Wire Gauge (AWG) Calculator
Find wire diameter and cross-section area from an American Wire Gauge (AWG) size.
Assumptions used in this calculation
- Solid round conductor: Assumes a solid round conductor per the standard AWG formula, not stranded wire, which has a slightly larger overall diameter for the same conductive area.
About this calculator
American Wire Gauge sizing follows a geometric progression rather than a simple linear scale, so you can't estimate a wire's actual diameter or cross-sectional area from its gauge number without applying the exponential AWG formula, and picking the wrong gauge for a given current can mean excessive voltage drop, overheating, or unnecessarily bulky and expensive cable. This calculator converts any AWG number into its physical diameter in millimetres and its cross-sectional area in square millimetres, using the standard formula where diameter shrinks by a factor of 92 for every 39 gauge steps down (or up) the scale. It's built for anyone converting between AWG and metric wire specifications, cross-referencing an American cable spool against a metric-rated cable-sizing or voltage-drop calculation, or simply trying to picture how thick a given gauge of wire actually is, without needing a printed AWG reference chart or wire gauge caliper on hand.
Worked example
AWG 12
Result: 2.053 mm diameter, 3.31 mm²
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