This switches an area between square meters, square kilometers, square feet, acres, and hectares. Area is especially easy to get wrong by hand, because it scales by the square of length, so a small mistake in the underlying unit turns into a much bigger error in the final area.
How to use it
- Enter the area you want to convert.
- Select the unit you're converting from.
- Select the unit you want the result in.
- Read the converted area.
- Change the value anytime to see it update.
When it helps
- Converting a property listing's size between square feet and square meters when comparing homes internationally.
- Converting farmland size between acres and hectares.
- Checking a room's floor area for flooring or paint calculations in your preferred unit.
- Comparing plot sizes across countries that use different standard units.
- Converting a garden or lot size to plan a project that specifies a different unit.
Good to know
- One acre is a bit over 4,000 square meters, and one hectare is exactly 10,000 square meters.
- A hectare is roughly 2.47 acres, useful for a quick comparison.
- Check whether a listed area means total floor space or just livable space. That affects usefulness more than accuracy.
- When comparing international real estate listings, convert every listing to the same unit before comparing price per unit area, since mixing units makes the comparison misleading.
- When estimating paint or flooring needs, add a bit extra to the converted area to account for waste and cutting, rather than ordering the exact calculated amount.
Land and property units
Property listings use different units: square metres in most countries, square feet in the US and UK, and acres, hectares or plots for land. Convert before comparing prices per unit.
Questions
What's the difference between an acre and a hectare?
Both measure land, but a hectare is a metric unit equal to exactly 10,000 square meters, while an acre is an imperial unit historically based on how much land a team of oxen could plow in a day, about 4,047 square meters.
Why does converting square meters to square feet involve squaring the length conversion?
Because area is two dimensional. Since one meter is about 3.28 feet, one square meter is about 3.28 squared, or roughly 10.76, square feet.
Can this convert volume too?
No, this is for two dimensional area only. Volume would need a separate calculation using cubic units.
How many square feet are in an acre?
43,560 square feet, a figure that comes from a historical land measurement definition rather than a round metric conversion.
Why is land sometimes in hectares and sometimes in acres?
Mostly regional convention. Countries using the metric system for most things tend to use hectares for land, while places like the US more commonly use acres.
Is square footage the same as floor area in a real estate listing?
Usually, though exactly what's included, like whether a garage or basement counts, can vary by listing convention, so it's worth checking what a specific number actually represents.