Marla and Kanal Explained: Land Units in Square Feet

How big is a “10 marla house” in square feet? On our converter, the answer is 2,722.5 square feet, because one marla equals 272.25 square feet. Plot listings in Pakistan and northern India still quote land in marla and kanal. This guide shows where those units come from, how they stack, and how to turn them into square feet, square meters, and acres.

How Big Is One Marla in Square Feet?

One marla is 272.25 square feet on our converter. That equals a square plot exactly 16.5 feet on each side, since 16.5 times 16.5 is 272.25.

The converter page uses 5 marla as its own example. Multiply 5 by 272.25 and you get 1,361.25 square feet. A 10 marla plot doubles that to 2,722.5 square feet.

The same page lists smaller and in-between sizes too. Three marla is 816.75 square feet, and 7 marla is 1,905.75 square feet. Each value is the marla count times 272.25, with no rounding needed. Divide to check a listing: 2,722.5 square feet divided by 272.25 returns exactly 10 marla.

Picture the unit as a square before you picture a number. A 16.5 foot square is easy to pace out on the ground. Twenty of those squares side by side make one kanal, as the drawing below shows.

Why Does a Marla Equal 272.25 Square Feet?

The number comes from an old length unit called the karam, which is 5.5 feet long. A square karam, called a sarsahi, is 5.5 times 5.5, or 30.25 square feet.

Nine sarsahi make one marla. Nine times 30.25 gives 272.25 square feet. That odd decimal is simply the result of squaring a 5.5 foot measuring chain. A marla holds a 3 by 3 grid of sarsahi, which makes it 16.5 feet across.

The same area has an English name. It matches the square rod, a unit that the national measurement lab in the United States lists as exactly 272.25 square feet. A rod is 16.5 feet long, and 16.5 squared is 272.25.

This link explains why the marla fits so neatly into the acre. An acre is exactly 160 square rods, so it is also exactly 160 marla on the 272.25 standard. No rounding is involved at any step.

How Many Marla Make a Kanal, and How Many Kanal Make an Acre?

Twenty marla make one kanal, and eight kanal make one acre. On the 272.25 standard, a kanal is 5,445 square feet and an acre is 43,560 square feet. In square yards, one marla is 30.25 and one kanal is 605.

Mixed sizes are common in listings, such as “1 kanal 10 marla.” Convert the kanal to marla first, then add. That plot is 30 marla, or 8,167.5 square feet.

Half an acre is a handy check. Four kanal equal 80 marla, which is 21,780 square feet, or exactly half of 43,560.

Farmland sizes often jump to acres. For the acre, the hectare, and their square foot values, see our guide to acres, hectares, and square feet.

Why Do Some Plots Use a 225 Square Foot Marla?

Local rules can define the marla differently. The Punjab housing scheme rules of 2010 define a marla as 225 square feet in Lahore district and 272 square feet in other districts.

That gap matters on paper. A 5 marla plot is 1,125 square feet at 225 per marla, but 1,361.25 square feet at 272.25. The difference is 236.25 square feet, about 17 percent of the larger figure.

India has its own variation. The marla reference page notes that India standardized the unit at 25 square yards, which is also 225 square feet.

The same rule scales up to the kanal. Twenty marla of 225 square feet is 4,500 square feet, not 5,445. On the 272.25 standard, those 4,500 square feet count as only about 16.5 marla.

Our converter uses 272.25 for every result. Check which definition a deed, a housing scheme, or a land record uses before you compare prices per marla. A sale deed or the local land record office states the size that has legal force.

How Do You Turn a Plot’s Length and Width Into Marla?

Multiply the length by the width in feet, then divide by 272.25. The result is the plot size in marla on the standard our converter uses.

Take a plot that measures 30 feet by 50 feet. That is 1,500 square feet. Divide by 272.25 and you get about 5.51 marla, a little over the common 5 marla size.

Now try 25 feet by 45 feet, which is 1,125 square feet. That equals exactly 5 marla at 225 per marla, but only about 4.13 marla at 272.25. The same tape measure gives two different labels.

Odd shapes need extra care. Split the plot into rectangles, find each area, and add them. Our guide on calculating the square footage of a house walks through that method for L-shaped rooms and floors.

To go from square feet straight to marla, the square feet to marla converter does the division. To go the other way, the marla to square feet converter multiplies by 272.25 and shows a ready table.

What Do Marla and Kanal Equal in Square Meters and Hectares?

One marla is about 25.29 square meters, and one kanal is about 505.86 square meters. These figures come from multiplying square feet by 0.09290304, the exact square meter value of one square foot.

The exact marla value is 25.29285264 square meters. Round only at the final step. Rounding the marla to 25.3 first adds about 0.14 square meters per kanal, which grows on large parcels.

Here is a full example. A 7 marla plot is 1,905.75 square feet. Multiply by 0.09290304 and you get about 177.05 square meters.

A hectare is 10,000 square meters. That works out to about 395.37 marla, or about 19.77 kanal. It also equals about 2.471 acres, the figure in the ladder drawing above.

Metric figures help when a buyer or bank abroad asks for square meters. Convert from square feet each time, and state which marla definition you used. A note such as “at 272.25 sq ft per marla” removes any doubt.

FAQs About Marla and Kanal

Sources

This article explains land measurement units for general education, not legal or property advice. Confirm plot sizes with the deed or the local land record office. Reviewed for accuracy by Prof. Dr. Khalil Mudassar, PhD. Last updated September 27, 2026.