Cholesterol Converter
Pick the marker, then enter it in the unit your lab used. US labs report lipids in mg/dL; the UK, Canada, Australia and most of Europe use mmol/L, and ApoB is often given in g/L. Each marker has its own factor, which is why one converter for “cholesterol” gets triglycerides wrong.
Educational tool, not a diagnosis. Bands are the US adult categories (NCEP ATP III for the lipid panel, the 2018 AHA/ACC risk-enhancer line for ApoB); your own targets depend on your overall cardiovascular risk, which is for your clinician to assess. Non-HDL bands are the LDL bands plus 30 mg/dL. Lp(a) has no exact conversion and is handled by its own converter.
Three factors, not one
Converting a lipid panel takes three different numbers. Total, LDL, HDL and non-HDL cholesterol all measure cholesterol, so they share one factor: multiply mmol/L by 38.67 to get mg/dL. Triglycerides are a different molecule, more than twice as heavy, so the factor is 88.57. ApoB is a protein usually reported by weight in both systems, so it only moves the decimal point: g/L times 100 is mg/dL.
The common mistake is to run triglycerides through the cholesterol factor. A triglyceride level of 1.7 mmol/L is 151 mg/dL, right at the US borderline; with the wrong factor it would come out as 66 mg/dL and look reassuringly low. Lp(a) is the one lipid with no exact conversion at all, which is why it has its own Lp(a) converter that returns a range.
Cholesterol: mmol/L to mg/dL
For total, LDL, HDL and non-HDL cholesterol. The values include the targets and cut-offs most often quoted in both systems: 1.4 and 1.8 mmol/L (the European LDL goals for very high and high risk), 2.6 mmol/L (the US optimal LDL line), 4.9 mmol/L (just under the US very-high LDL line of 190 mg/dL) and 5.2 and 6.2 mmol/L (the US borderline and high lines for total cholesterol).
| Cholesterol in mmol/L | Same level in mg/dL |
|---|---|
| 1.0 mmol/L | 39 mg/dL |
| 1.4 mmol/L | 54 mg/dL |
| 1.8 mmol/L | 70 mg/dL |
| 2.0 mmol/L | 77 mg/dL |
| 2.6 mmol/L | 101 mg/dL |
| 3.0 mmol/L | 116 mg/dL |
| 3.4 mmol/L | 131 mg/dL |
| 4.0 mmol/L | 155 mg/dL |
| 4.9 mmol/L | 189 mg/dL |
| 5.2 mmol/L | 201 mg/dL |
| 6.2 mmol/L | 240 mg/dL |
| 7.0 mmol/L | 271 mg/dL |
Triglycerides: mmol/L to mg/dL
With the US categories: normal below 150 mg/dL, borderline high 150 to 199, high 200 to 499, very high 500 and above. Triglycerides move with your last meal and with alcohol more than any other lipid, so compare fasting results with fasting results.
| Triglycerides in mmol/L | Same level in mg/dL | US category |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 mmol/L | 44 mg/dL | Normal |
| 1.0 mmol/L | 89 mg/dL | Normal |
| 1.5 mmol/L | 133 mg/dL | Normal |
| 1.7 mmol/L | 151 mg/dL | Borderline high |
| 2.0 mmol/L | 177 mg/dL | Borderline high |
| 2.3 mmol/L | 204 mg/dL | High |
| 3.0 mmol/L | 266 mg/dL | High |
| 5.0 mmol/L | 443 mg/dL | High |
| 5.7 mmol/L | 505 mg/dL | Very high |
ApoB: g/L to mg/dL
ApoB counts atherogenic particles rather than the cholesterol they carry, which is why it is increasingly used to settle a borderline LDL. The thresholds below come from three bodies that do not use the same numbers, so read them as a map of where the lines sit, not as your personal target. More on what it measures in ApoB and heart disease risk.
| ApoB in g/L | Same level in mg/dL | Which line it is |
|---|---|---|
| 0.65 g/L | 65 mg/dL | ESC/EAS very-high-risk goal |
| 0.80 g/L | 80 mg/dL | ESC/EAS high-risk goal |
| 0.90 g/L | 90 mg/dL | NLA threshold at borderline-to-intermediate risk |
| 1.00 g/L | 100 mg/dL | ESC/EAS moderate-risk goal |
| 1.30 g/L | 130 mg/dL | US risk-enhancing factor (2018 AHA/ACC) |
Reading the converted number
Once your result is in familiar units, the categories are only the start. An LDL of 130 mg/dL is read differently in a 35-year-old non-smoker than in someone with diabetes, and US and European guidelines set different targets for the same person. For specific values, see LDL at 130 mg/dL, total cholesterol at 220 and triglycerides at 180; the ratio of the last two to HDL is in the triglyceride-to-HDL calculator.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you convert cholesterol from mmol/L to mg/dL?
- Multiply by 38.67. This works for total, LDL, HDL and non-HDL cholesterol: an LDL of 3.0 mmol/L is 116 mg/dL and a total cholesterol of 5.2 mmol/L is 201 mg/dL. To go the other way, divide mg/dL by 38.67.
- How do you convert triglycerides from mmol/L to mg/dL?
- Multiply by 88.57, not by 38.67. Triglycerides have their own factor because a triglyceride molecule is more than twice as heavy as a cholesterol molecule. A triglyceride level of 1.7 mmol/L is 151 mg/dL; using the cholesterol factor by mistake would give 66, a completely different result.
- How do you convert ApoB from g/L to mg/dL?
- Multiply by 100. ApoB is reported by mass in both systems, so 0.9 g/L is 90 mg/dL and 1.3 g/L is 130 mg/dL. No molar mass is involved.
- What is a normal LDL in mmol/L?
- In the US categories, an LDL below 100 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L) is optimal and 100 to 129 mg/dL (2.6 to 3.3 mmol/L) near optimal. European guidelines set an LDL goal of below 3.0 mmol/L (116 mg/dL) for people at low risk. People at high cardiovascular risk are given lower targets, typically below 1.8 or 1.4 mmol/L (about 70 or 55 mg/dL).
- Can I convert Lp(a) the same way?
- No. Lp(a) is the one lipid marker with no exact conversion between mg/dL and nmol/L, because the size of the Lp(a) particle varies from person to person. It needs its own converter, which returns a range.
- Does Merios store these numbers?
- No. The converter runs entirely in your browser. Your inputs never leave your device and are not sent to a server.
Track this in Merios
Every lipid panel on one scale, whichever lab ran it.
Merios reads the units off each report you upload and keeps every marker on one scale, so a panel in mmol/L and one in mg/dL sit on the same curve instead of looking like two different people.
References: National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel. Third Report of the NCEP Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III). Circulation 2002;106(25):3143-3421. · Grundy SM, Stone NJ, Bailey AL, et al. 2018 AHA/ACC/AACVPR/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA guideline on the management of blood cholesterol. Circulation 2019;139(25):e1082-e1143. · Mach F, Baigent C, Catapano AL, et al. 2019 ESC/EAS guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias. Eur Heart J 2020;41(1):111-188. · National Lipid Association. Role of ApoB in clinical management of cardiovascular risk in adults: expert clinical consensus. J Clin Lipidol 2024. · Educational tool, not a diagnosis; interpret any result with the reference range printed on your own report and with your physician.