mg/dL to mmol/L Converter

Convert a lab result between conventional units (mg/dL) and SI units (mmol/L, µmol/L): glucose, cholesterol, creatinine, urea, bilirubin, HbA1c and more.

Calculator

Convert a result

Test

Convert

mg/dL → mmol/Lmmol/L → mg/dL

Glucose result

mg/dL

Enter a glucose result in mg/dL to see it in mmol/L.

Worked example

A fasting glucose of 126 mg/dL

01factor for glucose = 0.0555
02126 × 0.0555 = 6.99 mmol/L
03rounded, as guidelines print it: 7.0 mmol/L

126 mg/dL is 7.0 mmol/L, the fasting glucose at which diabetes is diagnosed.

How it works

The reasoning behind it

Conventional units give the mass of a substance in a volume, such as milligrams in a decilitre. SI units give how many molecules there are, as moles in a litre. Going from one to the other means dividing by the substance's molar mass and changing decilitres into litres.

Glucose weighs 180.16 g/mol. 1 mg/dL is 10 mg/L, and 10 ÷ 180.16 is 0.0555, so 1 mg/dL is 0.0555 mmol/L. Dividing by the factor, or multiplying by 18, goes back.

Labs in the United States, and many others, report glucose, cholesterol and creatinine in mg/dL, while most of the world uses mmol/L and µmol/L. The same result can look very different on two reports until you convert it.

Questions

Frequently asked

How do I convert mmol/L to mg/dL?

Divide by the test's factor. For glucose that is the same as multiplying by 18: 5.5 mmol/L is 99 mg/dL. For cholesterol, multiply by 38.67.

How do I convert blood sugar from mg/dL to mmol/L?

Multiply by 0.0555, or divide by 18. 100 mg/dL is 5.55 mmol/L, and 180 mg/dL is 10 mmol/L.

Why is creatinine in µmol/L and not mmol/L?

There is so little of it that SI reports it in micromoles. Multiply mg/dL by 88.4: a creatinine of 1.0 mg/dL is 88.4 µmol/L.

How do I convert HbA1c from percent to mmol/mol?

Subtract 2.15 and multiply by 10.929. 6.5% is 48 mmol/mol, and 7% is 53 mmol/mol.

Conversion factors

Every factor, test by test

Multiply a conventional result by the factor for SI; divide an SI result by it to go back.

Test	Conventional	SI	Multiply by
Hemoglobin	g/dL	g/L	10
Fibrinogen	mg/dL	g/L	0.01
Calcium, total	mg/dL	mmol/L	0.2495
Magnesium	mg/dL	mmol/L	0.4114
Phosphate	mg/dL	mmol/L	0.3229
Blood urea nitrogen	mg/dL	mmol/L urea	0.357
Urea	mg/dL	mmol/L	0.1665
Creatinine	mg/dL	µmol/L	88.4
Uric acid	mg/dL	mmol/L	0.05948
Bilirubin, total	mg/dL	µmol/L	17.1
Bilirubin, direct	mg/dL	µmol/L	17.1
Albumin	g/dL	g/L	10
Protein, total	g/dL	g/L	10
Glucose	mg/dL	mmol/L	0.0555
Hemoglobin A1c	%	mmol/mol	(% − 2.15) × 10.929
Cholesterol, total	mg/dL	mmol/L	0.02586
LDL cholesterol	mg/dL	mmol/L	0.02586
Non-HDL cholesterol	mg/dL	mmol/L	0.02586
HDL cholesterol	mg/dL	mmol/L	0.02586
Triglycerides	mg/dL	mmol/L	0.01129
Free thyroxine	ng/dL	pmol/L	12.87
Free triiodothyronine	pg/mL	pmol/L	1.536
Iron, serum	µg/dL	µmol/L	0.1791
Total iron-binding capacity	µg/dL	µmol/L	0.1791
C-reactive protein	mg/dL	mg/L	10
Vitamin B12	pg/mL	pmol/L	0.7378
Folate, serum	ng/mL	nmol/L	2.266
25-hydroxyvitamin D	ng/mL	nmol/L	2.496
Lactate	mg/dL	mmol/L	0.111
Cortisol, 8 AM	µg/dL	nmol/L	27.59