AWG to mm² Converter
Convert American Wire Gauge and kcmil/MCM sizes to conductor diameter and actual geometric cross-section. For metric cable orders, compare the IEC nominal size that does not drop to a smaller cross-section.
Formula used
AWG: d = 0.127 × 92^((36 − AWG) / 39) · kcmil: A = MCM × 0.5067
AWG to mm² conversion table
AWG diameter comes from the diameter relation and cross-section from A = π × d² / 4; MCM (kcmil) cross-section uses 1 kcmil = 0.5067 mm². The diameter in MCM rows is that of a solid round conductor with the same cross-section; a stranded conductor is thicker. The last column is the first IEC 60228 nominal cross-section not smaller than the actual one; there is no IEC nominal size below 0.5 mm².
| AWG / MCM (kcmil) | Diameter (mm) | Cross-section (mm²) | IEC nominal size (mm²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1300 MCM | 28.960 | 658.720 | 800 |
| 1000 MCM | 25.400 | 506.707 | 630 |
| 800 MCM | 22.718 | 405.366 | 500 |
| 700 MCM | 21.251 | 354.695 | 400 |
| 600 MCM | 19.675 | 304.024 | 400 |
| 500 MCM | 17.961 | 253.354 | 300 |
| 400 MCM | 16.064 | 202.683 | 240 |
| 350 MCM | 15.027 | 177.348 | 185 |
| 300 MCM | 13.912 | 152.012 | 185 |
| 250 MCM | 12.700 | 126.677 | 150 |
| 4/0 AWG | 11.684 | 107.219 | 120 |
| 3/0 AWG | 10.405 | 85.029 | 95 |
| 2/0 AWG | 9.266 | 67.431 | 70 |
| 1/0 AWG | 8.251 | 53.475 | 70 |
| 1 AWG | 7.348 | 42.408 | 50 |
| 2 AWG | 6.544 | 33.631 | 35 |
| 3 AWG | 5.827 | 26.670 | 35 |
| 4 AWG | 5.189 | 21.151 | 25 |
| 5 AWG | 4.621 | 16.773 | 25 |
| 6 AWG | 4.115 | 13.302 | 16 |
| 7 AWG | 3.665 | 10.549 | 16 |
| 8 AWG | 3.264 | 8.366 | 10 |
| 9 AWG | 2.906 | 6.634 | 10 |
| 10 AWG | 2.588 | 5.261 | 6 |
| 11 AWG | 2.305 | 4.172 | 6 |
| 12 AWG | 2.053 | 3.309 | 4 |
| 13 AWG | 1.828 | 2.624 | 4 |
| 14 AWG | 1.628 | 2.081 | 2.5 |
| 15 AWG | 1.450 | 1.650 | 2.5 |
| 16 AWG | 1.291 | 1.309 | 1.5 |
| 17 AWG | 1.150 | 1.038 | 1.5 |
| 18 AWG | 1.024 | 0.8230 | 1 |
| 19 AWG | 0.912 | 0.6527 | 0.75 |
| 20 AWG | 0.812 | 0.5176 | 0.75 |
| 21 AWG | 0.723 | 0.4105 | 0.5 |
| 22 AWG | 0.644 | 0.3255 | – |
| 23 AWG | 0.573 | 0.2582 | – |
| 24 AWG | 0.511 | 0.2047 | – |
| 25 AWG | 0.455 | 0.1624 | – |
| 26 AWG | 0.405 | 0.1288 | – |
| 27 AWG | 0.361 | 0.1021 | – |
| 28 AWG | 0.321 | 0.08098 | – |
| 29 AWG | 0.286 | 0.06422 | – |
| 30 AWG | 0.255 | 0.05093 | – |
| 31 AWG | 0.227 | 0.04039 | – |
| 32 AWG | 0.202 | 0.03203 | – |
| 33 AWG | 0.180 | 0.02540 | – |
| 34 AWG | 0.160 | 0.02014 | – |
| 35 AWG | 0.143 | 0.01597 | – |
| 36 AWG | 0.127 | 0.01267 | – |
| 37 AWG | 0.113 | 0.01005 | – |
| 38 AWG | 0.101 | 0.00797 | – |
| 39 AWG | 0.090 | 0.00632 | – |
| 40 AWG | 0.080 | 0.00501 | – |
Example: how many mm² is 10 AWG?
- Diameter: d = 0.127 × 92^((36 − 10) / 39) = 2.588 mm.
- Cross-section: A = π × d² / 4 = 5.26 mm².
- Metric equivalent: the first IEC nominal size not smaller than the actual cross-section is 6 mm².
How are AWG and kcmil/MCM sizes converted to mm²?
AWG uses the standard diameter relation and A = π × d² / 4; kcmil/MCM uses 1 kcmil = 0.5067 mm².
Are AWG and IEC nominal sizes the same?
Most AWG sizes have no exactly equal IEC nominal size. For metric selection use the nominal size that is not smaller than the actual cross-section, and verify current capacity separately.