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Aviation calculators/Altitude calculations/Pressure altitude
ALTITUDE CALCULATIONS

Pressure altitude calculator

Find what the altimeter indicates on the standard pressure setting.

Instant resultsQNH, QNE & QFE diagramNo account needed

Airfield & weather

Live calculation

Use the published airfield elevation and current QNH.

ft MSL
−1,500 to 20,000 ft
hPa
Sea-level altimeter setting
Pressure units

Pressure altitude

LIVE RESULT
Standard-pressure indication5,500 ft

Altimeter set to QNE / standard pressure

QNH 1013.25 hPaStandard setting (QNE) 1013.25 hPa
THREE ALTIMETER REFERENCES

QNH, QNE & QFE at a glance.

QNH is referenced to mean sea level, QFE to the airfield, and QNE is the standard altimeter setting.

How it works
AIRFIELD5,500 ft MSLQNH · SEA LEVEL1013.25 hPaOCEAN · MEAN SEA LEVELQNE · STANDARD SETTING1013.25 hPaQFE · AT AIRFIELD827.42 hPaAltimeter reads ≈ 0 ft here

Swipe diagram to see all three settings →

Illustrative terrain; vertical distances are not to scale. QNE is a standard altimeter setting, not a physical pressure layer. QFE is estimated from QNH and elevation.
QNH1013.25 hPa

Reads 5,500 ft MSL at the airfield.

QNE1013.25 hPa

Reads 5,500 ft pressure altitude at the airfield.

QFE827.42 hPa

Reads approximately 0 ft at the airfield reference datum.

THE METHOD

What pressure altitude means.

Pressure altitude is the altitude indicated when an altimeter is set to 1013.25 hPa (29.92 inHg), the standard pressure setting known as QNE. Enter the published airfield elevation and current QNH; the calculator estimates local airfield pressure using a standard-atmosphere altimeter model and derives the corresponding pressure altitude.

Standard-atmosphere relationshipAirfield pressure ≈ QNH × (1 − L × elevation / T₀)^5.25588

The diagram illustrates the different altimeter references. It is not a scale drawing of physical pressure layers.

NEXT STEP

Temperature changes the picture.

Pressure altitude alone does not describe how warm or cold air affects aircraft performance. Enter outside air temperature in the density altitude calculator for a planning estimate.

Open density altitude calculator →

Reference: FAA Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge

A planning aid. Use published data for flight.

QFE is estimated from QNH with a standard-atmosphere model. Check current official pressure information and local altimeter-setting procedures before flight.