Square Footage Calculator

Free online Square Footage Calculator. Calculate area in square feet and square meters for rectangles, circles and triangles. Perfect for flooring, painting, and real estate measurements.

Total Area
0 sq ft
Square Feet0
Square Meters0

How to Use the Square Footage Calculator

Need to find the area of a 12x10 ft rectangular room? Select "Rectangle" from the shape dropdown, enter length 12 and width 10, then hit calculate. You'll see the area is 120 sq ft (or 11.15 sq meters). For a circular garden bed with a 5 ft radius, select "Circle" and enter radius 5 — the area is 78.54 sq ft. For a triangular flower bed with a 10 ft base and 8 ft height, select "Triangle" — you get 40 sq ft. This tool handles all three common shapes, so whether you're measuring a rectangular lawn, a circular patio, or a triangular lot, you get accurate square footage in seconds.

About Square Footage Calculator

Square footage (sq ft) is the standard unit for measuring area in real estate and construction in the US. This calculator supports rectangles, circles, and triangles, converting results to both square feet and square metres.

To convert square feet to square metres, multiply by 0.092903. For irregular shapes, divide the area into smaller regular shapes, calculate each, and sum the results.

When to Use This Calculator

Buying flooring for a room: Know your room's square footage before shopping for carpet, tile, or laminate. A 15x12 ft living room is 180 sq ft. Add 10% for waste and you need 198 sq ft of flooring. Multiply by the per-sq-ft price to budget accurately before you even visit the store.

Listing a home for sale: Real estate listings need accurate square footage. Measure each room, add them together, and you have the total living area. A typical 3-bedroom home with a 200 sq ft living room, 120 sq ft kitchen, and three 120 sq ft bedrooms totals around 680 sq ft before hallways and bathrooms.

Planning a garden or landscaping project: Need to order soil, mulch, or sod? Calculate the area of your garden beds (rectangular, circular, or triangular) and use the result to estimate material volume. A 200 sq ft flower bed needs about 6.2 cubic yards of mulch at 1 inch depth.

How to Interpret Your Results

The Total Area is shown in both square feet and square meters. For real estate, use sq ft. For construction materials sold in metric, use sq m. Remember that square footage is area, not linear measurement — a 12x10 ft room is 120 sq ft, which is different from 120 linear feet. For irregular spaces, divide the area into rectangles, calculate each, and add them together. For oddly shaped rooms, you can get a rough estimate using the rectangle option with the longest length and width.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between square footage and linear footage?

Square footage measures area (length x width) and is used for flooring, paint coverage, and property size. Linear footage measures straight length and is used for baseboards, crown molding, and fencing. A 12x10 ft room has 120 sq ft of floor area but about 44 linear feet of wall perimeter. Don't confuse them — buying 120 linear feet of baseboard for a 120 sq ft room would leave you with way too much.

How do I calculate square footage of an irregular room?

Divide the irregular space into regular shapes (rectangles, triangles, circles), calculate each area, and sum them. For an L-shaped room, split it into two rectangles. For a room with a bay window, calculate the rectangle plus the triangle or trapezoid of the bay. This calculator handles rectangles, circles, and triangles — use it multiple times for each section and add the results together.

What's the difference between square footage and gross floor area?

Gross floor area includes the entire floor space within the exterior walls, including wall thicknesses, stairwells, and mechanical rooms. Square footage for real estate listings typically means livable area only — finished, heated, and habitable spaces. Unfinished basements, garages, and attics are often excluded from listed square footage but are part of gross floor area.

How do I measure square footage for carpet?

Measure the room length and width at their widest points, just like for any flooring. Carpet comes in 12-ft or 15-ft wide rolls, so you may need extra for seams. For a 14x12 ft room, you'd buy a 14x12 ft piece (168 sq ft) but if the roll is 12 ft wide, you need 14 ft of a 12-ft wide roll (168 sq ft) with a seam. Add 5-10% for waste and pattern matching if applicable.

Does square footage include closets?

In most US real estate listings, yes — closets are included in the square footage of the room they adjoin. Walk-in closets are typically counted as part of the bedroom or as bonus space. However, listing practices vary by region and appraiser. The ANSI standard (used by most appraisers) includes any finished, heated space with at least 7 ft ceiling height.