Convert Meters per Second to Feet per Second
Meters per second to feet per second is the conversion you need when a speed comes from a metric or scientific source but you want to picture it in the imperial units common in US physics and engineering. One meter per second is about 3.280840 feet per second, so the number gets over three times bigger when you switch from m/s to ft/s.
Meters per second to Feet per second conversion table
| Meters per second (m/s) | Feet per second (ft/s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 3.28084 |
| 2 | 6.56168 |
| 3 | 9.84252 |
| 5 | 16.404199 |
| 10 | 32.808399 |
| 20 | 65.616798 |
| 50 | 164.041995 |
| 100 | 328.08399 |
| 500 | 1,640.419948 |
| 1,000 | 3,280.839895 |
The formula
To convert meters per second to feet per second, multiply the speed in meters per second by 3.280840:
feet per second = meters per second × 3.280840
A worked example
Say a sprinter is running at 10 meters per second, a common benchmark speed in track and field:
10 × 3.280840 = 32.81 ft/s
That's roughly how fast an elite sprinter covers ground during the middle of a 100-meter race, expressed in feet instead of meters.
Why it's an approximation
A foot is defined as exactly 0.3048 meters, but flipping that relationship around to go from meters to feet means dividing 1 by 0.3048, which produces a long decimal that never settles into a clean, short number. That's why the factor 3.280840 is rounded for practical use, and why any displayed result is an approximation rather than a perfectly exact figure.
When you'll use it
Converting scientific or metric speed data (running speed, wind speed, lab measurements) into the feet-per-second units common in US physics problems and engineering specs, and checking ballistics or projectile-speed figures that are often quoted in feet per second.
Frequently asked questions
How many feet per second are in a meter per second?
About 3.280840 feet per second. The value is a rounded approximation, not an exact figure, because a foot does not divide evenly into a meter.
Is the meters-per-second to feet-per-second conversion exact?
No. The factor 3.280840 is a rounded decimal — a foot is defined as exactly 0.3048 meters, and dividing 1 by 0.3048 produces a long, non-terminating number, so the displayed result is always rounded.
What's a quick way to estimate m/s to ft/s in my head?
Multiply by roughly 3.28, or just over 3. A 10 m/s sprinter is covering about 33 feet per second. For anything that matters, use the exact factor above.