How to Convert Square Meters to Square Feet and Vice Versa

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: December 29, 2022 References Approved

Almost every country in the world uses the metric system of measurement, including square meters to measure area. The United States is a big exception, though, relying on square feet to measure its kitchens and lawns instead. Converting between the two measurements is as simple as multiplying by the right conversion factor.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Converting Between Square Meters and Square Feet

1
Multiply square meters by 10.76. One square meter (m²) is about equal to 10.76 square feet (ft²).^{[1]
X
Research source} To convert from m² to ft², multiply the number of square meters by 10.76. For example:
- 5 square meters
  = 5 m² x 10.76 ^ft²/_m²
  = 5 x 10.76 ft²
  = 53.8 ft²
- Notice that the m² units on top and bottom cancel out, leaving only ft² in the final answer: 5 m² x 10.76 ^ft²/~~_m²~~
2
Multiply square feet by 0.093. One square foot is roughly equal to 0.093 square meters. To convert square feet to square meters, just multiply by 0.093:
- 400 square feet
  = 400 ft² x 0.093 ^m²/_ft²
  = 37.2 square meters.
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3
Understand what this means. Square meters and square feet are two ways to measure the same thing: area. If you cut out a square of paper one meter long and one meter wide, it has an area of one square meter. Similarly, a square of paper one foot long and one foot wide has an area of one square foot. The conversion "1 square meter = 10.76 square feet" means that 10.76 of your paper "square feet" would fit over one paper square meter.
- If you have trouble visualizing the decimal, picture 10 square feet fitting over one square meter, with a little space left over. The extra space has an area of 0.76 square feet.
4
See if your answer makes sense. It's easy to accidentally use the wrong formula, especially if you have a lot of conversions to do. After you find your answer, compare it to your original measurement to see if you made a mistake:^{[2]
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- If you converted from square feet to square meters, your answer should be a smaller number than the original number.
- If you converted from square meters to square feet, your answer should be a larger number than the original number.
5
Check on an online calculator. These aren't the easiest numbers to memorize, but you can easily look them up online if you forget. It might even be enough to enter something like "convert 8 square meters to square feet" into a search engine directly to get the answer.https://www.calculateme.com/area/square-meters/to-square-feet/
- This is also more accurate than multiplying by hand, since it uses more precise values. (For instance, 1 square foot = 0.092903 square meters, or 1 square meter = 10.7639 square feet.^{[3]
  X
  Research source}) Most of the time, though, multiplying by hand will give you a "close enough" answer.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Converting Based on Length Measurements

1
Remember that length and area are different. One common mistake is confusing units of length (feet or meters) with units of area (square feet or square meters). These are different units, and have different conversion formulas. If you're ever confused about which one to use, remember this:^{[4]
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- Length uses "one dimensional" units because it only has one measurement: put the ruler down once and you're done.
- Area uses "two dimensional" units because you need to measure twice. For instance, a square has both length and width, and you need to multiply them together to find the area.
2
Learn to convert feet to meters. If you have a length measurement in feet, you can only convert it to meters. (You cannot convert it to a square meter, which is a unit of area.) To convert between feet and meters, multiply the measurement in feet by 0.305.
- For example, a snake that is 2 feet long is (2 ft) x (0.305 m / ft) = 0.61 meters long.
3
Convert meters to feet. To convert the other way around, multiply the length in meters by 3.28:^{[5]
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- A 4 meter tall wall is (4 m) x (3.28 ft / m) = 13.12 ft. high.
4
Convert a square meter by using the length conversion twice. There aren't separate length and area conversions just to confuse you. Just as you multiply two length measurements to find the area of a square, you can multiply by the length conversion twice to turn it into an area conversion.^{[6]
X
Research source} Walk through it with this example:
- Let's say you want to convert one square meter into square feet. You've forgotten this area conversion, but you remember the one for length: 1 meter = 3.28 feet.
- Draw a square and label the length and width 1 meter each.
- Since 1 meter = 3.28 ft, you can cross out both meter measurements and write "3.28 ft" instead.
- To find the area of this square, multiply the length and width: 3.28 ft x 3.28 ft = 10.76 sq ft ².
- Notice that this is the same as the area conversion: 1 square meter = 10.76 square feet.

Community Q&A

Question

I have 200 sheets, each of which measures 8' by 3'. How do I calculate the total area in square meters?

Community Answer

Multiply the length (8') and width (3') of a single sheet to get the area in square feet. Multiply your answer by the conversion factor 0.093 to convert square feet to square meters. Multiply your answer by 200 to find the total area of all 200 sheets.
Question

How many meters are in 10 feet by 20 feet?

Donagan

Top Answerer

10 ft x 20 ft = 200 sq ft. Multiply by 0.0929 to get 18.58 square meters. Also, 10 ft x 20 ft is equivalent to 3.048 m x 6.096 m, which is 18.58 square meters.
Question

What is a 12' x 12' foot room in square meters?

Donagan

Top Answerer

First multiply 12 times 12. Then see Method 1 Step 2 above.