Square Foot to Square Meter Converter

A square foot (ft²) is a unit of area equal to the area of a square with sides of one foot each. It equals 144 square inches or approximately 0.093 square meters, making it one of the most commonly used area units in imperial systems.

The square foot developed from the English foot, which has ancient origins based on human body measurements. As the foot became standardized (defined as exactly 0.3048 meters in 1959), the square foot became the primary unit for measuring building areas, rooms, and properties in countries using imperial units.

Square feet are extensively used in the United States for measuring floor areas, room sizes, apartments, houses, and commercial spaces. They're standard in real estate listings, construction specifications, HVAC calculations, and building codes. Most American property measurements use square feet.

A square meter (m²) is the SI base unit of area, equal to the area of a square with sides of one meter each. It serves as the fundamental unit from which all other metric area measurements are derived.

The square meter was established alongside the meter during the French Revolution in 1795 as part of the metric system. As the meter became the base unit of length, its square naturally became the base unit of area. It was officially adopted as part of the International System of Units (SI) in 1960.

Square meters are universally used for measuring floor areas, room sizes, small properties, construction materials, and in scientific applications. They're standard in architecture, construction, real estate listings, and manufacturing. Most building codes and construction specifications use square meters.