Feet Converter

About the Feet Converter

The foot is one of the most commonly used units of measurement in the United States, used for human height, room dimensions, elevation, lot sizes, building codes, and countless everyday measurements. One foot equals exactly 12 inches, 0.3048 meters, or 30.48 centimeters.

This all-in-one feet converter accepts input in seven units — feet, inches, meters, centimeters, millimeters, yards, and miles — and produces output in all of them simultaneously. It also provides a combined feet-and-inches display for values like 5.75 feet → 5′ 9″, which is the natural way to express measurements in the imperial system.

Preset buttons cover values from 1 foot to 5,280 feet (1 mile), and the visual comparison chart scales your input against familiar objects from a ruler (1 ft) to a football field (300 ft) to the Statue of Liberty (305 ft). The collapsible conversion table provides quick reference for 15 common foot values and supports fast daily checks for design, purchasing, and site planning tasks.

When This Page Helps

Feet are everywhere in American construction, real estate, and daily life, but the rest of the world uses meters. This converter converts in both directions across seven units and provides a combined feet-and-inches display, making it the only converter you need for practical, error-resistant work in mixed-unit projects and international collaboration contexts.

How to Use the Inputs

1. Select the input unit from seven options.
2. Enter the value or click a preset.
3. Adjust decimal precision.
4. Read outputs in feet, inches, feet+inches, meters, cm, mm, yards, and miles.
5. Compare your measurement against real-world objects.
6. Expand the conversion table for quick reference.

Example Calculation

Tips & Best Practices

• Memorize: 1 ft = 0.3048 m (exactly). Multiply feet by 0.3 for a quick estimate.
• 1 yard = 3 feet. 1 mile = 5,280 feet = 1,760 yards.
• For quick feet-to-cm: multiply by 30 (exact: 30.48).
• Construction lumber is sized in feet (2×4 = 8 ft, 10 ft, 12 ft).
• Ceiling height in US homes: 8 ft standard, 9 ft common in new construction, 10 ft in luxury.
• The international foot was defined as exactly 0.3048 m in 1959. Before that, the US survey foot was slightly different (by about 2 ppm).

The Foot in History

The foot as a unit of length dates to ancient civilizations. The Roman foot (pes) was about 11.65 inches. The modern international foot was standardized in 1959 as exactly 0.3048 meters by agreement among English-speaking nations. The US retained a slightly different "survey foot" for land survey until 2023.

Feet in Construction and Architecture

US building codes, floor plans, and elevation drawings are all in feet. Standard door height: 6′ 8″. Standard ceiling: 8′ 0″. Stud spacing: 16″ on center. Understanding feet-to-metric conversion is essential for working with international building materials and standards.

Feet in Aviation

Flight altitude worldwide is measured in feet, even in metric countries. This is an ICAO standard: "Flight Level 350" means 35,000 feet (10,668 m). Pilots, air traffic controllers, and aircraft designers must be fluent in feet-to-meter conversions for safety calculations.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How many meters is 1 foot?

  Exactly 0.3048 meters (by international agreement since 1959). This exact definition keeps ft-to-m conversions consistent worldwide.

• How many centimeters is 1 foot?

  Exactly 30.48 centimeters. That is why 5 feet equals 152.4 cm.

• How do I convert feet to inches?

  Multiply by 12. For example, 5.5 feet = 66 inches.

• How many feet in a mile?

  5,280 feet = 1 mile. This equals 1,760 yards or 1.609 kilometers.

• What is the difference between feet and foot?

  "Foot" is singular (1 foot), "feet" is plural (2+ feet). The abbreviation is "ft" for both.

• How do I convert decimal feet to feet and inches?

  Take the decimal part and multiply by 12. For example, 5.75 ft: 0.75 × 12 = 9 inches → 5′ 9″.