Meters to Feet: Formula, Table, and Everyday Reference Points
Convert meters to feet with the exact 1 m = 3.28084 ft ratio, a full reference table, and everyday landmarks from ceiling heights to skyscrapers.
Meters to feet is the second most common length conversion after cm to inches — you meet it in real estate listings, ceiling heights, building specs, hiking maps, and altitude readings. Since 1959 the ratio has been defined exactly, so there's no reason to accept an approximate answer.
The formula
feet = meters × 3.28084 meters = feet ÷ 3.28084
Equivalently, 1 ft = 0.3048 m exactly. This comes from the international yard and pound agreement, which fixed the yard at exactly 0.9144 m — so 1 ft = 0.9144/3 = 0.3048 m.
*Example:* convert a 2.4-metre ceiling. 2.4 × 3.28084 = 7.87 ft — a standard modern room height, slightly under 8 ft.
Reference table
| Meters | Feet | Landmark |
|---|---|---|
| 1 m | 3.28 ft | Kitchen counter height |
| 2 m | 6.56 ft | Standard door height |
| 2.4 m | 7.87 ft | Typical ceiling |
| 3 m | 9.84 ft | High ceiling / bus |
| 10 m | 32.81 ft | 3-storey house |
| 50 m | 164.04 ft | Olympic pool length |
| 100 m | 328.08 ft | Short city block |
| 828 m | 2,716.5 ft | Burj Khalifa |
| 8,849 m | 29,032 ft | Mount Everest |
For any custom value, the Meters to Feet converter is a single tap.
Where the meter comes from
The meter was born of the French Revolution. In 1791 the French Academy of Sciences defined it as one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator along the meridian through Paris. A pair of astronomers then spent seven years surveying that arc across France and Spain to fix its length physically.
Since 1983 the meter has been defined through a natural constant: it is the length light travels in a vacuum in exactly 1/299,792,458 of a second. The definition is now maintained by the BIPM's SI brochure. Every ruler on Earth ultimately traces back to that light-speed definition.
Altitude and aviation
Even in metric countries, altitude in commercial aviation is quoted in feet — 30,000 ft cruise, 35,000 ft cruise. That is a historical artefact of the industry's American origins and standardised by ICAO. Only China, North Korea, and a few others use metric altitude officially. So expect to see meters on the ground and feet in the air, even on the same continent.
For mountain heights, meters have largely won: Everest is 8,849 m (29,032 ft) after the 2020 China-Nepal re-survey; K2 is 8,611 m; Mont Blanc is 4,809 m. Guidebooks in the US still list peaks in feet.
Common pitfalls
- US survey vs international foot. Until 2023, US land surveys used a slightly longer foot (about 2 ppm larger). It has been retired by NIST; use 0.3048 m for everything modern.
- Building specs. Room heights in real estate listings tend to be rounded to the nearest inch on the imperial side and nearest 10 cm on the metric side. Don't be surprised if the two sides of the same listing disagree slightly.
FAQ
How many feet is 1 metre? Exactly 1 ÷ 0.3048 = 3.2808398950… ft. In feet-and-inches, that's 3 ft 3.37 in.
What's the quickest mental estimate? Multiply meters by 3.3 and you'll be within 0.6% for most everyday distances.
Is a metre longer than a yard? Yes — 1 m = 1.0936 yd. A metre is about 3.4 inches longer than a yard.
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*For an instant, full-precision conversion at any scale, use the free Meters to Feet Converter.*