read a record. Some older records and other regions use different karam lengths. A 250 sq ft marla is quoted by property websites, but no official regulation we checked defines it, so it is not offered. Murabba and other local units are not included.
Frequently asked questions
01How many square feet are in one marla?
272.25 sq ft in Punjab's land-revenue measure, and 225 sq ft under the Lahore and Faisalabad development authority regulations and DHA Lahore's regulations. The Faisalabad regulations of 2020 state both: 225 sq ft in Faisalabad District and 272.25 sq ft in other districts of Punjab.
02How many marlas are in a kanal?
Twenty in both systems. So a kanal is 5,445 sq ft with a 272.25 sq ft marla, or 4,500 sq ft (500 square yards) with a 225 sq ft marla.
03How many kanals are in an acre?
Eight with a 272.25 sq ft marla, because 8 × 20 × 272.25 = 43,560 sq ft. With a 225 sq ft marla an acre is 9.68 kanals, or 193.6 marlas.
04Is a marla 250 square feet anywhere?
Property websites quote 250 sq ft, but none of the regulations we checked defines it: Punjab's housing scheme rules, the FDA, MDA and RDA regulations, KP's bye-laws and the DHA bye-laws give 272.25, 272, 270 or 225. Check the square feet in your allotment letter.
05What is a sarsai?
One-ninth of a marla: 30.25 sq ft, a square karam of 66 inches, with a 272.25 sq ft marla, or 25 sq ft with a 225 sq ft marla.
06How many square yards (gaz) are in a marla?
25 square yards with a 225 sq ft marla, and 30.25 square yards with a 272.25 sq ft marla, since one square yard is 9 sq ft.
07Why does 1 square foot show as 0 acre?
The true figure is about 0.000023 acre, since an acre is 43,560 sq ft, but results are rounded to four decimal places, which turns it into 0. The conversion is not wrong. Choose square feet, square yards or marla as the target unit when the area is a small fraction of an acre.
Sources & references
- Faisalabad Development Authority: Building and Zoning Regulations 2020 (marla and kanal definitions) ↗
- Punjab LG&CD: Punjab Private Housing Schemes and Land Sub-Division Rules 2010, rule 2(xxii) ↗
- Multan Development Authority: Building and Zoning Regulations 2020 ↗
- KP Local Government: Model Building Bye-laws 2017 ↗
- Punjab Laws: Rawalpindi Development Authority Building and Zoning Regulations 2007 ↗
- DHA Lahore: Construction Regulations 2014 ↗
- Punjab Land Records Manual, para 4.40 (karam, sarsahi, marla, kanal) ↗