CSS units·15px
15px =
0.9375rem
11.25pt

15 px in rem — 0.9375 rem, 11.25 pt

15 px is 0.9375 rem and 11.25 pt — 0.15625 inches, 3.969 mm, and 93.75% of the root font size.

rem (root 16 px)
0.9375rem
pt (points)
11.25pt
pc (picas)
0.9375pc
percent of root
93.75%
inches
0.15625in
millimetres
3.969mm
centimetres
0.3969cm

Why rem divides by 16

Because browsers default the root font size to 16 px, and rem is a multiple of it. When a reader enlarges text in their browser settings, only the parts written in rem grow — anything pinned in px stays put.

Nearby sizes

pxrem (root 16 px)pt (points)
12px0.75rem9pt
13px0.8125rem9.75pt
14px0.875rem10.5pt
15px0.9375rem11.25pt
16px1rem12pt
17px1.0625rem12.75pt
18px1.125rem13.5pt

On screen, pt and inches are still pixels

CSS fixes one inch at 96 px and one point at 1/72 inch. So 16 px is exactly 12 pt — but hold a ruler to the screen and that "inch" will not measure an inch.

Sizes you meet most

Body text at 16, small text at 14, spacing at 8, 24 and 32 — the values that keep coming back.

How to read this

  • rem = px ÷ 16, because browsers default the root font size to 16 px.
  • pt = px × 0.75, since CSS fixes an inch at 96 px and a point at 1/72 inch.
  • One pc is 12 pt, and one inch is both 96 px and 72 pt.
  • Use rem for text and spacing; keep px for hairlines such as borders.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How many rem is 15 px?

0.9375 rem — that is 15 divided by 16.

Q. How many points is 15 px?

11.25 pt. A point is 1/72 inch and an inch is 96 px, so you multiply by 0.75.

Q. What length is that?

0.15625 inches, or 3.969 mm — though a ruler on the screen will not agree.

Q. And as a percentage?

93.75% of the root font size.