Google unit_pricing_measure and unit_pricing_base_measure: Accepted Units, Base Values and Worked Feed Rows

Google lists 23 accepted units for unit_pricing_measure, but accepts only six whole numbers (1, 2, 4, 8, 10 and 100) as the denominator in unit_pricing_base_measure, according to Google's attribute specification. That mismatch is an easy place to go wrong: the quantity is right, the denominator is not, and the product is disapproved. This reference is for feed managers selling food, drinks, flooring, cosmetics or any product sold by weight, volume, length or area into the EU, EFTA countries, the UK, Australia or New Zealand. By the end you will be able to build both attributes from raw catalog data, pick the correct base value per category, avoid the energy label conflict, and score your own feed before Google does.

What the two attributes do

unit_pricing_measure is the total quantity in the pack: a positive number plus a unit, such as 750ml. unit_pricing_base_measure is the denominator you want the unit price shown against, such as 1l or 100ml. Google divides the product price by the first and scales it to the second, then displays the result next to the price.

Google marks the pair as optional in general, but states that in the EU, EFTA countries, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, certain products in Shopping ads and free listings must show a unit price under local rules and therefore need the attribute. Products that do not meet the requirements are disapproved, per the unit_pricing_measure specification.

The legal background in the EU is Directive 98/6/EC, whose stated aim is that the selling price and the price per unit of measurement are indicated for all products offered by traders to consumers (European Commission). The page we cite does not say how each member state applies it to online sales, so treat Google's list as the feed-side floor and ask counsel about the rest.

Accepted units and denominators

Use these values exactly as Google lists them. Units are lowercase and attached to the number without a space in Google's own examples, such as 750ml and 100oz.

For unit_pricing_base_measure the number must be one of 1, 2, 4, 8, 10 or 100, and Google also lists 75cl, 750ml, 50kg and 1000kg as extra metric combinations. Use the same unit type in both attributes, which Google gives as best practice. Two further rules matter for the UK and for rounding:

• UK: submit metric values. Imperial units such as floz, pt, qt and gal are read as US imperial, which differs from UK imperial.
• Decimals: no more than two digits after the decimal point. Extra digits are rounded to the nearest acceptable value, so 0.375l is a bad value and 375ml is the correct one.

Choose the base value per category

The base measure should be the denominator a shopper expects to compare on. We use this default map and change it only where a national rule or retailer convention says otherwise.

Google's own examples confirm several of these: a 125 ml eau de toilette at 19.90 EUR with a 100 ml base displays as €15,92 / 100 ml, and 2.38 sqm of flooring at 113.19 EUR with a 1 sqm base displays as €47,56 / 1 m².

Before and after: a feed teardown

Here is a Turkish olive oil exporter selling into Germany, a typical case where the source catalog holds the size only inside the title. The row below is illustrative, built to show the transformation, not taken from a client feed.

Before (source row, fields shown with pipes):

id: ZY-500 | title: Natürliches Olivenöl extra vergine 0,5 L | price: 8.45 EUR | unit_pricing_measure: (empty) | unit_pricing_base_measure: (empty)

After (rule output):

id: ZY-500 | title: Natürliches Olivenöl extra vergine 0,5 L | price: 8.45 EUR | unit_pricing_measure: 500ml | unit_pricing_base_measure: 100ml

The unit price becomes 8.45 / 5 = 1.69 EUR per 100 ml. Three things changed. The comma decimal in 0,5 L was converted to a dot and then to a whole-number millilitre value, the unit was lowercased, and the base was chosen from the category map rather than copied from the title. Wine works the same way: 12.90 EUR for 750ml against a 1l base gives 17.20 EUR per litre.

In XML the same row carries <g:unit_pricing_measure>500ml</g:unit_pricing_measure> and <g:unit_pricing_base_measure>100ml</g:unit_pricing_base_measure>. For the Merchant API, follow the formatting in Google's reference rather than the text-feed string.

How to build the values from messy catalog data

Source catalogs rarely hold a clean quantity. Our method has four passes, in this order.

1. Find the quantity. Prefer a dedicated size or weight field from the shop platform. Fall back to parsing the title only for rows where the field is empty, and flag those rows for review.
2. Normalise the number. Replace comma decimals, strip thousands separators, and convert any value with more than two decimals into the next smaller unit (litres to millilitres, kilograms to grams).
3. Map the unit. Translate local spellings (lt, litre, gr, adet) to Google's list. Reject anything that does not map.
4. Assign the base. Look up the product's category in your base map and write it as a number from the allowed set plus the same unit type.

In a rules engine this is a conditional rule per category, evaluated before the export to each channel. Feedance Feed Rules apply conditional instructions to product data ahead of each channel export, and the logic above fits that model. Other feed tools with rule engines can build the same strings. The method does not depend on the tool.

The energy label conflict

Google states that you should submit either the unit pricing measure or the energy efficiency class, and not both. If both are present, only the energy efficiency class is shown (source). This bites products such as lamps and appliances that sit in catalogs also carrying a volume or length. Since April 2025, Google says the energy efficiency class attributes are only available for products that target Switzerland, Norway or the United Kingdom, and EU products that need graphical energy labels use the certification attribute instead (Google Merchant Center Help). Add a rule that clears the unit pricing fields whenever an energy class is set.

Score your feed before Google does

Run this rubric across a sample of at least 200 rows per target country, or the full feed if it is smaller. Score each check 0, 1 or 2, where 2 means every sampled row passes.

A score of 10 means ready to submit. Below 8, fix the lowest-scoring check first, because a single systematic error such as a comma decimal usually affects hundreds of rows at once. Re-check after every catalog import, since supplier files drift.

Where this breaks down

This guide covers Google Merchant Center only. We did not verify equivalent attributes for Meta, TikTok Shop or the Turkish comparison sites, and you should not assume they follow the same denominators. The EU directive page we cite does not say which sales channels or products a member state covers, so we cannot tell you whether a given product legally needs a unit price in a given country.

For Turkey, an amendment to the Fiyat Etiketi Yönetmeliği published on 27 July 2019 defines the retail label as the tax-inclusive selling price and the unit price (text of the amendment). We did not find a rule on online listings in the sources we could read, and Google does not name Turkey among its regulated unit pricing markets, so the Google requirement applies to Turkish sellers only when they target one of the listed regions.

Finally, the method assumes the quantity exists somewhere in your data. Where it does not, a rule cannot invent it, and a person has to enter it. Products sold in variable weights, such as fresh produce priced per kilo, need a different treatment from fixed packs, and we have not tested that case.

FAQ

Is unit_pricing_measure required for every product?

No. Google treats it as optional in general. It is required for certain products, such as those sold by weight, volume, length or area, in the EU, EFTA countries, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Do I need unit_pricing_base_measure if I send unit_pricing_measure?

Google tells you to include the denominator for the unit price, and the base measure is how you set it. Submit both together and use the same unit type in each.

What happens if the value is wrong?

Google says products that do not meet the requirements are disapproved and flagged in your Merchant Center account. Extra decimals are rounded, but an unlisted unit or denominator is a real error.

Can I submit 0.5l or must I use 500ml?

Either is within the two-decimal limit, but we convert fractional values to the smaller unit as a rule. It avoids rounding surprises such as 0.375l, where you should send 375ml.

What is the correct unit for UK listings?

Metric. Google reads floz, pt, qt and gal as US imperial, which differs from UK imperial, so a UK pint or gallon would be mispriced.

Can I send both a unit price and an energy efficiency class?

No. Google says to submit one or the other, and if both are present only the energy efficiency class is shown. Clear the unit pricing fields when an energy class is set.

Do the units sheet and item work everywhere?

No. Google makes sheet and item available only in Australia and New Zealand. For other countries use ct for countable items.

Does this apply to Turkish sellers?

Only when they target a region where Google requires it, such as the EU or UK. For domestic Turkish sales, the Fiyat Etiketi Yönetmeliği label rules are a separate question to settle with local counsel.

Related reading

If your prices fail checks in other ways, see our guide to currency and VAT formatting in TRY, AED and SAR feeds, since a wrong price breaks the unit price too. For checking generated values before they ship, use the QA checklist for AI-enriched attributes, and for how Feedance connects to Google, see the Google Merchant Center integration.

Check your own feed

Want the unit pricing rules above applied to your own catalog and tested against Merchant Center? Request a 15-minute demo and bring a sample of your feed.