About the Square Feet to Square Meters Calculator
Floor areas are one of the most common measurements people need to convert. American and some British and Canadian property listings, office leases and flooring products use square feet, while most of the world quotes homes, rents and building plans in square metres. Comparing an apartment abroad with your own, pricing flooring, or reading a floor plan from another country all start with converting square feet to square metres.
This square feet to square meters calculator converts an area in square feet, or a room's length and width in feet, into square metres exactly. It also shows square yards, the room's size in metres or the side of an equal square room, and converts an optional price per square foot into a price per square metre.
How to Use the Square Feet to Square Meters Calculator
Choose whether to enter an area or a room's dimensions.
For an area, enter the square feet. For dimensions, enter the length and width in feet; the calculator multiplies them for you.
Optionally, enter a price per square foot — rent, flooring or property price — to see the price per square metre.
The Formula
square metres = square feet × 0.09290304
square feet = square metres × 10.7639
(1 ft = 0.3048 m, so 1 ft² = 0.3048² = 0.09290304 m²)
price per m² = price per ft² ÷ 0.09290304Step-by-Step Example
A 1,000 square foot apartment.
1,000 × 0.09290304 = 92.903 m²So 1,000 ft² is about 92.9 m², a typical two-bedroom flat in many cities.
A room 12 feet by 15 feet.
Area: 12 × 15 = 180 ft²
Metric: 180 × 0.09290304 = 16.7225 m²The room is 16.7225 m², and measures 3.6576 m by 4.572 m.
Flooring at 2.00 per square foot costs 2.00 ÷ 0.09290304 = 21.53 per square metre.
Quick Reference
100 ft² = 9.2903 m²
500 ft² = 46.4515 m²
1,000 ft² = 92.903 m²
1,500 ft² = 139.355 m²
2,000 ft² = 185.806 m²
2,500 ft² = 232.258 m²A handy rule: divide square feet by 10.76 for square metres, or by 10 for a rough figure that is about 7 percent high.
Why the Factor Is Squared
A foot is 0.3048 metres, but a square foot is a square 0.3048 metres on each side, so its area is 0.3048 × 0.3048 = 0.09290304 square metres. That is why converting areas needs the length factor squared. Dividing square feet by 3.28, the length factor, is a common mistake that makes the answer more than three times too big.
Rooms With Awkward Shapes
For an L-shaped or irregular room, divide the floor into rectangles, measure each, work out their areas in square feet and add them together before converting. Deduct areas you will not cover, such as a built-in cupboard or fireplace hearth. For flooring, add 5 to 10 percent for cutting and waste — more for diagonal layouts or patterned materials that need matching.
Property and Rent Comparisons
Property prices and rents are often quoted per unit of area. Commercial rent of 30 per square foot a year is about 322.92 per square metre; a house price of 400 per square foot is about 4,305.56 per square metre. Converting both properties to the same unit is the only fair way to compare value between markets that use different units.
Be aware that listings measure floor area in different ways. Some include walls, stairs, balconies and garages; others count only usable interior space. A difference in measuring standard can easily change a figure by 5 to 15 percent.
Typical Room and Home Sizes
Having a few reference sizes makes converted figures easier to picture. A small single bedroom of about 70 to 100 ft² is 6.5 to 9.3 m²; a typical double bedroom of 150 ft² is about 14 m²; and a large living room of 300 ft² is about 28 m². Average new homes vary a great deal by country: around 2,000 to 2,500 ft², 186 to 232 m², in the United States, compared with roughly 75 to 100 m², 800 to 1,100 ft², in much of Europe and Asia. Converting both to one unit shows how much more or less space a move abroad would really mean.
Heating, Paint and Other Area-Based Costs
Many costs scale with floor or wall area. Heating and cooling equipment is often sized per square foot in the US and per square metre elsewhere; paint coverage is quoted as square metres per litre or square feet per gallon; and cleaning or insulation quotes may be priced per unit of area. Convert the area once, precisely, then apply the rate in the same unit to avoid mixing systems halfway through a calculation.
Understanding Your Result
The headline is the area in square metres.
The square feet and yards line confirms the area in square feet and gives square yards.
The room size line gives the room's dimensions in metres, or the side of a square room with the same area.
The price per m² line converts a price per square foot, if you entered one.
When Should You Use This Calculator?
Use it to compare homes, offices and rents quoted in square feet and square metres.
Use it to order flooring, tiles, carpet or paint sold by the square metre.
Use it to read floor plans and building specifications from other countries.
Use it for school area problems involving square units.
Common Mistakes
Dividing by 3.28. Areas need the squared factor, 10.7639.
Converting each dimension and then forgetting to multiply. Area is length × width.
Mixing feet and inches. Convert inches to decimal feet first: 12 ft 6 in is 12.5 ft.
Forgetting waste allowance. Buy 5 to 10 percent extra flooring.
Comparing listings measured differently. Check what the stated area includes.