How to Convert a String to a Float in Python

Strings and floats are both data types in Python.

However, sometimes you have a string that you want to convert to a float.

In this post, we will learn how to convert a string to a float in Python.

How to convert a string to a float in Python

Let's start off with our string that we want to convert to a float:

PYTHON
string_to_convert = "1.23"

print(type(string_to_convert))

BASH
<class 'str'>

Now, we can use the built-in float method that takes in a string and attempts to convert it to a float:

PYTHON
string_to_convert = "1.23"

float_value = float(string_to_convert)

print(type(float_value))

BASH
<class 'float'>

We were able to confirm via the print statement that the string was converted to a float.

Now we can print out the float value itself to see the result:

PYTHON
string_to_convert = "1.23"

float_value = float(string_to_convert)

print(float_value)

BASH
1.23

Keep in mind that if the string you pass in is not a valid float, then you will get an error when Python tries to convert the value.

Here's an example:

PYTHON
string_to_convert = "1.23a"

float_value = float(string_to_convert)

print(float_value)

BASH
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<string>", line 3, in <module>
ValueError: could not convert string to float: '1.23a'

As long as you ensure the string you pass in is a valid float, then you will get a float value without issues.

Conclusion

In this post, we learned how to convert a string to a float in Python.

Simply pass in a valid string to the float method and you will get back a valid float value.

Thanks for reading!

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