From ft to meter: Accurate Conversions, Formulas, and Pro Tips (2026)

Quick Answer: To convert from ft to meter, multiply feet by 0.3048. One foot equals exactly 0.3048 meter (international foot). For feet-and-inches, use: meters = (feet + inches/12) × 0.3048. Example: 5 ft 7 in → (5 + 7/12) × 0.3048 = 1.7018 m. Round only at the end to your needed precision.

Last verified: September 2026 | Category: Utils | Read time: 14 min

Introduction

If you’re building a model in Revit, cleaning a product catalog, or importing legacy GIS layers, you’ll hit the same snag: getting lengths right when converting from ft to meter. Tiny rounding choices (0.3048 vs 0.305) ripple into costly rework—misaligned walls, off-spec parts, or drifting map layers.

This guide shows how professionals convert from ft to meter with zero ambiguity. You’ll get the exact formula, step-by-step methods, pro calibration tips, spreadsheet and code snippets, and the edge cases (like the US survey foot) that still trip data teams in 2026. No fluff—just the standards-backed, production-ready approach we use at ZenixTools.

Quick 3-step at a glance (for human-in-the-loop workflows):

1. If inches are present, convert to decimal feet: ft_dec = feet + inches/12.
2. Multiply by 0.3048 exactly: m = ft_dec × 0.3048.
3. Round at the end to your target precision (e.g., 0.001 m for millimeter-level work).

Key Takeaways

• The exact conversion is meters = feet × 0.3048 (international foot). Don’t round the factor.
• For feet-and-inches, meters = (feet + inches/12) × 0.3048; compute inches first.
• The US survey foot is legacy; confirm your source data before batch conversion.
• Round only at the end. Premature rounding compounds errors in models and datasets.
• Document units at every handoff. Add unit metadata to files, columns, and APIs.
• Prefer batch-safe methods: spreadsheets with fixed factors or a unit API/CLI.
• Validate before and after: spot-check known distances, bounding boxes, or QA rules.

Table of Contents

• What Is “from ft to meter”? (Definition & Core Concept)
• Why It Matters in 2026
• Precision That Sticks — Converting from ft to meter Without Drift
• Speed and Scale — Fast Conversions in Sheets, Code, and Pipelines
• Interoperability — Keeping Units Correct Across Tools
• Step-by-Step Guide: How to Convert from ft to meter
• Real-World Examples & Case Studies
• Common Mistakes to Avoid
• Best Practices for 2026
• Expert Tips & Pro Strategies
• Conversion Methods Compared: Manual vs Spreadsheet vs API
• Frequently Asked Questions About Converting from ft to meter
• Conclusion
• Try ZenixTools — Free Feet→Meters Converter & API

What Is “from ft to meter”? (Definition & Core Concept)

Definition: “From ft to meter” means converting a length expressed in feet (and optionally inches) from the imperial/US customary system to meters in the SI system. The exact factor for the international foot is 1 ft = 0.3048 m.

The core formula is straightforward: meters = feet × 0.3048. If inches are provided: meters = (feet + inches/12) × 0.3048. The 0.3048 constant is exact by international agreement, not an approximation. The only nuance is the legacy US survey foot (2.0/3.9370072 m ≈ 0.3048006096 m), historically used in surveying. As of 2023, US federal agencies standardized on the international foot, but legacy datasets remain. Confirm your source units before conversion.

Authoritative definitions:

• Meter: the SI base unit of length, defined by fixing the speed of light, c, at 299,792,458 m/s (NIST).
• International foot: defined exactly as 0.3048 meter (NIST), adopted in 1959.

Why It Matters in 2026

• Digital construction and manufacturing are increasingly metric-first, even in the US. Design in feet, fabricate in meters is common. Unit mismatches still drive rework and change orders.
• GIS and BIM pipelines merge legacy US survey-foot layers with new international-foot or meter datasets. If you don’t normalize units, your map extents and alignments drift. A 1 km span can be off by ~19 mm if you use the wrong foot definition—enough to break overlays.
• AI-assisted content and LLM code generation can silently mix units. A single incorrect factor (0.305 instead of 0.3048) scales error across thousands of rows.
• Supplier catalogs and e-commerce feed aggregations must standardize to SI for international listings; consistent from ft to meter conversions speed onboarding and reduce returns.

Ignoring unit rigor leads to compounding deltas across drawings, parts, and datasets. The fix is simple: apply the exact factor, round at the end, and document the unit path.

Precision That Sticks — Converting from ft to meter Without Drift

Getting conversion right isn’t about memorizing 0.3048; it’s about controlling precision across the workflow.

• Use the exact constant: 0.3048. Never pre-round it to 0.305 or 0.3048 with truncated precision. In code and spreadsheets, store it as a constant, not retyped each time.
• Round once, at the end. If you must display rounded values, keep an internal high-precision column/variable for downstream math.
• Match rounding to purpose:
  • Field/layout tolerances: 0.001 m (1 mm) or 0.005 m depending on trade.
  • Product data sheets: 2–3 decimals in cm or mm; avoid mixed units in the same column.
  • Scientific/QA: round by significant figures, not fixed decimals.
• Treat inches explicitly. For 5'7", do (5 + 7/12) × 0.3048 → 1.7018 m. Don’t convert inches with a separate factor and add—combine in feet first, then multiply.
• Flag survey-foot risk. If your source is labeled “ft (US sur.)” or comes from pre-2020 state plan coordinate systems, evaluate before converting. If it’s survey foot, factor is 0.3048006096; convert once, then move everything to meters.

Speed and Scale — Fast Conversions in Sheets, Code, and Pipelines

You rarely convert a single value. You convert tens of thousands.

• Spreadsheets: Lock the constant in a named cell (e.g., FTM = 0.3048). Use =$A2*FTM for vectorized conversions. For feet+inches split across columns: =(A2 + B2/12)*FTM.
• SQL: SELECT feet * 0.3048 AS meters FROM table; store units in column comments or a companion metadata table.
• Python: meters = feet * Decimal('0.3048') if you need exact decimal arithmetic for auditability.
• JavaScript: m = feet * 0.3048; for display, use Intl.NumberFormat to control locale-safe rounding (MDN).
• Pipelines: Add a Unit Normalization step with schema checks. Fail fast if a column claims meters but values look like feet (heuristics: distribution, quantiles, or known thresholds).

Interoperability — Keeping Units Correct Across Tools

Teams pass values between CAD, BIM, GIS, ERP, and web apps. Metadata is your safety net.

• Embed unit metadata: column names like height_m, or add JSON schema with unit annotations. Document conversions in CHANGELOGs.
• For web docs, declare units in content and structured data. If you publish spec sheets, use Schema.org properties with clear units in text labels and in downloadable CSVs.
• For GIS/BIM, store unit EPSG metadata or project units in file headers and exports. When exporting to meters, stamp it in filenames (e.g., siteA_elev_m.csv).

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Convert from ft to meter

1. Identify the unit source

• Confirm whether your source data uses the international foot (default) or a legacy US survey foot. Check file metadata, project settings, or documentation.

2. Combine feet and inches (if present)

• Compute decimal feet: ft_dec = feet + inches/12. Example: 6'2" → 6 + 2/12 = 6.1666667 ft.

3. Apply the exact factor

• meters = ft_dec × 0.3048. For feet-only data, this is simply feet × 0.3048.

4. Choose your rounding rule

• Decide fixed decimals (e.g., 3 for mm) or significant figures. Don’t round until you finish calculations.

5. Validate with a spot-check

• Convert a known benchmark (e.g., 100 ft → 30.48 m). If results look off, re-check source units.

6. Document the conversion

• Note the factor used, date, and rationale in your data dictionary or project notes.

7. Automate for scale

• In Sheets or code, parameterize the factor and create unit-tested functions. In ETL, add a “units_normalized: meters” field.

8. Archive originals

• Keep the pre-conversion file for audit trails. Tag it with units (e.g., measurements_ft_orig.csv).

Real-World Examples & Case Studies

1. Construction detail, feet and inches

• Input: 5 ft 7 in (door height rough opening)
• Decimal feet: 5 + 7/12 = 5.5833333 ft
• Meters: 5.5833333 × 0.3048 = 1.7018 m
• Rounding for drawing: 1.702 m (to nearest millimeter)
• Outcome: Consistent rough opening across metric fabrication specs.

2. E-commerce product feed (bulk conversion)

• 12,000 SKUs with dimensions in feet. Batch converted in a spreadsheet using a locked constant cell FTM=0.3048.
• Verified with a spot-check row set (1 ft, 10 ft, 100 ft). Added a new column length_m.
• Result: 100% metric-ready feed; returns dropped for EU customers due to clearer sizing.

3. GIS parcel data, legacy survey foot

• County parcel shapefile documented in US survey feet. Team initially used 0.3048, causing small misalignments with state basemap in meters.
• Fix: Re-run with 0.3048006096, then reproject to EPSG meter coordinate system and standardize future work in meters.
• Result: Clean overlays; eliminated sliver polygons at boundaries.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Using 0.305 instead of 0.3048

• Why it happens: Mental math or rounded references.
• Fix: Store 0.3048 as a named constant; never retype.

2. Mixing survey foot with international foot

• Why: Legacy GIS/survey datasets.
• Fix: Inspect metadata; if survey foot, use 0.3048006096 once, then standardize to meters.

3. Rounding too early

• Why: Formatting for reports mid-pipeline.
• Fix: Keep high-precision working values; round only for final display or export.

4. Converting inches separately and adding meters

• Why: Parallel conversions for ft and in.
• Fix: Combine to decimal feet first, then multiply by 0.3048.

5. Ignoring locale formatting

• Why: Commas vs dots in CSVs (e.g., 1,7018 vs 1.7018).
• Fix: Use locale-aware parsing/formatting; validate with MDN Intl.NumberFormat or your ETL’s locale settings.

6. Dropping unit metadata

• Why: “Obvious” context lost between teams/tools.
• Fix: Bake units into column names or schemas; add conversion notes to READMEs.

7. Not validating with a known distance

• Why: Time pressure.
• Fix: Always test 1 ft → 0.3048 m and 100 ft → 30.48 m before batch runs.

Best Practices for 2026

• Use meters = feet × 0.3048 exactly; define it once in your environment.
• Normalize feet + inches to decimal feet before converting.
• Round once at the end; document whether you use decimals or significant figures.
• Record units in filenames, schemas, and column headers.
• Add unit QA checks in pipelines (e.g., expected ranges or ratio tests).
• Migrate legacy survey-foot data to meters and mark the migration.
• Provide both precise (internal) and rounded (display) values.
• Use reproducible code or formulas, with unit tests that include “weird” cases.

Expert Tips & Pro Strategies

• Soft vs hard conversion: If a design uses whole-inch nominal sizes (e.g., 2×4 framing), publish both an exact metric and a “soft-converted” rounded metric suited to manufacturing increments (e.g., to 5 mm grid). Label them clearly.
• Significance over decimals: In QA reports, tie rounding to measurement uncertainty. If field tape accuracy is ±1/8 in, don’t pretend to have sub-millimeter metric precision.
• Guardrails in code: Wrap conversion in a function that requires you to pass a unit flag ("int_foot" vs "us_survey_foot"), defaulting to international foot.
• Spreadsheet governance: Lock the factor cell, protect sheets, and add a Data Validation note explaining the factor and date.
• Schema clarity: In published data, pair a numeric field with a units field or use descriptive names like length_m.

Conversion Methods Compared: Manual vs Spreadsheet vs API

Frequently Asked Questions About Converting from ft to meter

1. How do I convert 5 ft 7 in to meters?

• Add inches as a fraction of a foot: 5 + 7/12 = 5.5833333 ft. Multiply by 0.3048: 5.5833333 × 0.3048 = 1.7018 m. Round at the end to your desired precision, e.g., 1.702 m for millimeter-level drawings.

2. Is 1 foot exactly 0.3048 meter?

• Yes. The international foot is defined exactly as 0.3048 meter by international agreement. It’s not an approximation. This standardized factor has been in place since 1959 and is used in virtually all modern applications.

3. What’s the difference between the US survey foot and the international foot?

• The US survey foot is slightly longer: 0.3048006096 m. It was used historically in surveying. Since 2023, US federal agencies standardized on the international foot (0.3048 m). Legacy datasets may still use the survey foot; confirm before converting.

4. How many meters are in 6 feet?

• Multiply by 0.3048: 6 × 0.3048 = 1.8288 m. That value is exact because the conversion factor is exact for the international foot.

5. How do I do feet to meters in Excel?

• Put feet in A2. In a locked cell (say, D1) enter 0.3048 and name it FTM. Then use =A2*FTM for meters. If inches are in B2, use =(A2 + B2/12)*FTM. Format the result to the decimals you need.

6. How do I convert from ft to meter in Google Sheets?

• Same as Excel: create a named range FTM=0.3048 and use =A2*FTM. For feet and inches: =(A2 + B2/12)*FTM. Consider using ROUND(value, 3) only for final display, not intermediate math.

7. Can I convert feet to meters in SQL?

• Yes. Example: SELECT feet * 0.3048 AS meters FROM my_table;. For feet and inches columns: SELECT (feet + inches/12.0) * 0.3048 AS meters FROM my_table;. Store units in metadata or separate columns for clarity.

8. What rounding should I use when converting from ft to meter?

• Round based on your use case: 3 decimals (millimeters) for construction/shop drawings, 2–3 decimals for consumer specs, and significant figures for scientific data. Always round after all calculations are complete.

9. How do I handle data that might be in US survey feet?

• Check metadata and project history. If survey foot, use 0.3048006096 for one clean conversion to meters, then standardize future work in meters. Validate by testing known distances or overlays.

10. Is 0.305 an acceptable shortcut for 0.3048?

• Not for production. 0.305 introduces a 0.066% error that compounds over distance and datasets. Always use 0.3048. If you need mental math in the field, convert roughly, then verify with the exact factor before recording.

11. How do I convert meters back to feet?

• Divide by 0.3048: feet = meters / 0.3048. To get feet and inches, take the fractional part of feet × 12 for inches, rounding at the end.

12. Can I automate feet-to-meters conversion in JavaScript?

• Yes. Example: const m = feet * 0.3048;. For display: new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', { maximumFractionDigits: 3 }).format(m). Keep the internal value unrounded for accurate downstream math.

13. What’s the best way to store units in datasets?

• Include units in column names (e.g., length_m), add a metadata JSON with units, and note conversion details (factor, date) in a README or data dictionary. Consistency prevents silent unit drift.

14. Why do my GIS layers misalign after converting feet to meters?

• Likely a foot definition mismatch (survey vs international) or a projection step done after rounding. Recheck the source unit, use the correct factor, reproject to a meter-based CRS, and avoid premature rounding.

15. Do building codes accept metric dimensions converted from feet?

• Yes, but present values appropriately for the trade and jurisdiction. Provide exact converted values for compliance, and where practical add soft-rounded metric dimensions aligned to common material increments. Always document your conversion basis.

Conclusion

Converting from ft to meter is simple—meters = feet × 0.3048—but professional results come from disciplined execution: confirm your foot definition, convert inches the right way, round only at the end, and document units across every handoff. Do that, and your drawings, parts, and datasets will align cleanly the first time.

Try ZenixTools — Free Feet→Meters Converter & API

Ready to standardize your pipeline? Try the ZenixTools Feet→Meters Converter for instant, exact results, or plug our Unit Conversion API into your ETL for bulk CSV/JSON runs with audit logs, rounding controls, and explicit survey-foot handling. Ship accurate metrics, every time.

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References and standards

• NIST: International foot and US survey foot guidance (nist.gov)
• NIST: SI base units and the definition of the meter (nist.gov)
• MDN Web Docs: Intl.NumberFormat for locale-safe formatting (developer.mozilla.org)
• Schema.org: Using FAQPage/HowTo structured data for documentation (schema.org)