Area Converter
Convert square feet, square meters, acres, hectares, square miles, and other area units. Includes a room area calculator, formulas, and land-size references.
Quick Reference - Popular Conversions
| From | To | Multiply By | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square Feet | Square Meters | 0.092903 | 1000 ftВІ = 92.9 mВІ |
| Square Meters | Square Feet | 10.7639 | 100 mВІ = 1,076.4 ftВІ |
| Acres | Hectares | 0.404686 | 5 ac = 2.02 ha |
| Hectares | Acres | 2.47105 | 2 ha = 4.94 ac |
| Square Miles | Square Kilometers | 2.58999 | 1 miВІ = 2.59 kmВІ |
| Acres | Square Feet | 43,560 | 1 ac = 43,560 ftВІ |
| Hectares | Square Meters | 10,000 | 1 ha = 10,000 mВІ |
| Square Yards | Square Meters | 0.836127 | 100 ydВІ = 83.6 mВІ |
Mental Math Shortcuts
- 1 m² ≈ 10.76 ft² (round to 11)
- 1 ft² ≈ 0.093 m² (about 1/11 m²)
- 1 acre ≈ 4,000 m² (exact: 4,047)
- 1 hectare ≈ 2.5 acres (exact: 2.471)
- 10 ft² ≈ 1 m² (ballpark)
- 100 m² ≈ 1,000 ft² (ballpark)
How to Use This Converter
Use single conversion for one unit pair, convert to all units for a full comparison table, or use the room calculator to calculate area from dimensions. The calculator supports common real estate, construction, land, survey, metric, and imperial area units.
Metric Area Units
The square meter is the base. Hectare (10,000 mВІ) handles farms and land. Square kilometer covers cities and regions.
Imperial Area Units
US real estate runs on square feet, land parcels on acres (43,560 ftВІ each), regions on square miles (640 acres). The acre's odd number comes from ox plowing distances. Square yards show up for carpet. UK and Canada use these too.
Acres or Hectares?
- Acres: United States
- Hectares: Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, Australia
- Both: UK, rural Canada
1 hectare = 2.47 acres—multiply hectares by 2.5 for a quick estimate, or acres by 0.4. An acre covers 90% of a football field; a hectare is 100m × 100m.
Watch Out For: The Square Factor
Feet to meters is 0.3048, but square feet to square meters is 0.3048ВІ = 0.0929. A 10Г—10 ft room (100 ftВІ) = 3.048Г—3.048 m = 9.29 mВІ, not 30.48 mВІ. Using the wrong factor triples your error. Volume conversions cube the factor.
How Square Footage Gets Measured
US listings quote gross living area to exterior walls, excluding garages. European listings use usable floor space—smaller numbers for identical homes. Average sizes: USA ~2,300 ft², Australia ~2,000 ft², UK ~820 ft², Hong Kong under 500 ft².
US Land Survey System
The 1785 grid divided land west of the original colonies into townships (6 mi Г— 6 mi, containing 36 sections). One section = 1 square mile = 640 acres. Rural deeds use descriptions like "NW quarter of Section 12, Township 3 North, Range 2 West."
International Area Units
Dunam (Middle East): 1,000 m². Bigha (India): 1,500-6,000+ m² depending on state. Mu (China): 667 m². Rai (Thailand): 1,600 m². Tatami (Japan): 1.65 m², used for room sizes. Pyeong (Korea/Taiwan): 3.3 m². Bigha in Bihar differs from West Bengal—verify local definitions.
Area Formulas
For irregular shapes, break them into rectangles and triangles and add up the pieces.
Quick Math
- ftВІ to mВІ: Г— 0.093
- acres to hectares: Г— 0.4
- hectares to acres: Г— 2.5
For legal docs, use exact factors—the 0.4 vs 0.404686 difference means a 100-acre farm is 40.47 hectares, not 40.
When to Use Area Instead of Length
Area measures surface, not distance. A room that is 10 feet by 12 feet is 120 square feet because both dimensions matter. If only one side or distance needs conversion, use the length converter first. If the measurement includes depth or height as a third dimension, use the volume converter instead.
Real Estate and Room Planning
Square feet and square meters are the most common home and apartment area units. Listing standards can vary by country and by property type, so a converted number should be treated as a measurement conversion, not a guarantee that two listings were measured under the same rules.
Land, Agriculture, and Survey Work
Acres and hectares are used for land parcels, farms, parks, and large outdoor spaces. Hectares are common internationally, while acres are common in the United States. For legal deeds, zoning, and survey documents, exact conversion factors matter more than rounded mental estimates.