About the Bar to PSI Converter
This bar to PSI converter changes a pressure reading in bar — the metric unit printed on European tire placards, espresso machines, pressure washers and scuba gauges — into pounds per square inch (psi), the unit used on most US gauges. It also shows the pressure in kilopascals, megapascals and standard atmospheres.
Use it when your car door sticker lists tire pressure in bar but your pump reads psi, when comparing pressure-washer or air-compressor specs, setting a bike tire, or reading hydraulic and plumbing data sheets. The conversion table covers the most common values from 0.5 to 10 bar.
The conversion does not change whether a reading is gauge pressure (relative to the surrounding air) or absolute pressure — a gauge value in bar converts to a gauge value in psi (sometimes written psig).
With the default inputs, the pounds per square inch is 36.26 psi. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the bar to psi converter
- 1Enter the pressure in bar from your gauge, placard or spec sheet.
- 2Read the equivalent pressure in psi.
- 3Check kPa, MPa or atm if your equipment uses those units.
- 4Use the chart and table to look up other common pressures.
Formula and method
One bar is defined as exactly 100,000 pascals (100 kPa). One psi is the pressure of one pound-force on one square inch, which works out to 6,894.757 Pa using the exact pound (0.45359237 kg), standard gravity (9.80665 m/s²) and inch (0.0254 m). Dividing gives 1 bar = 14.5038 psi.
Kilopascals are bar × 100 and megapascals bar ÷ 10. A standard atmosphere is 101,325 Pa, so 1 bar is 0.98692 atm — close to, but slightly less than, average sea-level air pressure.
- bar
- Pressure in bar (100 kPa)
- psi
- Pounds-force per square inch
- Pa
- Pascal, the SI unit of pressure (N/m²)
Worked examples
2.5 bar car tire
2.5 × 14.5038 = 36.26 psi, a typical front-tire pressure for a mid-size car. That is 250 kPa.
1 bar
One bar is 100 kPa, or 14.50 psi — just under one standard atmosphere (0.987 atm).
10 bar air compressor
10 × 14.5038 = 145.04 psi, a common maximum rating for workshop compressors (1 MPa).
Frequently asked questions
How many psi is 1 bar?+
One bar equals 14.5038 psi. Going the other way, 1 psi is 0.0689476 bar, so divide psi by 14.5038 to get bar.
What is 2.2 bar in psi for tires?+
2.2 bar is 31.9 psi, 2.4 bar is 34.8 psi and 2.5 bar is 36.3 psi. These are typical passenger-car tire pressures, but always follow your vehicle placard.
Is bar the same as atmosphere?+
Almost. One bar is 100,000 Pa while one standard atmosphere is 101,325 Pa, so 1 atm = 1.01325 bar. The 1.3% difference matters in lab work but rarely for everyday gauges.
What pressure do espresso machines use?+
Espresso is traditionally brewed at around 9 bar, which is about 130.5 psi. Pump labels such as "15 bar" state the maximum the pump can produce, not the brew pressure.
What is the difference between psi and psig?+
psig is gauge pressure measured relative to the surrounding air, while psia is absolute pressure measured from a vacuum. Tire and compressor gauges read gauge pressure.