Area Conversion Calculator
Compare land, flooring and map areas in the units that make sense
Area conversion FAQ and quick answers
Why do property listings mix square feet, square metres and acres?
Real-estate and land ads often use the units local buyers expect. US listings usually quote square feet for floor space and acres for lots, while many other countries use square metres and sometimes hectares for larger parcels. An area converter lets you compare numbers quickly without having to memorise every factor.
When should I think in square metres instead of square feet?
Square metres tie directly into the SI system, so they work well with other metric units in engineering, architecture and building codes. If your plans, loads, and material specs are all in metric, working in m² avoids rounding surprises that can creep in when you convert back and forth from ft².
What is the difference between hectares, acres and square kilometres?
Hectares and acres are both land units; a hectare is exactly 10,000 m² and is common in agriculture and planning, while an acre is about 4,046.86 m² and is widely used in North America and the UK. Square kilometres are much larger; 1 km² holds 100 hectares or roughly 247 acres, so they make more sense for maps, cities and regions rather than individual parcels.
Can I use this calculator for tiny areas like PCB pads or screw heads?
Yes. For very small surfaces, pick square millimetres or square centimetres. The converter routes everything through square metres, so going from mm² to in² or ft² is just as straightforward as converting a big field from acres to hectares.
What about huge areas like countries or oceans?
For very large regions, square kilometres and square miles are more convenient. You can still express them in hectares or acres if you like, but the numbers get long. This area calculator handles any size the same way; the unit choice is mostly about readability.
Does this tool round too much for engineering work?
The page shows a tidy, rounded result while keeping full precision in the background. For code checks, drawings and back-of-the-envelope estimates it is usually enough. If you are working on safety-critical structures, treat the output as a quick check and keep extra digits in your own calculations or CAD model.
One place for land, floor and surface areas
This area conversion calculator is built for everyday jobs: reading property listings in another country, translating architectural plans, figuring out how much paint you need, or comparing farm sizes. Instead of juggling multiple charts, you choose “square feet”, “acres”, “square metres”, “hectares” or another unit, pick a target unit, enter a number and the tool shows a clear line like “500 ft² = 46.451 m²”.
1. Choose units that match how you think
The dropdowns include the area units you are most likely to see:
- Square feet (ft²) and square yards (yd²) for rooms, decks and small lots.
- Acres (ac) and square miles (mi²) for land, farms and regional maps.
- Square metres (m²), square kilometres (km²), hectares (ha) and ares (a) for metric land and planning.
- Square inches (in²), square centimetres (cm²) and square millimetres (mm²) for small surfaces like tiles, labels and hardware.
US-style units load near the top so you can quickly convert a floor area or lot size into the metric units used in building codes, contracts or spreadsheets.
2. Base-unit method: everything through square metres
Behind the scenes, every conversion passes through square metres (m²), the SI unit for area. The calculator keeps a factor that tells it how many square metres correspond to one of each unit, then uses a two-step process:
aream² = areafrom × factorfrom→m²
areato = aream² ÷ factorto→m²
For example:
- 1 ft² ≈ 0.09290304 m², so 500 ft² × 0.09290304 ≈ 46.45152 m².
- 1 acre ≈ 4,046.8564224 m², so 2 acres ≈ 8,093.71 m².
- 1 hectare = 10,000 m², so 3 ha = 30,000 m² = 0.03 km².
- 1 square mile ≈ 2.589988 km², which is 2,589,988.110336 m².
3. Area conversion factors at a glance
If you just want a quick mental-math factor, this table lists some of the key relationships the calculator uses internally. “Starting unit” multiplied by the conversion factor gives the “resulting unit”.
| Starting Unit | Resulting Unit | Conversion Factor |
|---|---|---|
| Land and map units | ||
| square miles (mi²) | square kilometres (km²) | 2.589988 |
| square miles (mi²) | square metres (m²) | 2,589,988.110336 |
| acres (ac) | square metres (m²) | 4,046.8564224 |
| hectares (ha) | square metres (m²) | 10,000 |
| square kilometres (km²) | hectares (ha) | 100 |
| Flooring and small-surface units | ||
| square feet (ft²) | square metres (m²) | 0.09290304 |
| square metres (m²) | square feet (ft²) | 10.76391 |
| square yards (yd²) | square metres (m²) | 0.83612736 |
| square inches (in²) | square metres (m²) | 0.00064516 |
| square centimetres (cm²) | square metres (m²) | 0.0001 |
| square millimetres (mm²) | square metres (m²) | 0.000001 |
4. Reading and using the result
The result panel is deliberately simple: if you type 800 and choose “square feet” to “square metres”, it will show something like “800 ft² = 74.322 m²”. You can copy that straight into an email, a spec sheet or a spreadsheet. For quick project planning, rounding to the nearest whole square metre or square foot is often fine; when you are pricing materials or checking building regulations, keep the full decimal value on your own sheet and round at the very end.
Because everything flows through square metres, the calculator stays consistent with the way area is handled in the modern SI system while still fitting naturally with feet, yards, acres and square miles that show up in real-world documents, drawings and property descriptions.
References and further reading on area units
These references go deeper into the definitions and conversion factors behind common area units used here:
- Square feet to square metres — explains that 1 square foot is exactly 0.09290304 square metres and provides example tables.
- Acre to square metre conversion — shows that 1 acre equals 4,046.8564224 square metres and how to move between the two units.
- Hectares to square metres — notes that 1 hectare is defined as 10,000 square metres, commonly used for land and agriculture.
For legal descriptions, engineering sign-off or surveying work, always confirm numbers against your local standards or official conversion tables before finalising documents.