How many feet are in a meter?

One meter is 3.28084 feet. The exact relationship runs the other way: 1 foot is exactly 0.3048 m, so 1 m = 1 ÷ 0.3048 = 3.280839895… ft.

How many centimeters are in an inch?

One inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters (25.4 mm). This has been the official definition since the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement.

How do I convert my height from feet and inches to cm?

Multiply the feet by 12, add the inches, then multiply the total by 2.54. For example, 5′10″ is 5 × 12 + 10 = 70 inches, and 70 × 2.54 = 177.8 cm.

Is a mile longer than a kilometer?

Yes. A mile is 1.609344 km, so it is about 60% longer than a kilometer. One kilometer is about 0.621 miles, which is why a 10 km race is about 6.2 miles.

What is the difference between a mile and a nautical mile?

A statute mile is 1,609.344 m and is used on land. A nautical mile is 1,852 m, about 15% longer, and is used at sea and in aviation because it is close to one minute of arc of latitude. Speeds in nautical miles per hour are called knots.

How far is a light-year?

A light-year is the distance light travels in one year: about 9.461 trillion kilometers, or 5.879 trillion miles. It is a unit of distance, not of time.

Why does the United States still use feet and inches?

Mostly because of the cost and habit of switching everyday measurements. Officially, US customary units have been defined in terms of the meter since 1893, and since 1959 the inch has been exactly 2.54 cm, so conversions between the two systems are exact.

What was the US survey foot?

A slightly longer foot of 1200/3937 m (about 0.3048006 m) used for US land surveying. It differs from the international foot by 2 parts per million, about 3.2 mm per mile. It was retired at the end of 2022.

How accurate is this length converter?

It uses the exact official definitions of each unit (for example 1 in = 0.0254 m and 1 mi = 1,609.344 m) and shows results to 12 significant digits, far more precision than any everyday measurement needs.

Distance & Length Converter

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What Is Length?

Length, or distance, is the measurement of how long something is or how far apart two points are. It is one of the seven base quantities of the International System of Units (SI), and its base unit is the meter. Every other length unit, from the inch to the light-year, is today defined as an exact multiple of the meter, which is why conversions between them can be exact rather than approximate.

Distance and Length Conversion Charts

Centimeters to Inches conversion table
Centimeters	Inches
1 cm	0.3937 in
2 cm	0.7874 in
3 cm	1.1811 in
4 cm	1.5748 in
5 cm	1.9685 in
6 cm	2.3622 in
7 cm	2.7559 in
8 cm	3.1496 in
9 cm	3.5433 in
10 cm	3.937 in
15 cm	5.9055 in
20 cm	7.874 in
25 cm	9.8425 in
30 cm	11.811 in
40 cm	15.748 in
50 cm	19.685 in
60 cm	23.622 in
70 cm	27.5591 in
80 cm	31.4961 in
90 cm	35.4331 in
100 cm	39.3701 in

Inches to Centimeters conversion table
Inches	Centimeters
1 in	2.54 cm
2 in	5.08 cm
3 in	7.62 cm
4 in	10.16 cm
5 in	12.7 cm
6 in	15.24 cm
7 in	17.78 cm
8 in	20.32 cm
9 in	22.86 cm
10 in	25.4 cm
11 in	27.94 cm
12 in	30.48 cm
18 in	45.72 cm
24 in	60.96 cm
32 in	81.28 cm
36 in	91.44 cm
43 in	109.22 cm
48 in	121.92 cm
55 in	139.7 cm
65 in	165.1 cm
75 in	190.5 cm

Height to Centimeters conversion table
Height	Centimeters
4′ 10″	147.32 cm
4′ 11″	149.86 cm
5′ 0″	152.4 cm
5′ 1″	154.94 cm
5′ 2″	157.48 cm
5′ 3″	160.02 cm
5′ 4″	162.56 cm
5′ 5″	165.1 cm
5′ 6″	167.64 cm
5′ 7″	170.18 cm
5′ 8″	172.72 cm
5′ 9″	175.26 cm
5′ 10″	177.8 cm
5′ 11″	180.34 cm
6′ 0″	182.88 cm
6′ 1″	185.42 cm
6′ 2″	187.96 cm
6′ 3″	190.5 cm
6′ 4″	193.04 cm
6′ 5″	195.58 cm
6′ 6″	198.12 cm

Feet to Meters conversion table
Feet	Meters
1 ft	0.3048 m
2 ft	0.6096 m
3 ft	0.9144 m
4 ft	1.2192 m
5 ft	1.524 m
6 ft	1.8288 m
7 ft	2.1336 m
8 ft	2.4384 m
9 ft	2.7432 m
10 ft	3.048 m
15 ft	4.572 m
20 ft	6.096 m
25 ft	7.62 m
30 ft	9.144 m
40 ft	12.192 m
50 ft	15.24 m
100 ft	30.48 m
500 ft	152.4 m
1,000 ft	304.8 m
5,280 ft	1,609.344 m
10,000 ft	3,048 m

Meters to Feet conversion table
Meters	Feet
0.5 m	1.6404 ft
1 m	3.2808 ft
1.5 m	4.9213 ft
2 m	6.5617 ft
2.5 m	8.2021 ft
3 m	9.8425 ft
4 m	13.1234 ft
5 m	16.4042 ft
6 m	19.685 ft
7 m	22.9659 ft
8 m	26.2467 ft
9 m	29.5276 ft
10 m	32.8084 ft
15 m	49.2126 ft
20 m	65.6168 ft
25 m	82.021 ft
30 m	98.4252 ft
50 m	164.042 ft
100 m	328.084 ft
500 m	1,640.4199 ft
1,000 m	3,280.8399 ft

Kilometers to Miles conversion table
Kilometers	Miles
1 km	0.6214 mi
2 km	1.2427 mi
3 km	1.8641 mi
5 km (5K)	3.1069 mi
8 km	4.971 mi
10 km (10K)	6.2137 mi
15 km	9.3206 mi
20 km	12.4274 mi
21.0975 km (half marathon)	13.1094 mi
25 km	15.5343 mi
30 km	18.6411 mi
40 km	24.8548 mi
42.195 km (marathon)	26.2188 mi
50 km	31.0686 mi
80 km	49.7097 mi
100 km	62.1371 mi
200 km	124.2742 mi
500 km	310.6856 mi
1,000 km	621.3712 mi

Miles to Kilometers conversion table
Miles	Kilometers
1 mi	1.6093 km
2 mi	3.2187 km
3 mi	4.828 km
4 mi	6.4374 km
5 mi	8.0467 km
6 mi	9.6561 km
7 mi	11.2654 km
8 mi	12.8748 km
9 mi	14.4841 km
10 mi	16.0934 km
13.1 mi	21.0824 km
15 mi	24.1402 km
20 mi	32.1869 km
25 mi	40.2336 km
26.2 mi	42.1648 km
30 mi	48.2803 km
50 mi	80.4672 km
60 mi	96.5606 km
70 mi	112.6541 km
100 mi	160.9344 km
500 mi	804.672 km

Inches to Millimeters conversion table
Inches	Millimeters
1/32″	0.7938 mm
1/16″	1.5875 mm
1/8″	3.175 mm
3/16″	4.7625 mm
1/4″	6.35 mm
5/16″	7.9375 mm
3/8″	9.525 mm
7/16″	11.1125 mm
1/2″	12.7 mm
9/16″	14.2875 mm
5/8″	15.875 mm
11/16″	17.4625 mm
3/4″	19.05 mm
13/16″	20.6375 mm
7/8″	22.225 mm
15/16″	23.8125 mm
1″	25.4 mm

Popular Distance and Length Conversions

How the Units Are Defined

The meter (SI)

Since 1983 the meter has been defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. The 2019 revision of the SI kept this definition, fixing the speed of light at exactly 299,792,458 m/s.

The international inch, foot, yard and mile (1959)

Under the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement, the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa agreed that 1 yard = 0.9144 m exactly. That makes 1 inch = 25.4 mm, 1 foot = 0.3048 m and 1 mile = 1,609.344 m, all exact.

The US survey foot (retired 2022)

US land surveys used a slightly longer foot of 1200/3937 m (about 0.3048006 m), 2 parts per million longer than the international foot. The difference is about 3.2 mm per mile. NIST and NOAA retired the survey foot at the end of 2022, so all new US work uses the international foot.

The nautical mile

The international nautical mile is exactly 1,852 m. It was chosen because it is close to one minute of arc of latitude, which makes it convenient for navigation charts. A speed of one nautical mile per hour is one knot.

Astronomical units

The International Astronomical Union fixed the astronomical unit at exactly 149,597,870,700 m in 2012. A light-year is the distance light travels in one Julian year (365.25 days), 9,460,730,472,580,800 m. A parsec is 648,000/π astronomical units, about 3.26 light-years.

Understanding the Units

Meter (m)

The SI base unit of length. First defined in 1793 as one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator; now defined by the speed of light.

Common Uses: Construction, science, sport, everyday measurements worldwide

Conversion: 1 m = 100 cm = 3.28084 ft = 1.09361 yd

Kilometer (km)

Equal to 1,000 meters. The standard unit for road and travel distances in almost every country.

Common Uses: Road distances, geography, running and cycling races

Conversion: 1 km = 1,000 m = 0.621371 mi

Centimeter (cm)

Equal to one-hundredth of a meter. Convenient for everyday objects and body measurements.

Common Uses: Body height, clothing sizes, small objects

Conversion: 1 cm = 10 mm = 0.393701 in

Millimeter (mm)

Equal to one-thousandth of a meter. The standard unit on engineering and architectural drawings.

Common Uses: Engineering, manufacturing, paper sizes, rainfall

Conversion: 1 mm = 0.001 m = 0.0393701 in

Micrometer (µm)

One-millionth of a meter, sometimes called a micron. Too small to see with the naked eye.

Common Uses: Cell sizes, fiber and hair thickness, machining tolerances

Conversion: 1 µm = 0.001 mm = 39.37 microinches

Nanometer (nm)

One-billionth of a meter. The scale of molecules and of light wavelengths.

Common Uses: Light wavelengths, semiconductor features, nanotechnology

Conversion: 1 nm = 0.001 µm = 10 ångströms

Inch (in)

Equal to 1/12 of a foot and exactly 25.4 mm since 1959. Widely used in the United States.

Common Uses: Screen sizes, height in the US and UK, tools and fasteners

Conversion: 1 in = 2.54 cm = 25.4 mm (exact)

Foot (ft)

Equal to 12 inches, exactly 0.3048 m. Historically based on the length of a human foot.

Common Uses: Height, US and UK construction, aviation altitude

Conversion: 1 ft = 12 in = 0.3048 m (exact)

Yard (yd)

Equal to 3 feet or 36 inches, exactly 0.9144 m. The unit every other imperial length is defined from.

Common Uses: Fabric, American football, golf

Conversion: 1 yd = 3 ft = 0.9144 m (exact)

Mile (mi)

Equal to 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards, exactly 1,609.344 m. Also called the statute mile.

Common Uses: Road distances and speed limits in the US and UK, running

Conversion: 1 mi = 5,280 ft = 1.609344 km (exact)

Nautical Mile (NM)

Exactly 1,852 m, about one minute of arc of latitude. About 15% longer than a statute mile.

Common Uses: Sea and air navigation, territorial waters

Conversion: 1 NM = 1,852 m = 1.15078 mi

Astronomical Unit (AU)

Exactly 149,597,870,700 m, roughly the average distance from the Earth to the Sun.

Common Uses: Distances within the Solar System

Conversion: 1 AU ≈ 149.6 million km ≈ 8.317 light-minutes

Light-Year (ly)

The distance light travels in one Julian year. Despite the name, it measures distance, not time.

Common Uses: Distances to stars and galaxies in popular science

Conversion: 1 ly ≈ 9.461 trillion km ≈ 63,241 AU

Parsec (pc)

The distance at which 1 AU subtends one arcsecond. The unit astronomers prefer for stellar distances.

Common Uses: Professional astronomy, galactic distances (kpc, Mpc)

Conversion: 1 pc ≈ 3.2616 ly ≈ 30.857 trillion km

Common Distance and Length Conversions

Example	Distance and Length
1 inch	2.54 cm (exact)
1 foot	30.48 cm (exact)
1 yard	0.9144 m (exact)
1 mile	1.609344 km (exact)
1 nautical mile	1,852 m (exact)
1 meter	3.28084 ft = 39.3701 in
1 kilometer	0.621371 mi
Marathon	42.195 km = 26.2188 mi
American football field (goal line to goal line)	100 yd = 91.44 m
Height of 6 ft	182.88 cm

Conversion Formulas

Meters to feet: ft = m ÷ 0.3048 (≈ m × 3.28084)
Feet to meters: m = ft × 0.3048
Inches to centimeters: cm = in × 2.54
Centimeters to inches: in = cm ÷ 2.54 (≈ cm × 0.393701)
Feet and inches to centimeters: cm = (ft × 12 + in) × 2.54
Kilometers to miles: mi = km ÷ 1.609344 (≈ km × 0.621371)
Miles to kilometers: km = mi × 1.609344
Yards to meters: m = yd × 0.9144
Nautical miles to kilometers: km = NM × 1.852
Any unit to any unit: convert to meters first, then from meters to the target unit

Worked Examples

Convert 30 cm to inches

One inch is exactly 2.54 cm, so divide the centimeters by 2.54.
30 ÷ 2.54 = 11.811

30 cm = 11.811 in (just under 1 ft)

Convert a height of 5′10″ to cm

Turn feet into inches: 5 × 12 = 60 in.
Add the remaining inches: 60 + 10 = 70 in.
Multiply by 2.54: 70 × 2.54 = 177.8

5′10″ = 177.8 cm

Convert a 10 km race to miles

One mile is exactly 1.609344 km, so divide the kilometers by 1.609344.
10 ÷ 1.609344 = 6.2137

10 km = 6.2137 mi

Convert 100 m to feet

One foot is exactly 0.3048 m, so divide the meters by 0.3048.
100 ÷ 0.3048 = 328.084

100 m = 328.084 ft

Practical Examples

Sport

The 100 m sprint is 109.36 yd, about 9% longer than the old 100-yard dash.

An Olympic swimming pool is 50 m long, or 164.04 ft.

A half marathon is 21.0975 km, or 13.1094 mi.

Golf hole lengths are given in yards: a 400 yd hole is 365.76 m.

Travel

UK and US road signs show miles; most other countries use kilometers.

A 60 mph speed limit is 96.56 km/h; 100 km/h is 62.14 mph.

Aircraft cruise at around 35,000 ft, or 10,668 m.

Ships and aircraft measure distance in nautical miles: 100 NM = 185.2 km.

Home & DIY

A 55-inch TV has a diagonal of 139.7 cm.

A standard US door is 80 in tall (203.2 cm); an 8 ft ceiling is 2.44 m.

A “2×4” stud is actually 1.5 × 3.5 in, or 38 × 89 mm.

A4 paper is 210 × 297 mm (8.27 × 11.69 in); US Letter is 8.5 × 11 in (215.9 × 279.4 mm).

Science

Visible light has wavelengths from about 380 nm (violet) to 750 nm (red).

A red blood cell is about 7–8 µm across.

The Moon is on average 384,400 km away, about 1.28 light-seconds.

Sunlight takes about 8.3 minutes to reach Earth: 1 AU ≈ 8.317 light-minutes.

A Sense of Scale

Object or distance	Size
Proton (diameter)	≈ 1.7 fm
Hydrogen atom (diameter)	≈ 0.1 nm
Wavelength of green light	≈ 550 nm
Red blood cell	≈ 7.5 µm
Human hair (thickness)	≈ 70 µm
Credit card (width)	85.60 mm
Adult height	≈ 1.7 m
Mount Everest (height)	8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft)
Earth (diameter)	≈ 12,742 km
Earth to Moon	≈ 384,400 km
Earth to Sun	1 AU ≈ 149.6 million km
Nearest star (Proxima Centauri)	≈ 4.25 ly (1.30 pc)
Milky Way (diameter)	≈ 100,000 ly

When to Use Each Unit

Meters/Centimeters: Scientific work, construction worldwide, body height in metric countries

Millimeters: Engineering drawings, manufacturing, paper and product dimensions

Kilometers: Road and travel distances in metric countries, running races

Feet/Inches: Height in the US and UK, construction in North America, aviation altitude

Miles: Road distances and speed limits in the US and UK

Yards: American football, golf, fabric

Nautical miles: Sea and air navigation

AU/Light-years/Parsecs: Astronomy, from planets to galaxies

A Short History

Early length units came from the human body. The Egyptian royal cubit, about 52.4 cm, was the length of a forearm; the foot, the hand (still used to measure horses) and the pace followed the same idea. The Roman mile, mille passus, was 1,000 double paces, about 1,480 m.

English units were standardized over centuries: the furlong (the length of a ploughed furrow, 220 yd) and Gunter’s chain (22 yd, 1620) came from farming and surveying, and a 1593 Act of Parliament fixed the statute mile at 8 furlongs, or 5,280 ft.

The meter was created in revolutionary France to replace hundreds of local units with one decimal system. It was first defined in 1793 from the size of the Earth, then kept as a platinum bar (1799) and later a platinum-iridium prototype (1889). In 1960 it was redefined by a wavelength of light, and in 1983 by the speed of light. Since 1959 the inch, foot, yard and mile have themselves been defined in meters.

Sources

Last reviewed: 28 September 2026

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