Area converter - square feet, square metres, acres and hectares

Area measures a two-dimensional surface. To convert square units, square the linear conversion factor: because 1 foot equals 0.3048 metres, one square foot equals 0.3048 × 0.3048 = 0.09290304 m². Conversely, one square metre equals about 10.7639 square feet. This distinction matters: a 10 by 10 foot room is 100 square feet, not 10 feet or 30.48 square metres.

Useful relationships include 1 hectare = 10,000 m², 1 acre = 4,046.8564224 m², and 1 square mile = 640 acres. For quick estimates, an acre is about 0.405 hectares and a hectare is about 2.471 acres. The converter uses standard unit factors and displays results in the selected unit system.

Area conversions are useful when comparing property listings, reading an overseas floor plan or checking a material specification. For a rectangular room, multiply length by width in the same unit first. A 12 by 15 foot room has 180 ft², which is about 16.72 m². If a listing gives only total floor area, remember that measurement conventions can differ: usable, gross and net floor area may include different spaces, so a unit conversion cannot reconcile those definitions.

For a simple estimate of land, multiply each measured side or divide an irregular plot into manageable shapes, calculate those areas, then add them. Survey boundaries and official property records should be used for legal or purchase decisions. This converter changes units only; it does not measure a site or confirm its boundary.

Hectares are common in metric countries, while acres remain widely used in the United States and the United Kingdom. One hectare is a square 100 metres on each side, or 10,000 m². One acre is 4,840 square yards, approximately 4,046.86 m². A convenient comparison is that 5 acres are about 2.02 hectares, and 10 hectares are about 24.71 acres.

Large areas may be expressed in square kilometres or square miles. One square kilometre contains 100 hectares; one square mile contains 640 acres and is approximately 2.58999 km². Avoid mixing linear and square units: converting metres to feet does not directly convert square metres to square feet unless the conversion factor is squared. Use the result as a transparent arithmetic conversion, then check local land records for the applicable measurement standard.