Feet to Meters — Ft to M Conversion

To convert feet to meters, multiply the number of feet by $0.3048$. In the standard international definition used in everyday measurement, $1$ foot is exactly $0.3048$ meter, so a single multiplication does the job.

The formula and its symbols

Here $\text{ft}$ is the length in feet and $m$ is the same length in meters. The factor $0.3048$ is exact, so any rounding should happen only after the multiplication, never before.

Why the factor is 0.3048

A foot and a meter both measure length, but they come from different unit systems. The conversion factor tells you how much one foot is worth when you rewrite the same length in meters.

Because one foot is shorter than one meter, the number gets smaller when you convert feet to meters. That is a useful quick check: if your answer got larger, the conversion probably went the wrong way.

Worked example: convert 6 feet

Start with $m = \text{ft} \times 0.3048$ and substitute $6$ for the feet value:

so

If you want a shorter decimal, round at the very end: $1.8288$ m becomes about $1.83$ m.

Estimate first as a built-in check

For a fast estimate, treat $1$ foot as a little more than $0.3$ meter. That tells you whether the exact answer is reasonable before you do the arithmetic. For instance, $10$ feet should be a little more than $3$ meters, and the exact conversion confirms it:

The estimate and the exact result land close together, which is what you want.

Practice it yourself, then check

Convert $12$ ft to meters. Before multiplying, estimate that the answer should be a little more than $3.6$ m, then run the exact calculation.

Check: $12 \times 0.3048 = 3.6576$ m, just above the $3.6$ m estimate, so the result is consistent.

Calculation traps

Reversing the conversion. To go from feet to meters, multiply by $0.3048$. Dividing by $0.3048$ converts in the wrong direction.

Rounding too early. Replacing $0.3048$ with $0.3$ before computing makes the answer less accurate. That may be fine for an estimate, but not for a final measurement.

Treating feet-and-inches like a decimal. A height like $5$ ft $8$ in is not $5.8$ ft. Since $8$ inches is $8/12 = 2/3$ of a foot, the correct starting value is

and only then do you multiply by $0.3048$.

Where this conversion shows up

Feet-to-meters conversion appears in height measurements, room dimensions, construction plans, sports data, and travel or international product specs. It is especially useful when one source uses U.S. customary units and another uses metric units.