How to Convert Between cm, Inches, Feet and Meters
Whether you're reading a recipe, buying furniture, or following instructions from another country, length conversions are a daily nuisance — especially across the metric/imperial divide. Here are the numbers worth knowing.
The key conversion factors
- 1 inch = 2.54 cm (the anchor for everything imperial↔metric)
- 1 foot = 12 inches = 30.48 cm
- 1 meter = 100 cm ≈ 3.28 feet
- 1 mile ≈ 1.609 km
How to convert
To go from inches to cm, multiply by 2.54; to go back, divide. cm to meters? Divide by 100. The metric system is easy because it's all powers of ten — it's the imperial conversions (12 inches to a foot, 5,280 feet to a mile) that need the lookup.
Convert any length instantly
Our free length converter handles cm, mm, m, km, inches, feet, yards and miles in one place — no formulas to memorise. For room or land sizes, see the area converter.
Bottom line
Remember 1 inch = 2.54 cm and 1 m ≈ 3.28 ft and you can estimate most lengths in your head. For anything precise, a converter removes the error — handy when a few millimetres matter.
