The entire Burj Khalifa from base to spire, shot from far away so it dwarfs the towers around it (generated illustration)

How tall is Burj Khalifa?

Updated October 27, 2026

Quick answer

Burj Khalifa is 828 m (2,717 ft) tall to its architectural top and 829.8 m (2,722 ft) to the tip of its spire, about half a mile. It has been the tallest building in the world since it opened in 2010.

Two figures are quoted because they measure different things. The 828 m figure is the architectural height, the standard used to rank buildings; the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat certified the tower as the world's tallest building on 10 March 2010. The 829.8 m figure, from Wikipedia, runs to the very tip of the spire. In miles, 828 m is about 0.51 miles. The highest floor people use sits much lower, at 585.4 m, because the top of the tower is a slender spire. Visitors can go up to three decks, from level 124 at 452 m to the Lounge at 585 m. The Levels 124 & 125 ticket, from $51 (AED 189, at 1 USD = 3.6725 AED), takes you to the first.

828 m / 2,717 ft

The architectural height is 828 m, or 2,717 ft, as listed by Wikipedia's ranking of the tallest buildings, which follows the measuring standard of the tall-buildings council. To the very tip, the tower measures 829.8 m (2,722 ft). Either way it is more than 145 m taller than the second-tallest building, Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur at 678.9 m (2,227 ft), completed in 2024. The tower has held the title since it was completed: it passed Taipei 101 as the world's tallest building on 21 July 2007, while still under construction, and was topped out at full height on 17 January 2009.

Architectural height — 828 m (2,717 ft)
Tip of the spire — 829.8 m (2,722 ft)
Highest occupied floor — 585.4 m (1,921 ft)

Height of each observation level

There are three visitor levels, and the price rises with the height. At the Top, on level 124, sits at 452 m (1,483 ft) and opened on 5 January 2010. SKY, on level 148, is at 555 m (1,821 ft) and opened in October 2014. The Lounge, on levels 152 to 154, is at 585 m (1,919 ft) and opened on 18 February 2019; Wikipedia records that it took back the record for the world's highest observation deck from Shanghai Tower. The SKY level 148 ticket costs from $109 (AED 399), and the Lounge from $209 (AED 769).

Level 124 (At the Top) — 452 m / 1,483 ft, from $51
Level 148 (SKY) — 555 m / 1,821 ft, from $109
Levels 152–154 (the Lounge) — 585 m / 1,919 ft, from $209

Spire vs roof height

The top part of the Burj Khalifa is a spire with no usable floors. Wikipedia gives its length as about 242.5 to 244 m and says that without it the building would be about 585 m tall. A study by the tall-buildings council called this unused top section "vanity height". The spire is built from more than 4,000 tonnes of structural steel and holds maintenance levels; communications equipment occupies floors 156 to 159. The rankings still count the spire, because it is part of the architecture rather than an antenna added later. That is why the 828 m figure is the official height even though nobody lives or works above 585.4 m.

Compared with other towers

Burj Khalifa is about 1.9 times the height of the Empire State Building, which stands 443.2 m (1,454 ft) including its antenna, and about 2.5 times the height of the 330 m Eiffel Tower. It is 320 m taller than Taipei 101 (508 m), the record holder it replaced. The one building set to pass it is Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, planned to be about 1 km tall; as of 9 October 2026, Wikipedia reports it had passed its 118th floor at more than 470 m. See the tallest buildings in the world and our comparisons with the Empire State Building and Jeddah Tower.

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