Kilometres to feet:
multiply by 3,280.84

How many feet are in a kilometre?

One kilometre is 3,280.839895 feet, which rounds to 3,281 ft. The figure is exact to the digits shown because it comes from two fixed definitions: a kilometre is 1,000 metres and a foot is exactly 0.3048 metres.

Divide 1,000 by 0.3048 and you get the long number above. Most people only need the rounded form, 3,281 ft per km, but keeping the full factor in a calculator stops small errors from growing when the distance is large.

The km to feet formula

To go the other way, multiply feet by 0.0003048 (or divide by 3,280.839895). Because a foot is exactly 0.3048 metres, 1 ft is exactly 0.0003048 km.

1. 1Write the distance in kilometres, using a decimal point for parts of a km.
2. 2Multiply by 3,280.84, or by 3,280.839895 for full precision.
3. 3Round to the accuracy you need: whole feet is enough for most planning.
4. 4Check the result: it should be a little more than three thousand times the km value.

Chart: kilometres to feet from 1 to 1,000 km

This table uses the exact factor, so you can read off common distances without a calculator.

Feet to km: aviation and trail examples

Altitude is where the two units meet most often. Airliners and air traffic control in many countries quote height in feet, while the ground distance below is in kilometres. A cruising altitude of 35,000 ft is 35,000 × 0.0003048 = 10.668 km, and 30,000 ft is 9.144 km.

Walkers and cyclists see the same mix. A route guide may give distance in km while a map shows contour heights in feet, so converting one to the other lets you judge how steep a climb really is.

A second example: a trail and a flight

Suppose a hiking guide lists a ridge walk as 3 km long. Converting gives 3 × 3,280.839895 = 9,842.519685 feet, which helps when the elevation chart on the same page is in feet. The same trick works for the length of a bridge or a lake that is described in kilometres.

Pilots, drone operators and radio hobbyists meet the opposite problem. A rule that sets a limit in feet is easy to check once you convert the distance you plan to cover, and a 0.5 km flight leg is 1,640.419948 feet.

Whichever direction you convert, write down both units next to the answer so a later reader knows which one a number is in.

Common mistakes when converting km to feet

• Using 3,280 and dropping the decimals on long distances. On 100 km that costs about 84 feet, so keep the full factor when precision matters.
• Dividing instead of multiplying. Feet are the smaller unit, so the number of feet is always larger than the number of km.
• Mixing up kilometres and miles. A mile is 5,280 feet, not 3,281, so do not reuse the mile factor.
• Rounding early. Convert first, then round the final answer.