Meters to feet:
convert heights, depths and distances

How many feet are in a metre?

One metre is 3.28084 feet to five decimal places. The exact figure comes from the definition of the foot as 0.3048 m, so a metre is 1 ÷ 0.3048 = 3.280839895... feet.

In everyday use, 3.28 is enough. A 2 m length is 6.56 ft, and a 10 m length is 32.81 ft. The result can then be split into feet and inches, which is how most people say a height aloud.

This article is about measurements that start in metres, such as clearances, pool lengths and altitudes. Room and plot sizes that start in feet are covered in the feet to metres article.

Because the foot is defined from the metre, the two are linked exactly. That means any rounding in your answer comes from you, not from the unit.

Most metre readings come from a particular place: a height on a sign, a depth in a report, a pool or track length, or an altitude. The sections below handle each of those, so you get an answer in a form you can use, not just a decimal.

Meters to feet formula and steps

Dividing by 0.3048 and multiplying by 3.28084 are the same operation, so use whichever your calculator makes easier.

1. 1Divide the metres by 0.3048 to get decimal feet.
2. 2Keep the whole number as the feet.
3. 3Multiply the decimal part by 12 to get inches.
4. 4Round the inches to one decimal place, or to the nearest quarter inch for carpentry.

Shorter lengths are handled the same way. 0.5 m is 1.64 ft (1 ft 7.7 in), 0.9 m is 2.95 ft (2 ft 11.4 in), and 1.2 m is 3.94 ft (3 ft 11.2 in). In writing, a single apostrophe means feet and a double quotation mark means inches, so 14' 9.2" is the same as 14 ft 9.2 in.

Rounding depends on the job. For a casual answer, one decimal place of a foot is enough. For something you will build or cut, give the inches to the nearest eighth and double-check against the original metric drawing.

If you only need inches, multiply metres by 39.3701 instead. That gives 4.5 m = 177.17 in, and 177.17 ÷ 12 = 14.76 ft, which agrees with the method above.

Worked example: a 4.5 m bridge clearance

A road sign shows a headroom of 4.5 m, and a driver used to feet wants to know it in feet and inches.

The same figure works as a quick safety check for vehicles. A truck loaded to 14 ft 6 in has 3.2 in of headroom under this limit, which is a thin margin on a rough road.

Metres to feet chart

Ceiling heights from imported fittings and flat-pack kitchens are another place the chart helps. A 2.4 m ceiling is 7.87 ft, or 7 ft 10.5 in, and a 2.7 m ceiling is 8.86 ft, or 8 ft 10.3 in. A 3 m floor-to-floor height is 9.84 ft, or 9 ft 10.1 in.

Notice the pattern: every extra 10 m adds 32.81 ft. That makes 25 m, a short-course pool, about 82 ft and 50 m about 164 ft.

To convert a value that is not in the chart, split it into pieces. For 37 m, add 25 m (82.02 ft), 10 m (32.81 ft) and 2 m (6.56 ft) to get 121.39 ft, which matches 37 ÷ 0.3048 = 121.39.

Altitude, depth and long distances

Aviation quotes altitude in feet worldwide. A cruising height of 11,000 m is 11,000 ÷ 0.3048 = 36,089 ft, which is close to the level pilots call flight level 360.

A basketball hoop is set at 10 ft, which is 3.048 m, or the 3.05 m written in rule books. It is a handy anchor: three metres is a hair under 10 feet.

Long distances connect the two systems neatly. One mile is exactly 1,609.344 m, which is 5,280 ft. A single lap of a 400 m athletics track is 1,312.34 ft, so four laps (1,600 m) fall just short of a mile by about 9.3 m.

Depth figures behave the same way. A borewell reported as 60 m deep is 196.85 ft, close to 200 ft. For long lengths like these, rounding the factor too coarsely introduces an error large enough to notice, so use the exact figure.

How much does the 3.3 shortcut cost you?

Many people multiply by 3.3 because it is easy. On 100 m that gives 330 ft instead of 328.08 ft, an overstatement of about 1.9 ft (0.6%).

The shortcut also hides how errors add up. If you convert each side of a 7.5 m by 4 m room with 3.3 you get 24.75 ft by 13.2 ft, but the exact values are 24.61 ft by 13.12 ft. The floor area is then overstated by roughly 1.2%, enough to affect a tile or paint order.

Over a short length the gap is trivial, but on a 1,000 m run it is 19 ft. Use 3.28 for estimates and 3.28084 when the number goes into a quotation or a safety check.

A good habit is to say which factor you used when you pass the number on. Writing '328.08 ft (3.28084 ft/m)' lets the next person reproduce your figure without guessing.

Mistakes with metres to feet

• Multiplying by 0.3048 instead of dividing. The result will be about a third of the right size, which should look wrong at once.
• Showing decimal feet as feet and inches. 14.76 ft is not 14 ft 76 in. Multiply the decimal part by 12.
• Using 3 as the factor. A 100 m length would come out 28 ft short.
• Converting an area by the length factor. Square metres need 10.7639, not 3.28084.
• Rounding up a clearance. Round it down so the number you quote is never larger than the real headroom.

Run the answer through a sense check before you use it: the figure in feet should always be a little over three times the figure in metres.