Free online acceleration converter. Convert meters per second squared to feet per second squared, g-force (standard gravity), mph per second, km/h per second, and more — instant results, strong validation, and a visual comparison chart.
m/s² • ft/s² • g-force • mph/s
Uses the exact CGPM-defined standard gravity, 1 g = 9.80665 m/s², so g-force conversions are physically precise.
Convert 0–60 mph times, g-forces in cornering, and physics homework units in one place.
All conversions run in your browser — no server, no account, nothing sent anywhere.
Acceleration measures how quickly velocity changes over time. The SI unit is the meter per second squared (m/s²), meaning the speed increases by that many meters per second, every second. In the United States you'll also encounter feet per second squared (ft/s²) in engineering, g-force in automotive and aerospace contexts, and "mph per second" as an intuitive way to describe car acceleration.
The key reference is standard gravity: an object in free fall near Earth's surface accelerates at 1 g = 9.80665 m/s² = 32.174 ft/s². This is the benchmark for "g-force" — a fighter pilot pulling 9 g feels nine times their body weight, and a typical sports car corners at around 1 g. Car acceleration: a 0–60 mph time of 6 seconds equals 10 mph/s, which is 4.47 m/s² or about 0.46 g. A blistering 0–60 in 3 seconds is 20 mph/s ≈ 8.94 m/s² ≈ 0.91 g — nearly the pull of gravity itself, horizontally.
Quick conversions to remember: 1 g = 9.80665 m/s² = 32.174 ft/s² = 21.94 mph/s. 1 m/s² = 3.281 ft/s² = 2.237 mph/s = 0.102 g. To turn a 0–60 mph time into g-force: divide 60 by the seconds to get mph/s, then divide by 21.94. A 5-second 0–60 car pulls about 0.55 g on average.
0–60 mph in 6 s = 10 mph/s = 4.47 m/s² = 0.46 g. In 4 s = 15 mph/s = 6.7 m/s² = 0.68 g. In 3 s = 20 mph/s = 8.94 m/s² = 0.91 g. Hard braking ≈ 0.8–1.0 g.
Earth: 9.81 m/s² (1 g). Moon: 1.62 m/s² (0.17 g). Mars: 3.71 m/s² (0.38 g). Jupiter: 24.8 m/s² (2.53 g). Free-fall on Earth gains 9.81 m/s of speed each second.
Commercial jet turn: ~1.5 g. Fighter jet: up to 9 g. Roller coaster peak: 4–6 g. Sustained 5+ g can cause loss of consciousness. Astronaut launch: ~3 g.
The "Gal" (cm/s²) is used in geophysics for gravity surveys: 1 Gal = 0.01 m/s². 1 m/s² = 100 Gal. Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity — its sign shows direction, so deceleration is just negative acceleration.
Acceleration is the rate at which velocity changes, measured in SI as metres per second squared. The most widely quoted unit is not metric at all but the g — a multiple of standard gravity, defined as exactly 9.80665 m/s² — because it expresses forces in terms people can feel. One g sideways in a car is a hard corner; sustained 5 g is the limit of consciousness without a pressure suit. Because acceleration involves time squared, its conversion factors are not simply those of speed: converting from mph per second to m/s² requires the speed factor once, not twice, since only the velocity term carries units of distance over time.
a = Δv ÷ Δtm/s² = value × factor_from1 g = 9.80665 m/s² · 1 ft/s² = 0.3048 m/s² · 1 mph/s = 0.44704 m/s²where:
Assumptions: Assumes constant acceleration. Real vehicle acceleration falls sharply with speed as aerodynamic drag rises with the square of velocity, so a 0–60 figure is an average, not a constant rate.
Convert a familiar car statistic into engineering units and into g.
Result0–60 mph in 5.2 s = 5.16 m/s² = 0.53 g
This is an average over the run; peak acceleration in first gear is considerably higher and falls away as speed builds. It also explains why 0–60 times cluster: beyond about 1 g, launch is limited by tyre grip rather than by engine power.