How many chains is 1 foot?

One foot equals exactly 1/66 of a chain (approximately 0.01515 chains). One chain is exactly 66 feet.

How many feet are in 1 chain?

One chain contains exactly 66 feet. This is the defining relationship established by Edmund Gunter around 1620.

Why is a chain 66 feet?

Gunter chose 66 feet so that 10 square chains would equal exactly 1 acre (43,560 sq ft). The formula works: 66 ft x 660 ft (1 furlong) = 43,560 sq ft = 1 acre.

Feet to Chains (ft to ch) Converter

1 ft = 0.0152 ch

1 Foot equals 0.0152 Chains (1 ft = 0.0152 ch). Convert Feet to Chains with formula, table, and examples.

One foot equals exactly 1/66 of a chain, or approximately 0.01515 chains. Conversely, one chain contains exactly 66 feet. This is the defining relationship of Gunter's chain, which was deliberately designed as 66 feet to create clean acre calculations for English land surveying.

How to Convert Feet to Chains

ch = ft ÷ 66

Divide the value in Feet by 66

Take your value in Feet
Divide by 66
Read the result in Chains

Common Feet to Chains Conversions

Feet (ft)	Chains (ch)	Status
1 ft	0.0152 ch
5 ft	0.0758 ch
10 ft	0.1515 ch
20 ft	0.303 ch
50 ft	0.7576 ch
66 ft	1 ch
100 ft	1.5152 ch
200 ft	3.0303 ch
500 ft	7.5758 ch
660 ft	10 ch
1,000 ft	15.1515 ch
5,000 ft	75.7576 ch
5,280 ft	80 ch

Good to Know About Feet to Chains Conversion

The foot-to-chain ratio (66:1) seems arbitrary until you see the elegance: 66 x 660 = 43,560 sq ft = 1 acre. The entire imperial land system (foot, chain, furlong, mile, acre) was designed as an interconnected web, not a random collection of units.

Feet to Chains: What You Need to Know

Sixty-six feet make one chain. A 100-foot lot frontage is about 1.515 chains. A football field at 300 feet (including end zones) is about 4.545 chains. When interpreting old property deeds that describe boundaries in chains, converting to feet helps modern homeowners understand the measurements.

What is a Foot? ft

An imperial unit of length equal to 12 inches or 0.3048 meters. Used in the US and UK for height, altitude, and construction.

Imperial Us-customary height altitude real estate

Learn more about Foot →

What is a Chain? ch

Exactly 66 feet or 4 rods (20.1168 m). Invented by Edmund Gunter for land surveying. 80 chains make one mile. Still used in US public land surveys.

Imperial land surveying US public land

Learn more about Chain →

Going the other way? Use our Chains to Feet converter.

Feet to Chains FAQ

One foot equals exactly 1/66 of a chain (approximately 0.01515 chains). One chain is exactly 66 feet.
One chain contains exactly 66 feet. This is the defining relationship established by Edmund Gunter around 1620.
Gunter chose 66 feet so that 10 square chains would equal exactly 1 acre (43,560 sq ft). The formula works: 66 ft x 660 ft (1 furlong) = 43,560 sq ft = 1 acre.

Non-Frequently Asked Questions About Feet to Chains

Questions nobody should ask - but someone did.

An acre is 1 chain x 1 furlong = 66 feet x 660 feet = 43,560 square feet. To walk the perimeter you need about 1,452 feet (66 + 660 + 66 + 660). That is about a 5-minute walk around your property. Unless it is an irregular acre, in which case good luck.
Not exactly, but both use the yard (3 feet). A football field is 300 feet (4.545 chains). A chain is 66 feet (22 yards). The 'chains' used to measure first downs in football are measuring chains, not Gunter's chain. Same word, different profession.
Because a cricket pitch is exactly 1 chain (22 yards = 66 feet), and that measurement was standardized when chains were the dominant survey unit. Cricket inherited a surveyor's measurement. Football, rugby, and most other sports chose rounder numbers in yards.