Kilometers to Feet Converter

How many feet are in a kilometer?

A kilometer is 1,000 meters and an international foot is exactly 0.3048 meters. Dividing one by the other gives 3,280.8399 feet in a kilometer, which is 3,280 feet and about 10.08 inches.

feet = kilometers ÷ 0.0003048Equivalent to kilometers × 3,280.839895. To convert feet to kilometers, multiply by 0.0003048.

The 0.0003048 figure is exact, a consequence of the 1959 agreement that fixed the foot at 0.3048 m. Any digits beyond that come from the number you enter, not from an uncertain factor.

Where kilometers meet feet

Aviation is the biggest source of mixed units. Air traffic control in most countries reports altitude in feet, while weather services and many scientific sources quote heights in kilometers. In the standard atmosphere the tropopause sits at 11 km, which is the 36,089 ft that pilots know. The same conversion applies to mountain summits, tall buildings, drilling depths and satellite or balloon heights that appear in metric in one document and in feet in another.

Because a foot is so much smaller than a kilometer, results are large numbers with decimals. The converter keeps six decimal places, which is far finer than any altitude reading, so you can round the answer to whatever your task needs.

How to convert kilometers to feet

1. Enter the distance in kilometers in the first box.
2. The distance in feet appears in the second box and updates as you type.
3. If you only have meters, divide by 1,000 first or use the kilometers to meters converter.

Example 1 (cruise altitude). A weather brief puts the tropopause at 11 km. 11 ÷ 0.0003048 = 36,089.238845 ft.

Example 2 (a skyscraper). A tower is 0.828 km tall. 0.828 ÷ 0.0003048 = 2,716.535433 ft.

Example 3 (a marathon). The 42.195 km race distance is 138,435.03937 ft, a little over 26 miles.

Kilometers to feet conversion table

Common mistakes

• Using 3.28 as the factor. It is about 0.026% low. On 11 km that shortfall is roughly 9 ft, small for a rough estimate but visible in a precise calculation.
• Multiplying by 0.0003048. That factor goes from feet to kilometers. From kilometers to feet you divide by it (or multiply by 3,280.84).
• Treating a kilometer as a mile. A statute mile is 5,280 ft, so a kilometer is only about 62% of a mile in length.

The reverse direction is covered by the feet to kilometers converter.