Feet and meters sit on opposite sides of the imperial-metric divide, and that split shows up everywhere from flight altitude readouts to furniture dimensions on international shopping sites. If you've ever paused mid-purchase or mid-conversation to figure out how tall "6 feet" actually is in meters, this guide gives you the exact math instead of a rough guess.
The Exact Conversion Factor
The foot is officially defined in terms of the meter under the international yard and pound agreement of 1959, which fixed:
- 1 foot = 0.3048 meters (exactly)
- 1 meter = 3.28084 feet (rounded to 5 decimal places)
Because the foot is defined from the meter and not the other way around, 0.3048 is an exact value with no rounding error — every other feet-to-meter figure you see is derived from it.
How to Convert Feet to Meters
To convert feet to meters, multiply the number of feet by 0.3048. To go the other way, multiply meters by 3.28084 (or divide by 0.3048 for full precision).
Feet → Meters: meters = feet × 0.3048 Meters → Feet: feet = meters × 3.28084
Worked Example
A common one: how tall is a 5 feet 10 inches person in meters?
First convert the inches to a decimal foot value: 10 inches = 0.833 feet, so the height is 5.833 feet.
5.833 × 0.3048 = 1.778 meters
So 5'10" is approximately 1.78 meters. For a construction example, a wall specified at 12 feet high converts to 12 × 0.3048 = 3.6576 meters, which matters when architectural drawings mix imperial and metric callouts. Rather than doing this multiplication by hand, the Feet to Meter Converter and Meter to Feet Converter handle it instantly, including feet-and-inches input.
Quick Reference Chart
| Feet | Meters |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.3048 |
| 3 | 0.9144 |
| 5 | 1.524 |
| 6 | 1.8288 |
| 10 | 3.048 |
| 20 | 6.096 |
| 100 | 30.48 |
Where This Conversion Matters Most
Height is the most searched use case — international ID forms, visa applications, and fitness apps often require metric height even for users used to thinking in feet and inches. Aviation is another major one: aircraft altitude is measured in feet worldwide, but pilots and engineers frequently need the metric equivalent for cross-referencing with ground-based metric measurements. Construction and interior design projects that source materials internationally also need reliable feet-to-meter conversion, since a lumber length or door height off by a few centimeters can cause a costly on-site mismatch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is 1 foot exactly 0.3048 meters and not a rounded number? A: The foot was formally redefined in 1959 as exactly 0.3048 meters under an international agreement, making it a precise conversion rather than an approximation.
Q: How do I convert feet and inches together to meters? A: Convert the inches to a fraction of a foot first (inches ÷ 12), add it to the feet, then multiply the total by 0.3048.
Q: What is 6 feet in meters? A: 6 × 0.3048 = 1.8288 meters, commonly rounded to 1.83 meters.
