Cent to square feet
1 cent = 435.6 sq ft = 40.47 sq m. One hundredth of an acre, so 435.6 sq ft exactly. The default unit for land outside the Chennai city limits — suburban and semi-urban plots are almost always advertised in cents.
Typical plots this size
An area does not fix a shape — these are the common frontage × depth pairs that come to about this much. Open one to see what the rules let you build on it.
Cents to square feet
| cent | sq ft |
|---|---|
| 1 cent | 435.6 sq ft |
| 2 cents | 871.2 sq ft |
| 5 cents | 2,178 sq ft |
| 10 cents | 4,356 sq ft |
| 20 cents | 8,712 sq ft |
| 50 cents | 21,780 sq ft |
| 100 cents | 43,560 sq ft |
Square feet to cents
| sq ft | cent |
|---|---|
| 500 sq ft | 1.15 cents |
| 1,000 sq ft | 2.3 cents |
| 2,500 sq ft | 5.74 cents |
| 5,000 sq ft | 11.48 cents |
| 10,000 sq ft | 22.96 cents |
| 25,000 sq ft | 57.39 cents |
| 50,000 sq ft | 114.78 cents |
What 1 cent looks like as a plot
1 cent is 435.6 sq ft. That is an area, not a shape — and the shape is what decides whether it is a comfortable house or a corridor, because setbacks take a fixed strip off every boundary whatever the frontage.
- 20 × 22 ft — 440 sq ft (about 4.4 sq ft off)
- 24 × 18 ft — 432 sq ft (about 3.6 sq ft off)
Generate a floor plan for any of them and the rule engine computes the setbacks, FSI and floor count first, then draws a layout inside what is left.
Where these units are used
Cent — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka. One hundredth of an acre, so 435.6 sq ft exactly. The default unit for land outside the Chennai city limits — suburban and semi-urban plots are almost always advertised in cents.
Square foot — All India. The unit almost every Indian property is finally priced in — builders quote ₹ per sq ft, and a plot's own dimensions are spoken in feet. Whatever unit a listing uses, the negotiation ends up here.
Other conversions
- Ground to sq ft — 1 ground = 2,400 sq ft — the Chennai land unit.
- Ground to cent — 1 ground = 5.51 cents — the two Tamil Nadu units.
- Ankanam to sq ft — 1 ankanam = 72 sq ft — Nellore and Tirupati.
- Sq yard to sq ft — 1 sq yard (gaj) = 9 sq ft exactly.
- Guntha to sq ft — 1 guntha = 1,089 sq ft — 40 to the acre.
- Acre to cent — 1 acre = 100 cents, exactly by definition.
- Sq ft to sq m — Sale figures in feet, approval figures in metres.
Common questions
How many square feet in 1 cent?
1 cent = 435.6 sq ft. It is a definition rather than a measurement, so the figure is the same everywhere the unit is used.
How many cents in 1 square foot?
1 square foot = 0.002296 cents. A square foot is smaller than a cent, so it takes more than one to make it up.
Where is the cent used?
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka. One hundredth of an acre, so 435.6 sq ft exactly. The default unit for land outside the Chennai city limits — suburban and semi-urban plots are almost always advertised in cents.
Does an area tell me the plot's shape?
No — and this is where buyers get caught. The same area is a comfortable plot or an unbuildable ribbon depending on its frontage: setbacks eat a fixed strip off every side, so a narrow deep plot loses far more of its area than a square one. Always ask for the frontage and depth in feet, then check what the rules actually let you build on those dimensions.
These are unit definitions, not a survey. The area on a sale deed comes from the surveyed extent, which can differ from what a listing quotes — check the patta, the FMB sketch and the deed before you pay anything.