Free Feet to Meters Converter — Exact Factor 0.3048

What is a foot, and what is a meter?

The foot is a unit of length in the imperial and US customary systems. One foot holds 12 inches, and 3 feet make a yard. Since the International Yard and Pound Agreement of 1959, the foot has been defined as exactly 0.3048 meters, which is what makes this conversion exact rather than approximate. Feet are still the everyday unit for heights, room sizes and building plans in the United States, and they remain common for people’s heights and property sizes in the United Kingdom. Aircraft altitudes are also given in feet worldwide.

The meter (spelled metre in the UK) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). It is defined by the speed of light: one meter is the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. Meters are the standard unit for building plans, room sizes and heights across Europe and almost everywhere else in the world. One meter is a little longer than a yard — about 3.28 feet — so a room measured in meters always shows a smaller number than the same room measured in feet.

How to use the converter

1. Type a length in the Feet box — the meters result appears instantly, with no button to press.
2. Or type in the Meters box instead: the converter works both ways, so the feet value updates at once.
3. Use the Swap button to reverse the direction. The converted value carries over as the new starting number.
4. Read the result line under the boxes: it shows the full conversion plus the one-unit rate, 1 foot = 0.3048 meters.

Feet to meters formula

The converter uses the exact factor 0.3048 in both directions, so converting there and back returns the number you started with. Rounded shortcuts such as × 0.3 are fine for a rough guess but drift by about 1.6 percent — enough to matter when you are ordering flooring or cutting timber.

Worked example

A living-room wall measures 14 feet long, and the flooring is sold by the meter. How long is the wall in meters?

The same trick works for feet and inches together. A second wall measures 11 feet 6 inches: 11.5 feet × 0.3048 = 3.5052 meters. Try both numbers in the converter above.

Feet to meters conversion table

All values use the exact factor 0.3048 and are rounded to 4 decimal places.

Heights and room sizes you will recognise

• Standard ceiling height — 8 feet = 2.4384 meters. Most modern rooms in the US sit at 8 or 9 feet (2.7432 meters).
• Interior door — 6 feet 8 inches (6.667 feet) = 2.032 meters, the standard door height on both sides of the Atlantic.
• Basketball hoop — 10 feet = 3.048 meters above the court, the same everywhere in the world.
• Garden fence panel — 6 feet = 1.8288 meters, the standard panel height sold in the UK and the US.
• A tall person — 6 feet = 1.8288 meters; 5 feet 6 inches = 1.6764 meters.
• Football goal — 8 feet high (2.4384 meters) and 24 feet wide (7.3152 meters).

For the full picture — when Europe uses meters and when Britain still uses feet — read our metric vs imperial conversion guide for Europe.

Frequently asked questions

How many meters is 1 foot?

One foot is exactly 0.3048 meters. The figure is exact, not rounded: the International Yard and Pound Agreement of 1959 defined the foot as 0.3048 meters, so every feet-to-meters conversion that uses this factor is exact.

How do I convert feet to meters by hand?

Multiply the number of feet by 0.3048. For example, 12 feet × 0.3048 = 3.6576 meters. For a rough mental estimate, multiply by 0.3 and add a little — 12 × 0.3 = 3.6, close to the exact 3.6576 — but use the full factor when the measurement matters.

How many meters is 6 feet?

6 feet is 1.8288 meters (6 × 0.3048 = 1.8288). Rounded to two decimals, 6 feet is 1.83 meters — the height often quoted for a tall adult.

How do I convert feet and inches to meters?

First turn the inches into a fraction of a foot by dividing by 12, then multiply by 0.3048. For 5 feet 6 inches: 6 ÷ 12 = 0.5, so 5.5 feet × 0.3048 = 1.6764 meters. For inches on their own, convert them to centimeters first (1 inch = 2.54 centimeters exactly) and then to meters.

Is the feet to meters conversion exact?

Yes. Because the foot is legally defined as exactly 0.3048 meters, multiplying by 0.3048 gives an exact result. The only rounding in this converter is the number of decimals shown on screen — the calculation itself uses the full exact factor.

Why do American and European room sizes look so different?

They measure the same rooms in different units. A 12-foot room and a 3.66-meter room are the same size (12 × 0.3048 = 3.6576 meters). Listings in the United States use feet, while listings across Europe use meters, so converting before you compare keeps the comparison honest.

Can I use this converter for square feet to square meters?

No — area needs a different factor. One square foot equals 0.092903 square meters, which is 0.3048 squared, because both the length and the width change units. Multiply square feet by 0.092903 to get square meters. This page converts lengths only.

Sources

• NIST Special Publication 811, Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI) — nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811
• BIPM, The International System of Units (SI Brochure) — bipm.org
• International Yard and Pound Agreement, 1959 — the foot fixed at exactly 0.3048 meters and the international mile at exactly 1.609344 kilometers.

Conversion factors checked against these sources on 14 November 2026.

Disclaimer: conversions use the exact legal factor 0.3048; double-check critical building measurements before cutting or ordering materials.

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