How many cubic meters are in 1 cubic foot?

1 ft³ ≈ 0.0283168 m³. The exact factor is 0.0283168466 m³ per ft³.

How many cubic feet are in 1 cubic meter?

1 m³ ≈ 35.3147 ft³ — the inverse of the cubic-feet-to-cubic-meters factor.

What is 100 cubic feet in cubic meters?

100 × 0.0283168 ≈ 2.832 m³.

Why is the conversion factor 0.0283168?

1 foot = 0.3048 meters. Cubed, that is 0.3048³ ≈ 0.0283168 m³ per ft³.

Cubic Feet to Cubic Meters Calculator — ft³ to m³ for Freight & Engineering

How to convert cubic feet to cubic meters

One foot equals 0.3048 meters. Cube that linear conversion and you get the volume factor: 1 cubic foot ≈ 0.0283168 cubic meters. Multiply ft³ by 0.0283168 to convert.

m³ = ft³ × 0.0283168

Worked examples

Example 1: A 20 ft shipping container, 1,170 ft³ interior

1,170 × 0.0283168 ≈ 33.13 m³ — also written 33.13 CBM.

Example 2: 50 ft³ of bedroom furniture

50 × 0.0283168 ≈ 1.42 m³.

Example 3: 1,000 ft³ of warehouse space

1,000 × 0.0283168 ≈ 28.32 m³ — also 28.32 CBM.

Cubic feet → cubic meters	Conversion factor	Worked example
1 ft³	× 0.0283168	0.0283 m³
10 ft³	× 0.0283168	0.283 m³
100 ft³	× 0.0283168	2.832 m³
1,000 ft³	× 0.0283168	28.32 m³
10,000 ft³	× 0.0283168	283.17 m³

Common uses

International freight quotes (rate per CBM)
European appliance specifications listed in m³ or liters
Metric construction documents and scientific work
Engineering volume calculations for fluid and gas dynamics

Where this conversion comes up

Cubic meters is the international standard for engineering, freight, and any non-US specification. Use this conversion when working with overseas suppliers or scientific references.

International shipping — most carriers and customs forms outside North America quote volume in CBM (cubic meters).
Comparing US appliance specs (in cubic feet) to European specs (in liters or cubic meters) for fridges and freezers.
Engineering calculations and SI-unit formulas.

Common mistakes to avoid

Cubing the conversion factor incorrectly. 1 ft = 0.3048 m, but 1 ft³ = 0.0283168 m³ (which is 0.3048³). Using 0.3048 as the volume factor is the most common error.
Mixing meters with centimeters. 1 m = 100 cm, but 1 m³ = 1,000,000 cm³. Make sure all your inputs use the same unit before converting.
Using square-meter conversions on volumes. Square meters and cubic meters convert differently. Confirm you are using m³ → ft³ factors when the quantity is volume.

Expert tips

Multiply cubic feet by 0.0283168 to get cubic meters. Or equivalently: divide cubic feet by 35.3147. Both work; pick the one that feels easier with the calculator you have on hand.
Round to two or three decimal places. Most measurements have ±1% precision at best, so the third decimal of your m³ answer is meaningless. 28.317 ft³ rounds cleanly to 0.802 m³.
Use this for international shipping and engineering specs. Most non-US engineering and freight uses cubic meters. CBM (cubic meters) is the standard for ocean freight — see the cubic feet to CBM converter.
For appliance comparisons, convert to liters instead. European fridges are quoted in liters, not m³. 1 m³ = 1,000 liters; 1 ft³ ≈ 28.32 L. The cubic feet to litersconverter handles this.