The exact equivalent
A square metre is 10.7639 square feet. The factor is 3.28084 squared, which is why it is not 3.28.
1 m² = 10.76391042 ft²
1 ft² = 0.09290304 m²
How to convert it by hand
Just multiply by the conversion factor. To go from square metres to square feet, multiply by 10.76391; to come back, divide by that same number or multiply by 0.092903.
For example: 25 m² × 10.76391 = 269.0978 ft².
A tip that saves mistakes: check the result goes the way you expect. If square feet are a smaller unit than square metres, the number has to come out bigger. If it comes out smaller, you divided when you should have multiplied.
Conversion table
| m² | ft² |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10.7639 |
| 2 | 21.5278 |
| 5 | 53.8196 |
| 10 | 107.6391 |
| 20 | 215.2782 |
| 50 | 538.1955 |
| 100 | 1,076.391 |
Reference points to picture it
| Reference | Equals |
|---|---|
| A small bedroom | 12 m² = 129 ft² |
| A one-bedroom flat | 50 m² = 538 ft² |
| A family house | 120 m² = 1,292 ft² |
| A parking space | 12.5 m² = 135 ft² |
The trick for doing it in your head
Multiply by 10 and add 8%. For 50 m²: 500 plus 40 gives 540 ft², against a true 538.
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.