Feet to Meters Conversion - Chart, Formula and Quick Reference
From architectural blueprints to aviation altitudes, the feet and meters scales represent the two most common ways humanity measures medium-scale distances and lengths. The foot, rooted deep in history and famously tied to the physical dimensions of human anatomy, continues to be standard in the United States and the UK. Meanwhile, the meter—originally defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole—is the foundation of the modern global metric system.
Whether you are calculating the square footage of a home abroad, communicating your height on an international passport, or flying on an airplane, knowing how to smoothly convert between feet and meters is a vital skill. In this article, we outline the exact formula, provide robust conversion tables, and highlight practical examples to give context to these numbers.
The Formula
In 1959, the international yard and pound agreement legally defined the exact conversion factor between the imperial and metric systems. Thanks to that agreement, one foot is defined as precisely 0.3048 meters.
m = ft × 0.3048
If you have a measurement in meters and need to know the equivalent in feet, you can divide the meters by 0.3048, or simply multiply by 3.28084.
ft = m × 3.28084
Feet to Meters Table
Here is a quick reference table for everyday lengths converting from feet directly into meters.
| Feet (ft) | Meters (m) |
|---|---|
| 1 ft | 0.30 m |
| 2 ft | 0.61 m |
| 3 ft (1 yard) | 0.91 m |
| 4 ft | 1.22 m |
| 5 ft | 1.52 m |
| 6 ft | 1.83 m |
| 10 ft | 3.05 m |
| 20 ft | 6.10 m |
| 50 ft | 15.24 m |
| 100 ft | 30.48 m |
Height Conversion Table (Human Heights)
One of the most frequent uses of this conversion is for human height. If you are traveling, filling out medical forms, or signing up for sports internationally, you'll need to know your height in metric. This chart breaks it down into feet, inches, centimeters, and meters.
| Height (Feet & Inches) | Centimeters (cm) | Meters (m) |
|---|---|---|
| 5'0" | 152.4 cm | 1.52 m |
| 5'2" | 157.5 cm | 1.57 m |
| 5'4" | 162.6 cm | 1.63 m |
| 5'6" | 167.6 cm | 1.68 m |
| 5'8" | 172.7 cm | 1.73 m |
| 5'10" | 177.8 cm | 1.78 m |
| 6'0" | 182.9 cm | 1.83 m |
| 6'2" | 188.0 cm | 1.88 m |
| 6'4" | 193.0 cm | 1.93 m |
| 6'6" | 198.1 cm | 1.98 m |
Meters to Feet Table
If you are accustomed to the imperial system and want to visualize metric lengths, use this chart to convert meters back to feet.
| Meters (m) | Feet (ft) |
|---|---|
| 1 m | 3.28 ft |
| 2 m | 6.56 ft |
| 3 m | 9.84 ft |
| 5 m | 16.40 ft |
| 10 m | 32.81 ft |
| 50 m | 164.04 ft |
| 100 m | 328.08 ft |
| 1000 m (1 km) | 3280.84 ft |
Common Real-World Examples
To help put these numbers into perspective, let's look at some famous landmarks and standard dimensions:
- Mount Everest: The tallest mountain in the world stands at a staggering 8,849 meters above sea level. For Americans and Brits, that translates to approximately 29,032 feet.
- Sports Dimensions: A standard NBA basketball court measures 28.7 meters long, which is exactly 94 feet.
- Architecture: A standard residential ceiling height in a modern home is roughly 2.4 meters, which translates to almost exactly 8 feet (7.87 ft).
- Aviation: Have you ever wondered how high commercial jets fly? A standard cruising altitude is 35,000 feet, which translates to roughly 10,668 meters. Even countries that use the metric system generally use feet for aviation altitudes!
Quick Mental Math Trick: To quickly estimate feet from meters, simply multiply the meters by 3 and add a little extra (roughly 10%). To estimate meters from feet, divide the feet by 3. It won't be perfectly precise, but it will get you very close!
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