Area Converter

About this Area Converter

The Area Converter changes two-dimensional measurements between metric, imperial and land-area units. This is helpful for rooms, plots, properties, maps and documents that use different measurement systems.

Area units scale by the square of the linear conversion factor, not the same factor itself, which is a common source of area-conversion mistakes; doubling a length doubles that dimension, but doubling both dimensions of a square quadruples its area, not just doubles it.

For related tasks, try Pakistan Land Area Converter, Length Converter or Volume Converter.

How to use it

1. Enter the area value.
2. Choose its existing unit.
3. Select the target unit and convert.

Practical example

One hectare equals 10,000 square meters, while one acre is about 4,046.86 square meters.

Converting 1 square meter to square feet gives about 10.7639 square feet, not the 3.28 you might expect from the linear meter-to-feet conversion factor, precisely because area conversion requires squaring that linear factor.

Things to double-check

Land-related area units like acres and hectares are not simply metric or imperial multiples of square meters or square feet in a round number, so always let this converter handle those specific conversions rather than trying to approximate them from square meter or square foot conversions by hand.

Common area units and how they relate

One square metre is about 10.7639 square feet, and one square foot is about 0.0929 square metres. A hectare is 10,000 square metres, which is about 2.471 acres, and an acre is 43,560 square feet or about 4,047 square metres. A 2,400 square foot house is about 223 square metres. Area units scale with the square of length, so doubling a side quadruples the area, which is why you cannot use a length factor directly.

Property listings and units

Property advertisements use different units depending on country and context: square metres in much of the world, square feet in the United States, Pakistan and India, and acres or hectares for farmland. When you compare plots listed in different units, convert them all to one unit first. Also check whether an advertised area is the built-up area, the carpet area or the land area, since they can differ a lot for the same building. For Pakistani marla and kanal, use the Pakistan Land Area Converter.

Land, farming and gardening

Farmers and gardeners use area to calculate seed, fertiliser and water. If a fertiliser label recommends a rate per hectare and your plot is 0.4 acre, convert the plot to hectares, about 0.162 ha, and scale the rate. Paint and flooring work from square metres or square feet too, with extra allowance for waste, commonly around 5 to 10 percent for cuts and mistakes. Convert units before you order so you do not under- or over-buy.

Avoiding common mistakes

The most frequent mistake is mixing linear and square units, for example treating a 10 foot by 12 foot room as 120 feet instead of 120 square feet. Another is using a rounded conversion factor on a large area, which can create a noticeable error: using 10.76 instead of 10.7639 on a 10,000 square metre site changes the result by about 39 square feet. For legal or contract documents use the units and precision given in the document, and keep several decimals during calculation, rounding only at the end.

Coverage for tiles and paint

Area conversion is practical when you buy materials. A room of 4 m by 5 m is 20 square metres. With 60 cm square tiles, each covering 0.36 square metres, you need about 55.6 tiles, so 56, and about 62 once you add 10 percent for cuts and breakages. For paint, divide the wall area by the coverage on the tin, usually quoted per litre, and remember that two coats double the amount. Convert units first, because tiles may be listed in square feet and rooms in metres.

Worked examples

An apartment listed at 1,800 square feet is about 167.2 square metres, since one square foot is 0.092903 square metres. A farm of 2.5 acres is about 1.012 hectares, because one acre is 0.404686 hectares. A plot of 450 square metres is about 4,844 square feet. To check any result, estimate with a rule of thumb: square feet divided by 10.76 gives square metres, and acres times 0.4 gives hectares. If the calculator result is far from your estimate, check that you selected the right units on both sides and that you did not mix length and area units.

Traditional and regional land units

Land is still measured in local units in many places. In South Asia, plots are described in marla and kanal, and farmland in acres, bighas or killas, with values that differ by region. Elsewhere you may meet the cent, the guntha, the square yard or the dunam. Some of these units are defined differently from one region to the next, so a number alone can be misleading. For purchases of land, always ask which definition is used and have the area confirmed in square metres or square feet on the legal document. For Pakistan, the Pakistan Land Area Converter on this site shows the common urban convention.

Estimating materials from an area

Area conversions are practical for ordering materials. Flooring, tiles, paint, turf and fertiliser are bought by area, so an error in units leads to an order that is too large or too small. For a room of 20 square metres, add 10 percent for cuts when you lay tiles, which means 22 square metres. For a lawn, seed packs state the area they cover per kilogram. Measure the room in one unit, convert once and keep the unit consistent through the calculation. For an irregular space, split it into rectangles and triangles, calculate each and add them.

Property listings and what is being measured

In property advertisements, area can mean different things: the carpet area inside the walls, the built-up area including walls and balconies, or a larger super built-up area that includes shared spaces. A flat advertised at 1,200 square feet may have a usable area of only 900. Plots are measured by their land area, while the covered area of the building on them is smaller. When you compare listings, compare like with like, and ask for a measured floor plan. Converting everything to square metres or square feet before you compare prices per unit area gives a fairer picture.

Key terms explained

Area is the amount of surface, measured in square units. A square metre is a square with sides of one metre, and a square foot has sides of one foot. A hectare is 10,000 square metres, and an acre is 43,560 square feet. Carpet area is the usable floor space inside walls, built-up area includes walls and balconies, and plot area is the land. A conversion factor for area is the square of the length factor, because area depends on two dimensions.

Rules of thumb and quick checks

One square metre is about 10.76 square feet, so divide square feet by 10.76 to get square metres. One acre is about 0.405 hectares, and one hectare is about 2.47 acres. A football pitch of 105 by 68 metres is about 7,140 square metres, or 0.71 hectares. To estimate the area of a room, multiply length by width in the same unit, and add 5 to 10 percent for waste when you buy flooring or paint.

Read the full guide

Want the background, a step-by-step example and the common mistakes? Read Marla to Square Feet and Kanal Conversion Guide for Pakistan. How many square feet in a marla and a kanal? Learn the 225 and 272.25 sq ft marla, kanal, acre, gaz conversions and how to avoid plot area mistakes.

Frequently asked questions