Square Feet to Square Meters (and Yards, Acres): Conversions and Charts

US floor plans use square feet, most of the world uses square meters, carpet is often priced per square yard, and land is sold by the acre or hectare. Converting between them is easy once you know the exact factors and remember one rule: area conversions use the square of the length conversion.

Exact conversion factors

Since 1959 the international foot has been defined as exactly 0.3048 meters. Every area factor below follows from that definition.

From	To	Multiply by
Square feet	Square meters	0.09290304
Square meters	Square feet	10.7639
Square feet	Square yards	÷ 9
Square feet	Square inches	144
Square feet	Acres	÷ 43,560
Acres	Hectares	0.404686
Hectares	Square meters	10,000

Why it isn't 3.28

A meter is 3.28 feet, so it's tempting to multiply square meters by 3.28. But a square meter is 3.28 ft by 3.28 ft, which is 3.28 × 3.28 = 10.76 square feet. The same applies everywhere: a square yard is 3 × 3 = 9 square feet, not 3, and a square foot is 12 × 12 = 144 square inches.

Quick chart: square feet to square meters

Square feet	Square meters	Square meters	Square feet
100	9.29	10	107.6
250	23.23	25	269.1
500	46.45	50	538.2
1,000	92.90	100	1,076.4
1,500	139.35	150	1,614.6
2,000	185.81	200	2,152.8
2,500	232.26	250	2,691.0

Square yards for carpet

Carpet and some sod and fabric products are still priced by the square yard. Divide square feet by 9. A 15 × 18 ft room is 270 sq ft, which is 30 square yards. A price of $36 per square yard is the same as $4 per square foot.

Acres and hectares for land

An acre is 43,560 square feet, roughly 209 feet on each side if square, or roughly 90% of an American football field's playing area between the goal lines. A typical quarter-acre suburban lot is 10,890 square feet. A hectare is 10,000 square meters, about 2.47 acres.

Converting from dimensions instead of area

It is often more accurate to convert the measurements first and then multiply, especially when working from a plan. A room of 4.2 m × 3.6 m is 15.12 m², which is 162.75 sq ft. Converting each side first gives 13.78 ft × 11.81 ft = 162.75 sq ft. Either route works as long as you don't mix units within one multiplication. The square footage calculator lets you enter dimensions in meters, centimeters, inches, feet or yards and shows the area in all common units.

Volume conversions are different

Volume uses the cube of the length factor: one cubic meter is 35.31 cubic feet, and one cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. If you're ordering material by depth, see cubic feet to cubic yards.

Rounding

For listings and plans, round to the nearest whole square foot or to one decimal place in square meters. For material orders, round up after adding any waste allowance; see the flooring waste factor guide.