TFT

Font Size Unit Converter

Convert font sizes between pixels, points, ems, rems, and more. Essential for web developers and designers working across screen and print.

Font Pairing Preview

Beautiful Typography

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing when displayed.

Suggested Font Pairings

Classic contrast - Serif headings with sans-serif body

Beautiful Typography

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is the art and technique...

Georgia+Arial

Modern contrast - Sans-serif headings with serif body

Beautiful Typography

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is the art and technique...

Arial+Georgia

Bold statements - Display headings with clean body

Beautiful Typography

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is the art and technique...

Impact+Arial

Clean consistency - Same category, different weights

Beautiful Typography

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is the art and technique...

Arial+Arial

Traditional elegance - Same category, different styles

Beautiful Typography

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is the art and technique...

Georgia+Georgia

How the Font Size Converter Works

This tool converts font sizes between pixels (px), points (pt), em, rem, and percentages. Enter a value in any unit, set your base size, and see instant conversions to all other units.

The converter uses standard relationships: 16px = 12pt = 1em = 1rem = 100% at default base size. Changing the base size recalculates all conversions, since em and rem are relative units.

A visual preview shows how each converted size appears. Copy individual values or export a complete conversion table. Perfect for translating design specs between different CSS methodologies.

When You'd Actually Use This

Converting design mockups to CSS

Your designer provides specs in pixels, but your team uses rem. Quickly convert all font sizes to maintain consistency while respecting user browser preferences.

Working with legacy code

Older sites often use pixels or points. When modernizing, convert to rem for accessibility. This tool helps you translate without manually calculating each value.

Creating responsive typography

You need different base sizes for mobile and desktop. Convert your desktop rem values to pixels, then recalculate for mobile's smaller base size.

Matching print designs for web

Print uses points (pt). When adapting print materials for web, convert point sizes to pixels or rem to maintain visual consistency across media.

Building component libraries

Your design system needs typography tokens in multiple units. Generate a complete size scale in px, rem, and em for maximum flexibility across projects.

Debugging CSS inheritance issues

Nested em values compound unexpectedly. Convert to rem to see actual computed sizes, or calculate what em value you need for a specific pixel result.

What to Know Before Using

Pixels are absolute, everything else is relative.16px is always 16px. But 1em depends on parent element size, and 1rem depends on root (html) font size. Know which you're using.

Browser default is usually 16px.Most browsers default to 16px root font size. But users can change this. Using rem respects their preference; px does not.

Points are for print, not screens.Points (pt) assume 96 DPI and are meant for print. On screens, 1pt ≈ 1.33px, but this varies by device pixel density.

Em compounds in nested elements.If parent is 1.2em and child is 1.5em, the child is actually 1.8 times the base (1.2 × 1.5). This can cause unexpected sizing.

Accessibility tip: Use rem for font sizes to respect user preferences. Never use px for font-size unless you have a specific reason and understand the accessibility impact.

Common Questions

Should I use px, em, or rem?

Use rem for font sizes (respects user preferences). Use em for spacing relative to text size. Avoid px for fonts unless you need exact control and accept accessibility trade-offs.

What base size should I use?

Stick with 16px as your root font size. It's the browser default and expected by users. Changing it can break user font size preferences.

How do I convert pt to px accurately?

Standard conversion: 1pt = 1.333px (at 96 DPI). So 12pt = 16px. But remember, points are print units and don't translate perfectly to screens.

Why use percentages for font size?

Percentages work like em—relative to parent. 100% = 1em. They're less common now but useful for fluid typography that scales with container width.

Do these conversions work for all properties?

Yes, the unit relationships apply to any CSS property—padding, margin, width, etc. But this tool is optimized for font size workflows.

What about viewport units (vw, vh)?

Viewport units scale with screen size, not font size. They're great for responsive headings but don't convert directly to px/rem without knowing viewport dimensions.

How do I handle browser zoom?

Using rem automatically handles browser zoom. When users zoom, the root font size changes, and all rem values scale proportionally. No extra work needed.