How to convert meters to feet
To convert meters to feet, divide the value by 0.3048, or multiply it by about 3.28084.
ft = m ÷ 0.3048
Example: 10 m ÷ 0.3048 = 32.8084 ft
How to convert feet to meters
To convert feet to meters, multiply the value by 0.3048.
m = ft × 0.3048
Example: 10 ft × 0.3048 = 3.048 m
1 m = 3.28084 ft · 1 ft = 0.3048 m
A foot is exactly 0.3048 meters, or 12 inches. Feet are used for people’s height and for room and building sizes in the United States and the United Kingdom, and for aircraft altitude all over the world.
Meters, feet and where each is used
The meter was first defined in the 1790s as one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator, and since 1983 it has been defined by the speed of light. The foot is far older and was originally based, roughly, on the length of a human foot; today it is fixed to the meter, so the two always convert the same way.
Places where you still meet feet: people’s height in the US and UK, room sizes and ceiling heights in American homes (a common ceiling height is 8 ft, or 2.44 m), aircraft altitude (an airliner cruising at 35,000 ft is about 10.7 km up) and mountain heights in American media (Everest’s 8,848.86 m is about 29,032 ft). Most of the world uses meters for all of these.
Height in feet and inches
Height is almost never written in decimal feet. It is split into whole feet plus inches and written with marks: 5′9″ (also 5'9" or 5 ft 9 in) means 5 feet 9 inches. To get there from a height in centimeters:
- Divide by 2.54 to get inches: 175 cm → 68.9 in.
- Take out whole feet of 12 inches: 68.9 = 5 × 12 + 8.9.
- Round the rest: 5 ft 8.9 in ≈ 5′9″.
Going back, 5′9″ is 5 × 12 + 9 = 69 in, and 69 × 2.54 = 175.26 cm.
| Height | Decimal feet | Feet and inches |
|---|---|---|
| 1.50 m | 4.92 ft | 4′11″ |
| 1.60 m | 5.25 ft | 5′3″ |
| 1.70 m | 5.58 ft | 5′7″ |
| 1.75 m | 5.74 ft | 5′9″ |
| 1.80 m | 5.91 ft | 5′11″ |
| 1.90 m | 6.23 ft | 6′3″ |
The BMI Calculator accepts height in either meters and centimeters or feet and inches.
Quick mental math
- Meters to feet: multiply by 3, then add 10%. 10 m → 30 + 3 = 33 ft (exact: 32.81 ft), only about 0.6% high.
- Feet to meters: multiply by 0.3. 100 ft → 30 m (exact: 30.48 m), about 1.6% low. To fix most of the gap, add half a meter for every 100 ft.
Common mistakes
- Reading 5.9 ft as 5′9″. Decimal feet are tenths of a foot, not inches. 5.9 ft is 5 ft 10.8 in (1.80 m), while 5′9″ is 1.75 m.
- Using the same factor for area or volume. One square meter is 10.76 square feet and one cubic meter is 35.31 cubic feet, not 3.28. For floor space, use square meters to square feet.
- Rounding too early. Calling a foot 0.3 m is fine for a room, but on a 1,000 ft tower the error is already 4.8 m.
FAQ
How tall is 6 feet in meters?
Exactly 1.8288 m, so a six-footer is a little over 1.83 m tall. Someone who is 1.80 m is just under 5′11″.
How many feet is a 100-meter sprint?
About 328 feet, or roughly 109 yards, which is a little longer than an American football field between the goal lines (100 yards).
What was the US survey foot?
An older American definition of exactly 1200/3937 m, used for land surveying. It differs from the international foot by only 2 parts per million, about 2 mm per kilometer, but that matters across a whole state. The United States retired it at the end of 2022, so one foot is now 0.3048 m for every purpose.
Why are plywood sheets 1220 × 2440 mm?
Because the standard board size comes from 4 × 8 ft, which is 1219.2 × 2438.4 mm. Many “metric” building products are really foot sizes rounded to the nearest 10 mm.
Meters to feet conversion table
| Meters (m) | Feet (ft) |
|---|---|
| 0.5 m | 1.64042 ft |
| 1 m | 3.28084 ft |
| 1.5 m | 4.92126 ft |
| 1.6 m | 5.24934 ft |
| 1.7 m | 5.57743 ft |
| 1.8 m | 5.90551 ft |
| 1.9 m | 6.2336 ft |
| 2 m | 6.56168 ft |
| 3 m | 9.84252 ft |
| 4 m | 13.1234 ft |
| 5 m | 16.4042 ft |
| 10 m | 32.8084 ft |
| 15 m | 49.2126 ft |
| 20 m | 65.6168 ft |
| 25 m | 82.021 ft |
| 30 m | 98.4252 ft |
| 50 m | 164.042 ft |
| 100 m | 328.084 ft |
| 200 m | 656.168 ft |
| 500 m | 1,640.42 ft |
| 1,000 m | 3,280.84 ft |
Feet to meters conversion table
| Feet (ft) | Meters (m) |
|---|---|
| 1 ft | 0.3048 m |
| 2 ft | 0.6096 m |
| 3 ft | 0.9144 m |
| 4 ft | 1.2192 m |
| 5 ft | 1.524 m |
| 5.5 ft | 1.6764 m |
| 6 ft | 1.8288 m |
| 6.5 ft | 1.9812 m |
| 7 ft | 2.1336 m |
| 8 ft | 2.4384 m |
| 9 ft | 2.7432 m |
| 10 ft | 3.048 m |
| 12 ft | 3.6576 m |
| 15 ft | 4.572 m |
| 20 ft | 6.096 m |
| 25 ft | 7.62 m |
| 30 ft | 9.144 m |
| 50 ft | 15.24 m |
| 100 ft | 30.48 m |
| 500 ft | 152.4 m |
| 1,000 ft | 304.8 m |
| 10,000 ft | 3,048 m |
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