Area Converter
Convert between square meters, acres, hectares, square feet, square miles, and more.
About the Area Converter
Area measurement in India is uniquely complex because it involves at least three overlapping systems: the metric system (square meters, hectares), the imperial system (square feet, acres, square yards), and an array of traditional regional units. Square feet dominate residential real estate in most cities; acres and hectares are used in agriculture; and units like bigha, gaj, gunta, cent, and ground are used in specific states and property segments. A buyer from Maharashtra looking at agricultural land in Tamil Nadu may be quoted in cents - an unfamiliar unit that requires conversion to make sense of the price.
The complexity increases because even the regional units are not standardized nationally. Bigha in Uttar Pradesh (2,529 sq m) is nearly twice the bigha in Madhya Pradesh or West Bengal (1,337 sq m). Gaj can mean a square yard (83.6 cm sides) in some contexts and a linear yard in others. When a property listing uses these terms, the buyer must know both the unit name and the state-specific definition to avoid calculating at the wrong scale. This converter uses the most common standardized values for each regional unit.
For agricultural and government contexts, hectares are the global standard. The land records systems in India are progressively converting to metric units, but older records and rural transactions still use traditional units. Satellite surveys use square meters and hectares; FSI (Floor Space Index) calculations for urban development are in square meters; but ground-level negotiations often happen in traditional units. Being fluent across all three systems prevents the significant misunderstandings that arise when a buyer and seller are nominally speaking the same language but using different unit assumptions.
Area Conversion Reference
1 acre = 4,047 sq m = 43,560 sq ft = 40.47 cents · 1 hectare = 10,000 sq m = 2.47 acres
1 sq ft = 0.0929 sq m · 1 sq meter = 10.764 sq ft · 1 cent = 40.47 sq m (South India) · 1 gunta = 101 sq m (Karnataka, Andhra) · Bigha: UP = 2,529 sq m; WB/MP = 1,337 sq m
Worked Example
Agricultural land of 3 acres - area in square feet and hectares
3 acres = 130,680 sq ft = 1.21 hectares = 12,141 sq m
Tips & Insights
- 1
RERA mandates that developers disclose apartment sizes in carpet area (usable floor space). Carpet area is typically 70-75% of super built-up area used in older marketing. Always ask for and compare on carpet area to make accurate price-per-sq-ft comparisons across projects.
- 2
1 acre = 43,560 sq ft = 4,047 sq m = 40.47 cents = 0.405 hectares. This conversion cluster covers most agricultural land transactions in India. Keep it handy when evaluating rural property listings.
- 3
The bigha varies significantly by state: UP bigha = 2,529 sq m (roughly 0.625 acres); West Bengal and MP bigha = 1,337 sq m (0.33 acres). Always confirm which state definition is being used before calculating land area or comparing price per bigha across regions.
- 4
Tamil Nadu property in Chennai and nearby districts is frequently quoted in grounds (1 ground = 2,400 sq ft = 222.97 sq m). A plot of 3 grounds = 7,200 sq ft = 669 sq m - comparable to a mid-size residential plot. This unit does not appear in most standard converters.
- 5
In South India (Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana), land area is quoted in guntas. 1 gunta = approximately 101 sq m = 1,089 sq ft. 40 guntas = 1 acre. This 40-guntas-per-acre relationship is the key ratio to remember for that region.
- 6
For international property comparison, use hectares. 1 hectare = 10,000 sq m = 2.47 acres = 107,639 sq ft. European farmland and international commercial properties are quoted in hectares - converting to a common unit makes cross-border land price comparisons possible.
- 7
FSI and FAR calculations required for urban development approval use square meters exclusively. A plot of 500 sq m with FSI 2.0 allows 1,000 sq m of built-up area. Converting the plot size accurately from sq ft or sq yd to sq m before applying FSI prevents costly errors in building permit applications.
Why this matters for you
Real estate is the single largest household investment for most Indian families, and area unit confusion is one of the easiest ways for that investment to be mispriced. The price per square foot in a brochure looks different from the price per square meter in the registration documents. The super built-up area used to calculate EMI is larger than the carpet area the family will actually live in. Converting accurately between these representations at every step of the property transaction - search, comparison, negotiation, registration - is a financial self-defense skill.
Agricultural land pricing in India is highly regional, and the regional units amplify this localism. A price of Rs. 5 lakh per bigha in UP (1 bigha = 0.625 acres) works out to Rs. 8 lakh per acre; the same price per bigha in West Bengal (0.33 acres) = Rs. 15 lakh per acre. Without knowing the regional bigha definition and converting to a common unit, two quotes that appear identical represent very different land values. This kind of confusion is frequently exploited in rural property transactions.
As India urbanizes and property transactions increasingly span state borders - retirees buying land in other states, NRIs investing remotely, platforms aggregating listings nationally - the area unit problem scales up. Proptech platforms often standardize on square feet or square meters, but local brokers and sellers still use traditional units. A nationally consistent habit of converting to square meters or acres as the reference unit, and cross-checking against the stated traditional unit, provides a reliable sanity check in every land transaction.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many square feet in an acre?+
1 acre = 43,560 square feet = 4,046.86 square meters = 0.404686 hectares. An acre is roughly the area of an American football field (without end zones).
What is a hectare?+
1 hectare (ha) = 10,000 m² = 2.47105 acres. It's the standard unit for land area in the metric system. A hectare is a square 100m × 100m.
How many square meters in a square kilometer?+
1 km² = 1,000,000 m² (10⁶ square meters). 1 square mile = 2.58999 km².
How do you convert square feet to square meters?+
Multiply square feet by 0.092903. Example: 1,000 sq ft × 0.092903 = 92.9 m². Reverse: multiply m² by 10.7639 to get sq ft.
What area units are commonly used in Indian real estate?+
Indian real estate uses a mix of units depending on region: Square feet - most common in urban apartments and offices. Square yards - common in residential plots in North India, especially Delhi-NCR (1 sq yard = 9 sq ft). Cents - used in South India; 1 cent = 40.47 sq metres = 435.6 sq ft = 1/100 acre. Grounds - Tamil Nadu; 1 ground = 222.97 sq metres, approximately 2,400 sq ft. Bigha - used across North and Northeast India but varies by state from 1,600 sq ft in Madhya Pradesh to 27,225 sq ft in West Bengal. Guntha or Gunta - Maharashtra and Karnataka; 1 guntha = 101.17 sq metres. Always confirm the local definition when buying property.
What is the difference between square yards and square feet in property?+
1 square yard = 9 square feet (since 1 yard = 3 feet, and area scales as the square). In Indian real estate, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Punjab, and UP commonly quote residential plot sizes in square yards, while apartments in the same region are quoted in square feet. Commercial plots are often in square yards. This creates confusion: a 100 sq yard plot equals 900 sq feet - a large residential plot. Apartment carpet area is quoted in sq ft (a typical 2BHK is 650 to 900 sq ft). For plot purchase, verify the unit with the seller - 500 sq ft and 500 sq yard are very different: 500 sq ft is a small flat, while 500 sq yard is 4,500 sq ft, approximately the footprint of a large bungalow. Registration documents must use sq metres per law, so the verification step is the registered document.
How do I calculate carpet area, built-up area, and super built-up area?+
These three area definitions are critical for Indian apartment purchases. Carpet area is the actual usable floor space within the apartment walls - what you can literally lay carpet on. It excludes wall thickness, balconies, and common areas. Built-up area = Carpet area + Wall area (typically 10 to 15% more than carpet area). Super built-up area (also called saleable area) = Built-up area + Proportional share of common areas (lobby, lift, staircase, clubhouse, parking). Super built-up area is typically 25 to 40% more than carpet area. RERA (Real Estate Regulation and Development Act) mandates that all apartment sales in India since 2017 must be quoted in carpet area, not super built-up area. Check your agreement for sale and RERA registration to confirm the area basis. Paying for a 1,200 sq ft apartment priced on super built-up area with a 30% loading factor means you are only getting 924 sq ft of actual usable space.