Square Feet to Square Meters Converter
Convert square feet (sq ft, ft²) to square meters (sq m, m²) — and back — with the standard SI conversion factor. Used for international real estate, scientific calculations, and any project crossing the imperial/metric line.
Enter a value in either field. The conversion is bidirectional and uses the exact definition: 1 sq ft = 0.09290304 m².
How to convert square feet to square meters
There is an exact factor and a familiar one. The exact factor is 0.09290304 square metres per square foot — multiply by it to go to square metres, divide by it to come back. The familiar 10.7639 is the reciprocal rounded to six figures, and dividing by it is accurate enough for any room.
Example: a 1,500 sq ft home is 1,500 × 0.09290304 = 139.35 m². A 90 m² apartment is 90 ÷ 0.09290304 = 968.75 sq ft. Using the rounded 10.7639 instead shifts that first figure by about a ten-thousandth of a square metre — invisible on a home, worth having right on a parcel.
Both factors come from one definition: a foot is exactly 0.3048 metres, so a square foot is 0.3048² = 0.09290304 square metres. Squaring an exact number gives an exact number; taking its reciprocal does not, which is why 10.763910416… runs on. The factor is the same regardless of the size or shape of the area.
When you'll need this conversion
International real estate. Most countries outside the US, UK, and a few others report property size in square meters. If you're comparing a 1,200 sq ft American home with an 85 m² European apartment, convert both to the same unit first — they're nearly identical (1,200 sq ft ≈ 111 m²).
Construction plans crossing borders. Architectural drawings sourced internationally typically use metric. Convert before estimating materials at home-improvement stores that price in square feet.
Scientific and academic work. Square meters is the SI unit. Any peer-reviewed or technical document expects metric.
Air conditioning and HVAC. Many BTU calculators and unit-sizing charts published outside the US use square meters. Convert your room area before consulting a metric chart.
Property sizes around the world
Different countries have wildly different norms for what “average home size” means. If you’re relocating, comparing properties internationally, or just curious how your home stacks up globally, this calibration helps:
| Country | Average new home (m²) | In sq ft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 199 m² | 2,142 sq ft | Census Bureau 2025 (median completed single-family) |
| Australia | 186 m² | 2,002 sq ft | ABS data; the world's second-largest new homes |
| Canada | 175 m² | 1,884 sq ft | Statistics Canada |
| New Zealand | 165 m² | 1,776 sq ft | MBIE consents data |
| Denmark | 137 m² | 1,475 sq ft | Largest in Europe |
| Belgium | 115 m² | 1,238 sq ft | Statbel housing data |
| Netherlands | 115 m² | 1,238 sq ft | CBS housing data |
| Germany | 109 m² | 1,173 sq ft | Destatis |
| France | 104 m² | 1,119 sq ft | INSEE |
| Spain | 97 m² | 1,044 sq ft | INE |
| UK | 76 m² | 818 sq ft | Smallest in Western Europe (RIBA) |
| Italy | 81 m² | 872 sq ft | ISTAT |
| Japan | 94 m² | 1,012 sq ft | MLIT data; urban units much smaller |
| Hong Kong | 45 m² | 484 sq ft | Among smallest globally |
The US is the world’s outlier in new-home size. A typical European 3-bedroom apartment (~100 m²) is what an American would call a small starter home. When relocating internationally, mentally divide your current sq ft by about 2 to set realistic expectations.
Decimal and notation differences
International real estate listings have notation quirks that trip up Americans converting numbers:
- ·European listings use a comma as decimal separator: 92,9 m² means 92.9 m², NOT 929 m². If you see “92,9” in a German or French listing, that’s 92.9, equivalent to about 1,000 sq ft.
- ·Periods are used for thousands separators in many European countries: 1.500 m² means 1,500 m² (about 16,000 sq ft). Big number — that’s a mansion.
- ·British and Irish listings sometimes show both: “Floor area: 110 m² (1,184 sq ft).” If you see only one, the other is easy to derive.
- ·Japanese listings often use tsubo (坪): 1 tsubo = 3.306 m² = 35.58 sq ft. A 30-tsubo apartment is 99 m² or 1,067 sq ft.
- ·Hong Kong and Taiwan use ping (坪) which is identical to tsubo.
International HVAC sizing
AC unit sizing varies by region in part because of unit conventions. US BTU calculators are sized in sq ft (typical 20 BTU per sq ft for cooling, varying by climate). European and Asian split-AC ratings use kilowatts (kW) of cooling capacity and target room area in m².
Rough conversions:
- ·1 kW of AC = roughly 3,412 BTU/hour
- ·A 2.5 kW (8,500 BTU) split system handles about 20 m² (215 sq ft)
- ·A 3.5 kW (12,000 BTU) split handles about 30 m² (323 sq ft) — comparable to a US 12,000 BTU window unit
- ·A 5 kW (17,000 BTU) split handles about 50 m² (538 sq ft)
Always verify with the specific manufacturer’s sizing chart — climate, ceiling height, insulation, and sun exposure matter more than the raw m² or sq ft. Hot, humid climates need 25–30% more capacity than the baseline.
The harder problem: different measurement standards
The unit conversion is the easy part. The hard part — and the one that causes real disputes in international real estate — is that “floor area” means different things in different countries. Even if you convert perfectly between sq ft and m², you can still be comparing apples to oranges.
These are the major standards you’ll encounter:
- ·ANSI Z765 (US, residential). Measures to the exterior wall surface. Includes heated, finished space only. Excludes garages, screened porches, unheated attics, and unfinished basements. Below-grade space is reported separately. This is what almost every US MLS listing uses.
- ·IPMS Residential (international standard, gaining adoption in UK, Australia, Middle East, parts of Asia). Reports four numbers: IPMS 1 (external area), IPMS 2 (internal dominant face), IPMS 3a (occupied internal area, NIA equivalent), IPMS 3b (excluding internal walls). Far more detailed than ANSI.
- ·Gross Internal Area / GIA (UK, most common in residential). Measures inside the external walls. Includes internal walls, hallways, stairwells. Closer to ANSI Z765 than to IPMS.
- ·Net Internal Area / NIA (UK commercial, sometimes residential). Excludes internal walls, columns, and shared circulation. Always smaller than GIA — usually by 10–15%.
- ·Carpet area (India). Excludes walls AND balconies AND common areas. Always the smallest number. A flat advertised as 1,200 sq ft “super built-up” might have only 750 sq ft of carpet area.
- ·Tatami / tsubo (Japan). Tsubo (3.306 m² / 35.58 sq ft) is the traditional unit. Listings often quote both tsubo and m². The Japanese standard is closer to NIA than to ANSI.
If you’re seriously comparing properties internationally — buying abroad, relocating, evaluating a relocation package — ask which standard the area was measured under. A 100 m² Mumbai “super built-up” flat and a 100 m² Berlin GIA flat are not the same amount of usable space. The Mumbai unit could have 35% less interior area.
The exact factor, not an approximation
A foot has been defined as exactly 0.3048 metres since 1959. Squaring that gives the area factor: 1 square foot = 0.09290304 square metres, exactly, with no rounding anywhere in it. Going the other way, 1 square metre = 10.763910417 square feet, and that one does not terminate.
This converter multiplies by 0.09290304 rather than dividing by a rounded 10.7639. The difference is about 1.4 parts per million — invisible on a room, roughly a square foot on a 100-acre parcel — but there is no reason to carry an approximation when the definition is exact and just as easy to use.
Worked both ways: 1,500 sq ft × 0.09290304 = 139.35 m². And 100 m² ÷ 0.09290304 = 1,076.39 sq ft. If a listing quotes both numbers and they disagree with these by more than rounding, one of them was converted with a shortcut factor.
The conversion factors are published in NIST Special Publication 811, the US guide to the SI units.
Watch for the squared conversion. A foot is 0.3048 of a metre, but a square foot is 0.0929 of a square metre — you square the length factor, you do not reuse it. Multiplying an area by 0.3048 is the most common conversion error there is, and it under-reports by a factor of 3.28.
Conversion reference table
| Square Feet (ft²) | Square Meters (m²) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.0929 |
| 10 | 0.929 |
| 50 | 4.645 |
| 100 | 9.290 |
| 200 | 18.581 |
| 500 | 46.452 |
| 1,000 | 92.903 |
| 1,500 | 139.355 |
| 2,000 | 185.806 |
| 2,500 | 232.258 |
| 5,000 | 464.515 |
| 10,000 | 929.030 |
Pro tips
Use the divide-by-11 shortcut
For quick mental math, dividing sq ft by 11 gives a close-enough estimate. 1,000 ÷ 11 ≈ 91 m² (actual: 92.9 m²).
Round to the nearest 0.1 m²
Most real estate listings report metric values to one decimal. 1,200 sq ft → 111.5 m², not 111.483682 m².
Watch the symbol
m² and sq m are the same. m2 (without the superscript) is also acceptable. Don't confuse with cubic meters (m³).
Same shape, same conversion
Conversion applies to any 2D area — rectangle, circle, L-shape, irregular. The factor doesn't depend on shape.