Acreage Calculator
Trying to figure out how much land you're actually dealing with? This acreage calculator converts your length and width measurements into acres, square feet, hectares, and more—instantly. Whether you're sizing up a property listing, planning a fence, or just curious how your backyard stacks up, you'll get results in six different units without doing any math yourself.
The tool handles whatever units you've got: feet, yards, inches, centimeters, or meters. Enter your measurements, and you'll see the area in acres, hectares, square feet, square meters, square miles, and square kilometers. You'll also get the perimeter in both feet and meters—which comes in handy when you're pricing out fencing or planning a boundary project.
If you've ever stared at a property listing that says "0.34 acres" and thought "...okay, but what does that actually look like?"—this page will help with that too.
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your length — This is typically the longer side of your lot. Type the number into the Length field.
- Pick your unit — Use the dropdown to select feet, yards, inches, centimeters, or meters.
- Enter your width — The shorter dimension goes here.
- Pick that unit too — And yes, you can mix units. If your deed says the lot is 150 feet deep but your tape measure is in meters, the calculator handles the conversion.
- Check your results — You'll see total acreage in multiple formats, plus perimeter in feet and meters. Done.
What is an Acre, Anyway?
An acre equals exactly 43,560 square feet. That's the official number, but it's basically meaningless until you can picture it.
Here's what actually helps:
Reference | How It Compares |
|---|---|
Football field (minus end zones) | About 1.1 acres |
NBA basketball court | About 0.11 acres |
Tennis court | About 0.06 acres |
Typical suburban lot | 0.10 to 0.25 acres |
Average city block | 1.5 to 2 acres |
So picture yourself on a football field at the 50-yard line. Everything from sideline to sideline, goal line to goal line (minus the end zones)—that's just over an acre. A half-acre? Cut that field in half lengthwise.
Here's the thing about acres that trips people up: an acre measures area, not shape. A square acre is about 208 feet on each side. But an acre could also be 100 feet wide and 435 feet long—or 50 feet wide and 871 feet long. Same acreage, very different lots. This matters more than you'd think when you're planning a fence (more on that below).
The Acreage Formula
The math is simple:
Square Feet = Length × Width
Acres = Square Feet ÷ 43,560
Let's Run Through One
Say you're looking at a lot that's 150 feet by 200 feet:
- Multiply: 150 × 200 = 30,000 square feet
- Divide: 30,000 ÷ 43,560 = 0.689 acres
That's just under three-quarters of an acre—a generous lot in most suburbs. Enough room for a good-sized house, a real backyard, maybe a pool if you're into that.
Conversion Cheat Sheet
Converting From | Converting To | Multiply By |
|---|---|---|
Square feet | Acres | 0.0000229568 |
Acres | Square feet | 43,560 |
Acres | Hectares | 0.404686 |
Hectares | Acres | 2.47105 |
Acres | Square meters | 4,046.86 |
Square Feet to Acres: Quick Reference
This is the table I wish I'd had the first time I tried to make sense of a property listing:
Portion | Square Feet | If It Were a Square... |
|---|---|---|
1/8 acre | 5,445 sq ft | 74 ft × 74 ft |
1/4 acre | 10,890 sq ft | 104 ft × 104 ft |
1/3 acre | 14,520 sq ft | 120 ft × 120 ft |
1/2 acre | 21,780 sq ft | 148 ft × 148 ft |
3/4 acre | 32,670 sq ft | 181 ft × 181 ft |
1 acre | 43,560 sq ft | 209 ft × 209 ft |
2 acres | 87,120 sq ft | 295 ft × 295 ft |
5 acres | 217,800 sq ft | 467 ft × 467 ft |
Most lots aren't perfect squares, of course. But these dimensions give you a ballpark for what you're working with. A quarter-acre lot at 104 × 104 feet? That's a comfortable suburban property with room for a decent yard. A full acre at 209 × 209? You've got serious space.
What's a "Normal" Lot Size?
Depends entirely on where you are.
In Cities and Suburbs
What You're Looking At | Typical Acreage | Real-World Example |
|---|---|---|
City rowhouse | 0.02–0.05 acres | 0.02–0.05 acres |
Urban single-family | 0.05–0.15 acres | 40 ft × 100 ft |
Standard suburban | 0.15–0.25 acres | 60 ft × 150 ft |
Larger suburban | 0.25–0.50 acres | 80 ft × 180 ft |
Estate lot | 0.50–2.0 acres | Varies a lot |
Out in the Country
Property Type | Typical Size |
|---|---|
Hobby farm / big garden | 2–10 acres |
Small working farm | 10–50 acres |
Commercial farm | 50–500+ acres |
Serious ranch | 500–5,000+ acres |
One thing worth remembering: usable space matters as much as total acreage. A flat quarter-acre lot might be more practical than a half-acre lot where most of the land is a steep slope you can't build on or mow without risking your life.
Perimeter and Fencing: Where Shape Really Matters
Knowing your perimeter tells you exactly how much fencing you'd need to enclose your property:
Perimeter = 2 × (Length + Width)
But here's the part that catches people off guard: two lots with identical acreage can need wildly different amounts of fence.
Shape | Dimensions | Acreage | Fencing Needed |
|---|---|---|---|
Square | 208 ft × 208 ft | 1 acre | 832 ft |
Rectangle | 100 ft × 435 ft | 1 acre | 1,070 ft |
Long and narrow | 50 ft × 871 f | 1 acre | 1,842 ft |
All three lots are exactly one acre. But that long, narrow lot needs more than double the fencing of the square one. If you're shopping for land and plan to fence it, a squarish lot saves you real money.
What Fencing Actually Costs
Rough numbers for installed fencing (materials + labor):
Fence Type | Cost Per Linear Foot |
|---|---|
Chain link | $15–$25 |
Wood privacy (6 ft) | $25–$35 |
Vinyl | $30–$45 |
Wrought iron / aluminum | $35–$50 |
So for that square 1-acre lot with 832 feet of perimeter:
- Chain link: $12,500–$21,000
- Wood privacy: $21,000–$29,000
- Vinyl: $25,000–$37,500
Not cheap. Which is why that shape-versus-acreage tradeoff is worth knowing about before you buy.
A Quick Note on Accuracy
This calculator gives you accurate results for rectangular and square lots. For irregular shapes—L-shaped properties, lots with curved boundaries, land with easements cutting through—the real acreage will differ from a simple length × width calculation.
If you're making a big financial decision based on land size (buying property, planning construction, negotiating a sale), a professional survey is worth the few hundred dollars. Deeds and listings aren't always accurate, and "about an acre" can mean different things to different people.