The exact equivalent
A metre is 3.28084 feet. A foot is exactly 0.3048 metres, which is where the figure comes from.
1 m = 3.2808399 ft
1 ft = 0.3048 m
How to convert it by hand
Just multiply by the conversion factor. To go from metres to feet, multiply by 3.28084; to come back, divide by that same number or multiply by 0.3048.
For example: 25 m × 3.28084 = 82.021 ft.
A tip that saves mistakes: check the result goes the way you expect. If feet are a smaller unit than metres, the number has to come out bigger. If it comes out smaller, you divided when you should have multiplied.
Conversion table
| m | ft |
|---|---|
| 1 | 3.2808 |
| 2 | 6.5617 |
| 5 | 16.4042 |
| 10 | 32.8084 |
| 20 | 65.6168 |
| 50 | 164.042 |
| 100 | 328.084 |
Reference points to picture it
| Reference | Equals |
|---|---|
| A standard ceiling | 2.5 m = 8.2 ft |
| An adult of 1.80 m | 5 ft 11 in |
| A 25 m swimming pool | 82 ft |
| Cruising altitude | 11,000 m = 36,089 ft |
The trick for doing it in your head
Multiply by 3 and add 10%. For 10 m: 30 plus 3 gives 33 feet, against a true 32.8.
It is fine for getting by without a phone, but not for anything that depends on precision: in a recipe, on a building site or in a dose, use the exact conversion.