Capacitance Converter

Microfarad	1 µF

Last updated: 2026-07-01

Capacitance

Capacitance is the ability of a component to store electric charge. A capacitor consists of two conductors separated by an insulator; when a voltage is applied, charge accumulates on the plates. The capacitance is the amount of charge stored per volt of applied potential. Higher capacitance means more charge is held at the same voltage.

Units of capacitance

Farad (F) — the SI unit, defined as one coulomb of stored charge per volt (1 F = 1 C/V). Named after Michael Faraday. One farad is very large for typical electronics, so whole-farad ratings appear mainly on supercapacitors and energy-storage cells.

Millifarad (mF) — 10⁻³ F. Uncommon in datasheets but seen on some large power-supply reservoir capacitors and audio components. 1 mF = 1,000 µF.

Microfarad (µF) — 10⁻⁶ F. The workhorse unit for electrolytic and film capacitors used in power supplies, motor circuits, and audio coupling. Values typically range from about 1 µF to several thousand µF.

Nanofarad (nF) — 10⁻⁹ F. Common for ceramic and decoupling capacitors that filter high-frequency noise. 1 nF = 0.001 µF = 1,000 pF.

Picofarad (pF) — 10⁻¹² F. Used for radio-frequency tuning, oscillator timing, and small ceramic capacitors. 1 pF = 0.001 nF.

Key conversion table

From	To F	To µF	To pF
1 F	1	10⁶	10¹²
1 mF	10⁻³	1,000	10⁹
1 µF	10⁻⁶	1	10⁶
1 nF	10⁻⁹	0.001	1,000
1 pF	10⁻¹²	10⁻⁶	1

The prefixes follow the standard SI scale, each step being a factor of 1,000: 1 F = 10³ mF = 10⁶ µF = 10⁹ nF = 10¹² pF. Handy shortcuts: 1 µF = 1,000 nF and 1 nF = 1,000 pF.

Worked example

Suppose a datasheet lists a decoupling capacitor as 0.1 µF and you need its value in nanofarads and picofarads to match a parts list.

Start from the microfarad value: 0.1 µF.
To nanofarads, multiply by 1,000: 0.1 × 1,000 = 100 nF.
To picofarads, multiply by 1,000,000: 0.1 × 1,000,000 = 100,000 pF.
In farads, that is 0.1 × 10⁻⁶ = 1 × 10⁻⁷ F.

So 0.1 µF, 100 nF, and 100,000 pF are three ways of writing the same capacitance.

Reading capacitor markings

Small ceramic capacitors often use a three-digit code where the first two digits are significant figures and the third is the number of zeros, giving a value in picofarads. For example, a capacitor marked 104 means 10 followed by four zeros = 100,000 pF = 100 nF = 0.1 µF. Larger electrolytic capacitors usually print the value and unit directly, such as 470 µF.

Usage

Enter any value in any field. All other units update automatically. For example, type 100 in the nF field to instantly see 0.1 µF, 100,000 pF, and 1 × 10⁻⁷ F.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How do I convert µF to nF?

Multiply the microfarad value by 1,000 to get nanofarads: 1 µF = 1,000 nF. For example, a 0.1 µF capacitor is 100 nF. The factor of 1,000 comes from the SI prefixes — micro (10⁻⁶) is one thousand times larger than nano (10⁻⁹).

How do I convert pF to µF?

Divide the picofarad value by 1,000,000: 1 µF = 1,000,000 pF, so 1 pF = 0.000001 µF. For example, 470 pF = 0.00047 µF. Because pico (10⁻¹²) is a million times smaller than micro (10⁻⁶), picofarad values become very small decimals when written in microfarads.

What is a farad?

The farad (F) is the SI unit of capacitance, named after Michael Faraday. One farad is the capacitance that stores one coulomb of charge for each volt applied across it (1 F = 1 C/V). A full farad is enormous for most electronics, so practical components are rated in microfarads, nanofarads, or picofarads — supercapacitors are a notable exception and are rated in whole farads.

Why are most capacitors rated in µF, nF, or pF instead of F?

A one-farad capacitor holds a very large amount of charge, so ordinary electronic capacitors have values far below one farad. Electrolytic capacitors are typically a few µF to thousands of µF, decoupling and filter capacitors are often in the nF range, and timing or RF capacitors are measured in pF. Using submultiples keeps the printed values readable instead of writing long strings of leading zeros.

Disclaimer

Conversions use exact SI prefix definitions: 1 F = 10³ mF = 10⁶ µF = 10⁹ nF = 10¹² pF. This tool converts nominal capacitance values only and does not account for a component tolerance, temperature coefficient, or voltage rating.

Capacitance Converter

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Capacitance Converter

Farad and SI Submultiples

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