How Many Marla in 1 Kanal?

The short answer

One kanal equals 20 marla. Unlike the marla itself — which has two sizes in Pakistan — the kanal-to-marla relationship never changes: it is 20 marla per kanal in revenue records, in DHA, in Bahria Town, everywhere.

Where people get confused is the kanal's size in square feet:

A revenue-area kanal is about 21% larger than a DHA kanal. When someone says "1 kanal plot" without specifying, always ask which kanal — it changes the price per square foot dramatically.

Kanal conversion table

*In DHA/Bahria, "acre" is rarely used — societies quote large plots in kanals. The 43,560 sq ft acre is the revenue definition.

Kanal in the bigger picture: acre and murabba

Pakistani land units stack neatly:

• 20 marla = 1 kanal
• 8 kanal = 1 acre (43,560 sq ft / 4,840 sq yd)
• 25 acres = 1 murabba (200 kanal)

So 1 murabba = 200 kanal = 4,000 marla. In villages and agricultural deals you will hear acre and murabba; in cities, marla and kanal dominate. Our marla-to-square-feet guide covers the marla end of the scale in detail.

Why the kanal question matters in real deals

Three situations where "how many marla in a kanal" actually costs people money:

1. Comparing prices across societies: a "1 kanal" file in DHA (4,500 sq ft) vs a 1 kanal plot in a revenue area (5,445 sq ft) — comparing per-kanal prices without converting to per-sq-ft is meaningless.
2. Construction estimates: covered-area rules and construction costs scale with square footage, so the 945 sq ft difference changes budgets.
3. Registry vs possession: some older documents record kanal at the revenue size while the society developed at 225-sq-ft marlas — verify the fard/allotment letter before paying token money.

Formulas

• Kanal → marla: kanal × 20
• Marla → kanal: marla ÷ 20 (e.g. 10 marla = 0.5 kanal)
• Kanal → sq ft (revenue): kanal × 5,445
• Kanal → sq ft (DHA/Bahria): kanal × 4,500
• Kanal → sq yards: kanal × 605 (revenue) or × 500 (society)

When to think in kanal vs marla

As a rule of thumb: houses are discussed in marla, land in kanal. A 10 marla house, a 1 kanal house — both are homes. But farmhouses, agricultural plots and files are quoted in kanal and above, because marla numbers get unwieldy (nobody says "160 marla" when they mean 8 kanal / 1 acre). If a dealer quotes you "40 marla", just divide by 20: that is 2 kanal. And if you are comparing a 1 kanal house (20 marla) against a 18 marla house, the kanal one gives you 2 extra marlas — roughly 545 sq ft of additional plot at the revenue standard. Small differences, real money.

Typical kanal plot dimensions

What does a kanal actually look like on the ground? Common shapes:

• 1 kanal (revenue, 5,445 sq ft): often around 90 × 60 ft or 100 × 54 ft.
• 1 kanal (DHA, 4,500 sq ft): typically 90 × 50 ft or 100 × 45 ft.

Always confirm the exact dimensions on the allotment letter — "1 kanal" tells you the area bracket, not the shape, and shape affects both construction design and resale value.