Free Meters to Feet Converter — Exact Factor 3.28084

What is a meter, and what is a foot?

The meter (spelled metre in the UK) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), defined by the speed of light: one meter is the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. It is the unit on every European floor plan, rental listing and building regulation — ceiling heights near 2.5 meters, rooms of 3 to 5 meters, plots measured in tens of meters. One meter is a generous stride, a little longer than a yard.

The foot is the imperial and US customary counterpart: 12 inches to a foot, 3 feet to a yard. Since the International Yard and Pound Agreement of 1959, the foot has been defined as exactly 0.3048 meters, so the meter-to-feet conversion is exact too — it is a division by 0.3048 rather than a guess. Feet remain the everyday unit for heights and room sizes in the United States, for people’s heights in the United Kingdom, and for aircraft altitudes worldwide.

How to use the converter

1. Type a length in the Meters box — decimals are welcome, so 2.6 works as well as 5. The feet result appears instantly.
2. Or type in the Feet box instead: the converter works both ways, so the meters 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 meter = 3.28084 feet.

Meters to feet formula

This converter divides by the exact 0.3048 rather than multiplying by the rounded 3.28084, so converting there and back returns the number you started with. The two methods agree to 5 decimals; the division is the exact one.

Worked example

A Berlin apartment listing says the ceiling is 2.6 meters high. How high is that in feet?

Try both numbers in the converter above — and type 8.5302 in the feet box to watch it return 2.6 meters.

Meters to feet conversion table

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

Everyday metric sizes, in feet

• Ceiling height — 2.4 meters = 7.874 feet; 2.6 meters = 8.5302 feet.
• A person’s height — 1.8 meters = 5.9055 feet, which is 5 feet 10.87 inches.
• Standard door — 2.03 meters = 6.6601 feet (6 feet 8 inches).
• Sofa wall — 3 meters = 9.8425 feet of wall space for furniture.
• Swimming pool — 50 meters = 164.042 feet long, the Olympic length.
• Football pitch width — 68 meters = 223.0971 feet across.

Still mixing meters and feet on property listings? Our metric vs imperial conversion guide for Europe explains which countries use which unit, and where.

Frequently asked questions

How many feet is 1 meter?

One meter is 3.28084 feet (1 ÷ 0.3048 = 3.280839895, shown rounded to 5 decimals). The foot is defined as exactly 0.3048 meters, so dividing by 0.3048 gives the exact conversion.

How do I convert meters to feet and inches?

Convert to feet first, then turn the decimal part into inches by multiplying by 12. For 1.8 meters: 1.8 ÷ 0.3048 = 5.9055 feet; 0.9055 × 12 = 10.87 inches, so 1.8 meters is 5 feet 10.87 inches.

How many feet is 3 meters?

3 meters is 9.8425 feet (3 ÷ 0.3048 = 9.84252, rounded to 4 decimals). Rounded to one decimal, 3 meters is 9.8 feet.

Is 3.28 a good enough factor for meters to feet?

For rough guesses, yes; for real measurements, no. Using 3.28 instead of 3.28084 understates the result by about 0.03 percent, which is 3 millimeters per meter — small for a room, noticeable across a 30-meter plot. This converter divides by the exact 0.3048, so it never drifts.

Why does the converter divide by 0.3048 instead of multiplying?

Because the foot is defined in terms of the meter (1 foot = 0.3048 meters exactly), going from meters to feet means undoing that definition, which is a division. Multiplying by 3.28084 gives the same answer to 5 decimals; dividing by 0.3048 is exact.

How tall is 2 meters in feet?

2 meters is 6.5617 feet (2 ÷ 0.3048 = 6.56168), which is 6 feet 6.74 inches. A 2-meter doorway clearance is a common figure in European building rules.

Can I convert square meters to square feet here?

Not directly — area uses the squared factor. One square meter equals 10.7639 square feet. Multiply square meters by 10.7639 for floor areas; 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 divide by the exact factor 0.3048; double-check critical building measurements before cutting or ordering materials.

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