Oven Temperature Conversion Chart (°F, °C, Gas Mark, Fan)
*Quick answer: Fan oven = subtract 20°C from conventional. Gas Mark 4 = 350°F = 180°C. Bookmark this page or use our unit converter for instant conversions.
I once found a Victoria sponge recipe from a BBC cookbook. It said "Gas Mark 5." I stood in my kitchen staring at my American oven dial — which only showed Fahrenheit — and had zero idea what to do. Googled it, got a dozen pages that all disagreed slightly, buried the answer under paragraphs of filler. I guessed 375°F, got lucky, and the cake turned out fine. But guessing gets old fast.
That's why this chart exists. One table, every scale, no guessing. Print it, bookmark it, tape it to the fridge — whatever keeps you from Googling "gas mark 6 to fahrenheit" at 7pm on a Tuesday with raw chicken in the pan.
The Full Oven Temperature Conversion Chart
This covers every common baking and roasting temperature across all four systems. If your recipe uses any scale, you'll find the equivalent here.
| Description | °F | °C | Fan °C | Gas Mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very Cool | 225 | 110 | 90 | ¼ |
| Cool | 250 | 120 | 100 | ½ |
| Cool | 275 | 140 | 120 | 1 |
| Warm | 300 | 150 | 130 | 2 |
| Moderate | 325 | 160 | 140 | 3 |
| Moderate | 350 | 180 | 160 | 4 |
| Moderately Hot | 375 | 190 | 170 | 5 |
| Moderately Hot | 400 | 200 | 180 | 6 |
| Hot | 425 | 220 | 200 | 7 |
| Hot | 450 | 230 | 210 | 8 |
| Very Hot | 475 | 240 | 220 | 9 |
| Extremely Hot | 500 | 260 | 240 | 10 |
How to Read This Chart (F vs C vs Gas Mark)
Different countries default to different scales, and it trips people up constantly.
United States — Fahrenheit. Every American recipe, every American oven dial. If a recipe says 375° with no letter, it's Fahrenheit.
United Kingdom — Gas Mark or Celsius. Older British recipes (and most BBC recipes) use Gas Mark. Newer ones lean toward Celsius. You'll see both.
Europe & most of the world — Celsius. Straightforward. A French recipe at 200° means 200°C.
Australia — Fan-forced Celsius. This is the sneaky one. Australian recipes already account for fan ovens, so the temperature is already reduced. If an Australian recipe says 180°C, don't subtract another 20 — it's already the fan setting.
Practical rule: see a BBC recipe? Go to the Gas Mark column. See a recipe from Allrecipes or NYT Cooking? Fahrenheit column. European food blog? Celsius column. Australian? Fan °C column — no adjustment needed.
The confusion mostly happens when you're following recipes from a different country. American expats in London, British folks using American food blogs, anyone watching a European cooking YouTube channel with Celsius on screen while their oven shows Fahrenheit. The chart above eliminates that friction — find the number you have, read across to the scale you need.
Fan Oven vs Conventional: The 20°C Rule
Fan ovens (also called convection ovens) circulate hot air around food with a built-in fan. This moves heat more efficiently, so food cooks faster and more evenly at a lower temperature.
The standard adjustment: subtract 20°C (or about 25°F) from the conventional temperature.
A recipe says 200°C conventional? Set your fan oven to 180°C. Recipe says 400°F? Set it to 375°F.
This works reliably between 140°C and 220°C — the range where 90% of baking and roasting happens. At very low temperatures (below 120°C, like slow-drying meringues), the difference shrinks and you can often ignore it. At very high temperatures (above 240°C, like pizza), the gap matters less because you're already pushing the oven's limits.
Why does this happen? In a conventional oven, hot air rises and sits near the top — the bottom of your cake gets less heat than the top. A fan pushes that air around evenly, so every surface gets consistent heat transfer. More even heat means faster cooking.
One more thing: fan ovens also cook about 10-15% faster. So if a recipe says 45 minutes at 200°C conventional, check at 35-38 minutes in a fan oven. Overcooking is the real risk when converting, not the temperature itself. Set a timer for 5-10 minutes less than the recipe says and check from there.
Conversion Formulas
For the math people. Three formulas cover every conversion:
Fahrenheit to Celsius: °C = (°F − 32) × 5 ÷ 9
Celsius to Fahrenheit: °F = (°C × 9 ÷ 5) + 32
Gas Mark to Celsius (approximate):* °C ≈ (Gas Mark × 14) + 121
That Gas Mark formula isn't exact — Gas Mark is an old British standard that doesn't map perfectly to metric — but it gets you within 5°C for marks 1-9, which is close enough for any recipe.
Don't want to do math mid-recipe with flour on your hands? The unit converter handles all of this instantly.
Is Your Oven Actually the Temperature It Says?
Here's something most people don't realize: home ovens are routinely off by 25-50°F (15-25°C). Some run hot, some run cold, and it drifts over time as heating elements age.
You can convert perfectly from Gas Mark to Fahrenheit and still get bad results if your oven is lying to you.
The fix costs $7-10: buy an oven thermometer. Hang it from the middle rack, set your oven to 350°F, wait 20 minutes, and read the thermometer. If it says 325°F, your oven runs 25° cold — adjust accordingly from now on. Do this once a year.
I tested three different ovens in rentals I lived in over the past few years. One was spot-on. One ran 15°F hot. One ran 30°F cold. That last one explained a lot of mysteriously undercooked chicken.
An oven thermometer is the single cheapest upgrade that improves every recipe you make. More useful than a fancy stand mixer, honestly.
Quick calibration test: set your oven to 350°F. Wait 20 minutes for it to fully preheat and stabilize. Read the thermometer. Turn the oven up to 425°F, wait another 15 minutes, read again. Now you know if it runs hot or cold, and whether the offset is consistent across temperatures. Write it on a sticky note inside a cabinet door. Done.
FAQ
What is Gas Mark 6 in Fahrenheit?
Gas Mark 6 = 400°F = 200°C. It's a common roasting temperature — used for roast potatoes, chicken pieces, and most savory bakes.
Why do different countries use different scales?
Historical accident. Fahrenheit was invented in 1724 by Daniel Fahrenheit — a physicist who based his scale on three reference points including the temperature of a salt-ice mixture. Celsius came in 1742, anchored to water's freezing and boiling points, which made more scientific sense. The US adopted Fahrenheit early and never switched. Gas Mark was created by British gas companies in the early 1900s as a simple 1-10 dial for their ovens — no degrees, just a number. Most of the world standardized on Celsius because it's cleaner, but the US and UK held onto their systems. So here we are, converting between three scales in 2026.
Should I adjust baking time when converting temperature?
If you're only converting between Fahrenheit and Celsius (same heat, different label), no — the time stays the same. If you're switching between conventional and fan oven, yes — reduce time by 10-15% because fan ovens cook faster. Check your food earlier than the recipe says.
How accurate are oven thermometers?
Good ones are accurate to within 5°F (3°C), which is more than precise enough for cooking. The cheap dial-type thermometers from any kitchen store work fine — you don't need a digital one. Replace it if it takes a fall or starts looking corroded.
Next Steps
- Use the unit converter for instant temperature and measurement conversions
- Read 350°F to °C for the most common baking temperature explained
- Check the cups to grams chart for weight conversions by ingredient