The factors of 27 are the whole numbers that divide 27 exactly, leaving no remainder: 1, 3, 9, 27. Use the calculator above for any number, or read on for the factor pairs, prime factorization and properties of 27.
What are the factors of 27?
A factor of 27 is any whole number that divides 27 with no remainder. Listing them from smallest to largest, the factors of 27 are:
1, 3, 9, 27
So 27 is a composite number with 4 factors in total. Every number has 1 and itself as factors; the interesting work is finding the ones in between.
Factor pairs of 27
A factor pair is two numbers that multiply to give 27. The factor pairs of 27 are:
| Factor pair | Product |
|---|---|
| 1 × 27 | 27 |
| 3 × 9 | 27 |
Prime factorization of 27
The prime factorization breaks 27 down into a product of prime numbers only:
$$ 27 = 3^{3} $$How to find the factors of 27, step by step
- Start at 1 — 1 divides every number, so 1 and 27 are always factors.
- Test each whole number from 2 upward: if it divides 27 exactly, it is a factor.
- Use factor pairs — each small factor gives a matching large factor, so you only need to test up to $\sqrt{27}$.
- List them in order to get all 4 factors of 27.
Factors versus multiples of 27
It is easy to mix these up. The factors of 27 are the numbers that divide into 27 (they are less than or equal to 27), while the multiples of 27 are what you get by multiplying 27 outward: 27, 54, 81, 108, and so on. In short: factors go in, multiples go out. 27 is an odd number, and its smallest prime factor is 3.
Properties of 27
| Number of factors | 4 |
| Sum of factors | 40 |
| Sum of proper divisors | 13 |
| Prime or composite | Composite |
| Even or odd | Odd |
| Perfect square | No |
| Prime factorization | 3^3 |
Is 27 abundant, deficient or perfect?
Number theorists classify a number by comparing it to the sum of its proper divisors (all its factors except itself). For 27, those proper divisors add up to 13, which makes 27 a deficient number (its proper divisors sum to 13, which is less than 27). Most numbers are deficient; abundant and perfect numbers are comparatively rare, which is what makes this property interesting.
Using the factors of 27 for GCF and LCM
The prime factorization $3^{3}$ is the shortcut for combining 27 with another number. To find the greatest common factor (GCF), take the primes 27 shares with the other number, each to the lowest power. For the least common multiple (LCM), take every prime that appears in either number, each to the highest power. This is why the prime factorization is worth writing down — it does the heavy lifting for fractions, ratios and simplification.
Related factors and tools
Explore more: Factors of 28 Factors of 25 Factors of 30. Or find the factors of any number with the Factor Calculator. Exponents are the reverse idea — see logarithms and read the formal reference on divisors at Wikipedia.