Meters to Feet Converter

How to convert meters to feet (the formula)

To convert meters to feet, multiply by 3.28084, or, equivalently, divide by 0.3048: feet = meters ÷ 0.3048. Both give the same answer because 1 ÷ 0.3048 = 3.280839895…, an exact relationship since the foot is defined as exactly 0.3048 meters.

Two examples: a 2-meter doorway is 2 × 3.28084 = 6.56168 feet, and a 100-meter sprint is 100 × 3.28084 = 328.084 feet. Because a meter is longer than a foot, the feet value is always the larger number, a useful check that you multiplied rather than divided.

This page converts live in both directions. Type meters and the feet box fills in; type feet and the meters update instead. If your source gives centimeters, convert to meters first (divide by 100) or just use the centimeter-to-inch factor of 0.393701 and then divide by 12.

Why one meter is 3.28084 feet

The factor 3.28084 is just one divided by 0.3048. Since the 1959 international yard-and-pound agreement, one foot has been defined as exactly 0.3048 meters, so inverting that exact definition gives 1 m = 3.280839895013… feet. The decimal never terminates, which is why the factor is written to a few places depending on the precision needed.

It is worth knowing that the meter is the primary unit here: the foot is defined in terms of the meter, not the other way around. The meter itself is defined by fixing the speed of light in a vacuum at exactly 299,792,458 meters per second, as described in the BIPM's SI Brochure and NIST's definitions of the SI base units.

Because the relationship is a definition, not a measurement, any meters-to-feet conversion is exact up to the number of digits you keep. NIST SP 811 lists 1 m = 3.28084 ft as the conversion factor, and it is used throughout US engineering and construction whenever a metric drawing meets an imperial tape measure.

Meters to feet conversion chart

Both directions for the most common values. The meters-to-feet column is rounded to four decimal places.

Anchor to remember: 1 meter is a little over 3 feet, and 30 meters is a little over 98 feet. A 25-meter swimming pool is 82.02 feet long.

Worked examples: common meters to feet conversions

Four meters-to-feet conversions US users ask for most, worked with the exact factor.

• A 1.8-meter person: 1.8 × 3.28084 = 5.90551 ft, or 5 ft 10.9 in. Split the decimal: 5.90551 × 12 = 70.87 inches.
• A 10-meter measurement: 10 × 3.28084 = 32.8084 ft.
• A 3-meter ceiling: 3 × 3.28084 = 9.8425 ft, about 9 ft 10 in, taller than a standard 8-foot US ceiling.
• A 100-meter distance: 100 × 3.28084 = 328.084 ft.

To read a decimal-feet result as feet and inches, multiply the fractional part by 12. For 5.90551 ft, the fraction is 0.90551 × 12 = 10.87 inches, giving 5 ft 10.9 in.

Meters to feet for height, pools and property

Meters-to-feet comes up whenever a metric measurement needs to be pictured in US units.

Height. European forms list height in meters or centimeters. A 1.75 m person is 5.74147 ft, or about 5 ft 8.9 in. For a quick read, multiply by 3.28 to get feet, then take the decimal times 12 for inches.

Swimming and sports. Competition pools are built to metric lengths. A 50-meter pool is 164.04 feet, and a 25-meter pool is 82.02 feet. Track distances are similar, a 400-meter lap is 1,312.34 feet, just under a quarter mile.

Property and land. International real estate listings use square meters for area and meters for lot frontage. A 20-meter lot front is 65.62 feet. Remember that linear meters convert with 3.28084, but square meters convert with 10.7639, a different factor entirely. Using the linear factor on an area is one of the most common real-estate conversion errors.

Meters-to-feet mistakes to avoid

The formula is one multiplication, but a few mistakes recur.

• Using 3.28 and calling it exact. The true factor is 3.28084. Over 100 meters, 3.28 understates the answer by about 8 cm.
• Dividing instead of multiplying. Meters are longer than feet, so the feet value must be larger. If your feet number is smaller than your meters number, you divided.
• Confusing meters with square or cubic meters. Linear meters use 3.28084; square meters use 10.7639; cubic meters use 35.3147.
• Forgetting the inches step. A result of 5.9 feet is not "5 feet 9 inches", it is 5 ft 10.8 in. Multiply the decimal by 12.

Self-check: since 1 m is about 3.28 ft, a 2-meter length should land near 6.5 feet. If it does not, you flipped the operation or dropped a factor.

Square meters vs square feet: a different factor

A frequent and expensive mistake is to use the linear meters-to-feet factor of 3.28084 on an area. Area is a two-dimensional quantity, so the factor is squared: 1 m² = 10.7639 ft², and going the other way 1 ft² = 0.092903 m².

Why squared? Because one square meter is a square one meter on each side, and each side is 3.28084 feet. Multiply the two sides together and you get 3.28084 × 3.28084 = 10.7639 square feet. The same logic makes the cubic factor 3.28084³ = 35.3147 cubic feet per cubic meter.

• 50 m² = 538.2 ft² (not 164 ft²)
• 100 m² = 1,076.4 ft² (not 328 ft²)
• 1 m² = 10.7639 ft²

Real estate is where this bites hardest. A European listing of 100 m² sounds small next to a US "1,000 square foot" apartment, but 100 m² is 1,076 ft², bigger. Convert with the squared factor, never the linear one, whenever the quantity is area.

To keep the two straight, remember that linear distance uses 3.28084, area uses 10.7639, and volume uses 35.3147, each one the previous factor multiplied by 3.28084 again. If you ever catch yourself multiplying a floor area by 3.28 and getting a number that looks far too small, you used the linear factor on a squared quantity. Checking the units, feet versus square feet, is the quickest guard against the mistake, because the exponent tells you how many times to apply the factor.

Sources: NIST Letter Circular 1033 (the 1959 yard-and-pound agreement).

Where these conversion factors come from

The relationship between meters and feet is fixed by international agreement rather than by local convention. The values used on this page follow the NIST guide to the SI (US Department of Commerce) and the BIPM SI Brochure, the two documents that define the exact values used worldwide.

Because these factors are exact by definition rather than measured, converting a number and converting it back always returns the number you started with, there is no rounding drift to worry about.