Area Conversion Guide: Square Feet to Square Meters
November 9, 2026
Area conversions trip people up for one reason: you have to square the length factor. A meter is 3.28 feet, but a square meter is 3.28 × 3.28 = 10.76 square feet. Multiply a floor plan by 3.28 instead of 10.76 and the answer is off by a factor of more than three.
The key factors
| Unit | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| 1 square foot (ft²) | 0.09290304 m² |
| 1 square meter (m²) | 10.7639 ft² |
| 1 square inch (in²) | 6.4516 cm² |
| 1 acre | 43,560 ft², or 4,046.86 m² |
| 1 hectare (ha) | 10,000 m², or 2.4711 acres |
| 1 square kilometer (km²) | 100 ha, or 247.1 acres |
The square foot and square inch factors are exact, because the foot and the inch are defined exactly in meters: 0.3048² = 0.09290304 and 2.54² = 6.4516.
Square feet and square meters
Homes are measured in square feet in the US and in square meters in most other countries.
- A 1,500 sq ft apartment is 1,500 × 0.09290304 = 139.35 m².
- A 50 m² studio is 50 × 10.7639 = 538.2 sq ft.
- A 12 by 15 foot bedroom is 180 sq ft, or 16.72 m².
For a room, you can also convert each side first and then multiply. 12 ft is 3.6576 m and 15 ft is 4.572 m, and 3.6576 × 4.572 = 16.72 m², the same answer.
Acres and hectares
Land is measured in acres in the US and the UK, and in hectares in most other countries.
- An acre is 43,560 sq ft, or about 0.405 hectares.
- A hectare is 10,000 m², the area of a square 100 meters on each side. It's about 2.47 acres.
- A 5-acre lot is 217,800 sq ft, or 2.02 hectares.
- An American football field, end zones included, is 360 by 160 feet. That's 57,600 sq ft, which is 1.32 acres or 5,351 m².
An acre has no fixed shape. It was traditionally a strip one furlong (660 feet) long and one chain (66 feet) wide, and 660 × 66 = 43,560 sq ft.
Quick estimates
- Square meters to square feet. Multiply by 10, then add 8%. 50 m² becomes 500 + 40 = 540 sq ft, against an exact 538.
- Square feet to square meters. Divide by 10, then subtract 7%. 1,500 sq ft becomes 150 − 10.5 = 139.5 m², against an exact 139.35.
- Hectares to acres. Multiply by 2.5. The answer comes out about 1% high.
- Acres to hectares. Multiply by 0.4. The answer comes out about 1% low.
Mistakes to avoid
- Using a length factor for an area. 100 m² is 1,076 sq ft, not 328.
- Mixing feet and inches. For a room 12 feet 6 inches by 10 feet, convert to 12.5 × 10 = 125 sq ft. Multiplying 12.6 × 10 is wrong, because 6 inches is half a foot, not 0.6.
- "Meters square" versus "square meters". "10 meters square" can mean a square 10 m on each side, which is 100 m². "10 square meters" is 10 m² in any shape.
Convert any area
The area converter handles every pair. Popular ones include square feet to square meters, square meters to square feet, acres to hectares, hectares to acres and acres to square feet. To get an area from lengths in different units, convert the lengths first with the length converter.