Enter a length in decimal feet or feet and inches to convert it to meters.
Advanced options
Table of contents
How to use our Feet to Meters Converter
- Choose the format shown on your source: Decimal feet for a value such as 5.75 ft, or Feet and inches for a value such as 5 ft 9 in.
- Enter the length. In feet-and-inches format, enter whole feet and the remaining inches; leave one field blank only if that part is zero.
- Click Calculate to see the converted linear length in meters.
- Check the decimal-feet value shown under the meter result. For example, 5 ft 9 in should be read as 5.75 ft, not 5.9 ft.
- Open Advanced options if you need a different number of displayed decimal places. This changes rounding on screen only.
Definitions
Decimal feet: A length written as one number of feet, such as 5.75 ft.
Feet and inches: A length written with whole feet and remaining inches, such as 5 ft 9 in.
Meter (m): A metric unit used to measure linear length.
International foot: The foot used by this converter. One international foot is exactly 0.3048 meter.
Remaining inches: The inches left after counting whole feet. This entry must be at least 0 and less than 12.
Common mistakes and quick fixes
Mistake: Typing 5.9 when the measurement is 5 ft 9 in.
Fix: Choose Feet and inches, then enter 5 whole feet and 9 remaining inches. Decimal 5.9 ft equals 5 ft 10.8 in.
Mistake: Entering 12 or more as remaining inches.
Fix: Move each complete 12 inches into Whole feet. Remaining inches must be from 0 up to, but not including, 12.
Mistake: Entering a decimal in Whole feet, such as 5.5.
Fix: Enter 5 in Whole feet and 6 in Remaining inches. Use decimal feet mode only when the original measurement is written as a decimal.
Mistake: Using square feet or cubic feet.
Fix: Use this converter only for length. Area and volume need different conversion factors.
Mistake: Using a comma as a decimal mark or typing malformed grouping such as 1,01.
Fix: Use a decimal point for fractions and commas only for thousands, such as 1,000.5 ft.
Limitations & Key Assumptions / Boundary Conditions
- This converter is for linear length only, not square feet, cubic feet, or other area and volume units.
- It uses the international foot, which is exactly 0.3048 meter, rather than the historical U.S. survey foot.
- Negative values are not accepted because the entry is treated as a physical length, not a signed position.
- In feet-and-inches entry, whole feet must be a whole number and remaining inches must be from 0 up to, but not including, 12.
- The decimal-place choice changes only the displayed rounding. It does not change the conversion value.
Methodology
Conversion method
The converter first expresses the length as decimal feet. It then multiplies by 0.3048 meter per international foot, an exact conversion factor.
total feet = entered decimal feet
This applies when the source measurement is already written as a decimal, such as 5.75 ft.
total feet = whole feet + remaining inches / 12
This applies to feet-and-inches entry. If either part is blank, it counts as zero only when the other part is entered.
meters = total feet x 0.3048
Worked example
For 5 ft 9 in, 9 divided by 12 is 0.75 ft. Adding this to 5 ft gives 5.75 ft. Then 5.75 x 0.3048 = 1.7526 m.
Rounding
The calculation keeps the unrounded meter value, then rounds only what appears on screen. With two decimal places, the example displays as 1.75 m while its calculated value remains 1.7526 m.