Calories to Kilocalories Converter
How to convert calories to kilocalories
kilocalories = calories ÷ 1,000
To convert calories to kilocalories, divide the number of calories by 1,000.
1 cal = 0.001 kcal
Examples
- One kilocalorie, or one food Calorie: 1,000 cal ÷ 1,000 = 1 kcal
- 500 cal ÷ 1,000 = 0.5 kcal
Good to know
One kilocalorie is 1000 calories. The "Calories" on food labels are kilocalories, so a 250 Calorie snack contains 250,000 small calories.
This is the thermochemical calorie, exactly 4.184 J. It is the small calorie: the "Calories" on food labels are kilocalories, 1000 times larger. The International Table calorie (4.1868 J) is slightly different.
The kilocalorie is the food "Calorie" (capital C) shown on nutrition labels. It is based here on the thermochemical calorie, so 1 kcal is exactly 4.184 kJ.
Calories to kilocalories conversion table
| Calories (cal) | Kilocalories (kcal) |
|---|---|
| 1 cal | 0.001 kcal |
| 2 cal | 0.002 kcal |
| 5 cal | 0.005 kcal |
| 10 cal | 0.01 kcal |
| 20 cal | 0.02 kcal |
| 50 cal | 0.05 kcal |
| 100 cal | 0.1 kcal |
| 200 cal | 0.2 kcal |
| 250 cal | 0.25 kcal |
| 500 cal | 0.5 kcal |
| 1,000 cal | 1 kcal |
| 2,000 cal | 2 kcal |
| 2,500 cal | 2.5 kcal |
| 5,000 cal | 5 kcal |
| 10,000 cal | 10 kcal |
Unit definitions
- Calorie (cal)
- The thermochemical calorie is defined as exactly 4.184 joules, roughly the energy needed to heat one gram of water by one degree Celsius.
- Kilocalorie (kcal)
- A kilocalorie is 1000 calories, exactly 4184 joules using the thermochemical calorie. It is the unit of food energy on nutrition labels.