Length and distance converter

Millimetres, centimetres, metres, kilometres, inches, feet, yards, miles and nautical miles, converted both ways.

Fromcentimetre (cm)

Toinch (in)

0.3937007874

DecimalsAuto (up to 10 significant digits)

Formula: in = cm × 0.393700787402

1 cm = 0.3937007874 in

Common values: centimetre to inch

cm	in
1 cm	0.3937007874 in
2 cm	0.7874015748 in
5 cm	1.968503937 in
10 cm	3.937007874 in
20 cm	7.874015748 in
25 cm	9.842519685 in
50 cm	19.68503937 in
100 cm	39.37007874 in
250 cm	98.42519685 in
500 cm	196.8503937 in
1,000 cm	393.7007874 in

Quick answers

1 m to ft: 3.2808 ft
1,000 m to ft: 3,280.84 ft
1 ft to m: 0.3048 m
1 in to cm: 2.54 cm
1 mi to km: 1.609 km
1 km to mi: 0.6214 mi

How it works

Use this for anything measured in a straight line: furniture and screen sizes in inches, room dimensions in feet, running distances in kilometres or miles, and sea or air distances in nautical miles. Type in either box and both stay in sync.

All imperial lengths are exact multiples of the metre. The 1959 agreement fixed the inch at exactly 25.4 mm, so a foot is 0.3048 m, a yard 0.9144 m and a mile (1760 yards) 1609.344 m. The international nautical mile is defined as exactly 1852 m; it is used in aviation and shipping because one nautical mile is approximately one minute of latitude.

Going the other way, a metre is about 3.28084 ft or 39.3701 in and a kilometre about 0.621371 mi. The table under the converter lists common values for whatever pair you have selected.

Common length conversions

The inch, foot, yard and mile have been defined in metres since 1959, so imperial lengths convert exactly. The nautical mile (1,852 m) is a separate unit used at sea and in aviation.

1 in = 2.54 cm (cm = in × 2.54)
1 ft = 0.3048 m (m = ft × 0.3048)
1 yd = 0.9144 m (m = yd × 0.9144)
1 mi = 1.609344 km (km = mi × 1.609344)
1 NM = 1.852 km (km = NM × 1.852)
1 km = 0.6213711922 mi (mi = km × 0.621371192237)

Every length unit in this converter

The size of each unit in metres (m), the base unit the converter uses internally. Values are exact where the unit has an exact definition.

Unit	In m	System
millimetre (mm)	0.001 m	Metric
centimetre (cm)	0.01 m	Metric
metre (m)	1 m	Metric
kilometre (km)	1,000 m	Metric
inch (in)	0.0254 m	Imperial / US
foot (ft)	0.3048 m	Imperial / US
yard (yd)	0.9144 m	Imperial / US
mile (mi)	1,609.344 m	Imperial / US
nautical mile (NM)	1,852 m	Nautical

How to use it

Pick the unit you are starting from and the unit you want.
Type the length in either box; the result updates as you type.
Swap the units with the ⇄ button, and set decimals if you need a rounded figure.

Frequently asked questions

How many centimetres are in an inch?

Exactly 2.54 cm (25.4 mm). This has been the legal definition of the inch in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and other countries since 1959.

What is a nautical mile and when is it used?

A nautical mile is exactly 1852 m (about 1.1508 statute miles). Pilots and sailors use it, together with knots (nautical miles per hour), because it corresponds closely to one minute of arc of latitude on a chart.

How do I convert a height such as 5 ft 9 in?

Use the feet-and-inches to cm converter, which takes feet and inches in separate boxes. 5 ft 9 in is 69 in, or exactly 175.26 cm.

Is a survey foot different?

The US survey foot (1200/3937 m) was used in some land surveys; it differs from the international foot by 2 parts per million. NIST retired it at the end of 2022, and this converter uses the international foot, 0.3048 m.

How many feet is 1000 metres?

1,000 m = 3,280.84 ft, because 1 m = 3.28084 ft (1 ft = 0.3048 m exactly).