About the Point to PX Converter
Font sizes handed over from a word processor, a PDF or a print layout arrive in points, and CSS wants pixels. This converter applies the fixed CSS ratio of 96 pixels to 72 points, which reduces to four thirds, so 12pt becomes 16px and 10pt becomes 13.3333px.
Common editorial sizes land neatly: 9pt is 12px, 18pt is 24px, and 72pt fills a full inch at 96px. Sizes that do not divide by three produce a repeating decimal, and rounding to the nearest whole pixel is normally fine for body copy, although rounding a large display size can shift a headline visibly.
This conversion never involves the root or parent font size, unlike rem and em, so the same answer applies anywhere in the document. That makes it safe to convert an entire type scale from a print specification in one pass. If you are heading the other way to build a print stylesheet, use PX to Point.
How to use
- Paste the point sizes, one per line.
- See the pixel size for each point value.
- Round to whole pixels if the design calls for it.
- Copy the values into your CSS.
Common questions
- How many pixels is 12pt?
- 16 pixels, using the CSS ratio of 96 pixels per inch against 72 points per inch.
- Why do I get 13.333333px from 10pt?
- Ten times four thirds is a repeating decimal. Round it to 13px if you would rather have a whole number.
- Can I paste sizes copied from a word processor?
- Yes. Those font sizes are in points, so enter them one per line.
- Is one point the same on every screen?
- In CSS yes, because the unit is defined against a fixed reference rather than the physical display.