Pressure Calculator
Work out pressure instantly from force and area. Enter your values to see the result in pascals, kilopascals, bar, atmospheres, and psi.
Calculate Pressure
Enter the force applied and the area it acts over below to instantly calculate pressure using the formula P = F/A, converted across several common units.
Force & Area
Adjust the sliders or type exact figures
Your Results
Updates automatically as you adjust the values
Pressure at Different Areas
Example figures for a constant 100 N force applied over a range of surface areas.
| Area | Pressure (Pa) | Pressure (kPa) | Pressure (psi) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.01 m² | 10,000 Pa | 10.00 kPa | 1.45 psi |
| 0.1 m² | 1,000 Pa | 1.00 kPa | 0.15 psi |
| 0.5 m² | 200 Pa | 0.20 kPa | 0.029 psi |
| 1 m² | 100 Pa | 0.10 kPa | 0.015 psi |
| 5 m² | 20 Pa | 0.02 kPa | 0.003 psi |
Pressure Calculator FAQ
Answers to the most frequently asked questions about pressure and how it’s calculated.
Pressure is calculated as P = F / A, where F is the force applied in newtons and A is the area over which the force is distributed in square metres. The result is given in pascals, where one pascal equals one newton per square metre.
For a given force, spreading it over a smaller area concentrates that force into a smaller surface, which increases the pressure at that surface. This is why sharp objects like needles can pierce material easily, while the same force spread over a flat surface causes little effect.
These are all units used to measure pressure. One bar equals 100,000 pascals, one standard atmosphere equals roughly 101,325 pascals, and one psi (pound-force per square inch) equals approximately 6,895 pascals. Different industries and regions favour different units.
Atmospheric pressure is the force exerted by the weight of the air above a given point, and at sea level it is approximately 101,325 pascals, or 1 atmosphere. It matters because many pressure readings, such as tyre pressure, are measured relative to atmospheric pressure rather than as an absolute value.