Price per square foot calculator
Enter a price and an area, get the price per square foot.
How do I calculate price per square foot?
Divide the price by the square footage: a $400,000 home with 2,000 square feet is $200 per square foot.
How do I compare homes with it?
Price per square foot puts different sizes on the same scale, but location, age, lot size and condition matter as much — compare similar homes nearby.
What about price per square meter?
Multiply the price per square foot by 10.764: $200 per ft² is $2,152.78 per m².
Which square footage should I use?
Use the same measure for every home you compare — usually the finished living area listed by the seller or appraiser.
Can I use it for rent or flooring?
Yes — any price and area: $2,000 a month for 1,000 ft² is $2 per ft² a month, and $3,000 of flooring for 600 ft² is $5 per ft².
Worked example: comparing two homes and an apartment
Home A costs $450,000 for 2,400 ft², which is $187.50 per square foot. Home B costs $385,000 for 1,750 ft², or $220.00 per square foot. B is cheaper in total but about $32.50 per square foot dearer, so the two prices are not simply proportional to size. Putting A’s rate on B’s size gives 1,750 × $187.50 = $328,125, $56,875 less than B’s asking price. For a rental, $2,150 a month for 850 ft² is $2.53 per square foot per month, or $30.35 per square foot per year. In metric, A’s rate is $187.50 × (1 ÷ 0.3048²) = $2,018.23 per square meter. The comparison only describes the price; it says nothing about location, condition or lot.
What counts as square footage in a listing?
Measurement rules differ, which is why the same house can show different areas. The ANSI Z765 standard, which appraisers commonly use for single-family homes, generally counts finished space only where the ceiling is at least 7 feet high, with a lower allowance for beams and ducts, and in rooms with sloped ceilings requires at least half of the floor area to reach 7 feet (as summarized by the appraisal-education provider McKissock). Garages, unfinished basements and porches are usually left out of finished living area. Always ask what the number includes before comparing prices per square foot.
Common mistakes with price per square foot
Adding spaces that others leave out: if Home A’s 2,400 ft² grew to 3,000 ft² by counting a 600 ft² finished basement, its rate would drop from $187.50 to $150.00 with the same price. Mixing monthly and annual rents: a quoted rate of $2.53 a month is $30.35 a year. Comparing homes of very different size, age or neighborhood as if the rate were a fixed price list. Using lot size instead of building size. Confusing square feet with square yards or square meters: multiply by 10.764 to convert from per square foot to per square meter. And relying on it alone: for the cost of building, see the cost to build a house calculator.
Sources and related calculators
Sources: the definition of the international foot (0.3048 m exactly), from which 1 m² = 10.7639 ft² follows; ANSI Z765 square footage measuring standard, as summarized by McKissock’s appraisal-education articles. Related: square footage calculator, cost to build a house calculator, home affordability calculator and rent vs buy calculator.