Length Converter
Convert between meters, feet, inches, miles, kilometers, centimeters, and more length units.
Each step along the axis is ten times the one before — the length units span 25 orders of magnitude, so a straight scale would bunch almost all of them at one end.
Instant insight
That is about the same as a kilometre
1,000 metres — Ten minutes of brisk walking.
Anchors like this are the quickest way to catch an answer that is out by a factor of ten.
Feet and inches do not decimalise
5.5 feet is 5 feet 6 inches, not 5 feet 5. A tenth of a foot is 1.2 inches, which is where tape-measure arithmetic goes wrong.
Convert to a single unit before adding, then convert back once at the end.
Check the direction of the conversion
Going from kilometer to meter, the number should get bigger if the new unit is smaller, and smaller if it is bigger.
If it moved the wrong way, the factor has been applied upside down — the most common conversion error there is.
Worked out in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere. Comparison figures are approximate.
Common conversions
Quick Reference — 1 unit = ? Meter (m)
| Unit | Value |
|---|---|
| Kilometer (km) | 1000 |
| Meter (m) | 1 |
| Centimeter (cm) | 0.01 |
| Millimeter (mm) | 0.001 |
| Micrometer (μm) | 0.000001 |
| Nanometer (nm) | 1e-9 |
| Mile (mi) | 1609.344 |
| Yard (yd) | 0.9144 |
Formula
Multiply by (from factor / to factor)
Everyday Uses
Shopping international products
A "180 cm sofa" from a European store — will it fit your 6-foot wall? Convert before you order, not after it arrives.
Race distances made real
A 10K is 6.2 miles; a marathon is 26.2. Convert any race distance into the units your training app and your intuition use.
DIY plans in foreign units
Woodworking plans in inches, your tape measure in centimeters? Convert each dimension precisely — small rounding errors compound across a build.
Travel distances
Road signs in kilometers, your mental map in miles (or vice versa) — translate distances instantly so trip times make sense abroad.
Fabric and sewing
Patterns from other countries give lengths in metres where your tape reads inches — convert before cutting, because fabric offcuts can't be undone.
Screen and TV sizes
Screens are sold by diagonal inches. Convert to centimetres to check a set actually fits the alcove or wall bracket you have.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many feet are in a meter, and how do you convert between them?
One meter = 3.28084 feet exactly (by definition: 1 foot = 0.3048 m). To convert meters to feet, multiply by 3.28084. To convert feet to meters, multiply by 0.3048. Quick mental approximation: 1 meter ≈ 3 feet 3 inches (3¼ ft). Common conversions: 1.8 m = 5 ft 11 in (typical adult height); 100 m = 328 ft; 1,000 m = 1 km = 3,281 ft.
How many kilometers are in a mile, and how do you convert mph to km/h?
1 mile = 1.60934 km exactly. To convert miles to km, multiply by 1.609 (or 8/5). To convert km to miles, multiply by 0.6214 (or 5/8). Speed conversion: 60 mph = 96.56 km/h; 100 km/h = 62.14 mph. Memory trick: the ratio is very close to the golden ratio (≈1.618), which makes it easy to estimate — multiply miles by 1.6 for a quick km answer.
How many centimeters are in an inch, and why is 2.54 exact?
1 inch = 2.54 cm exactly. This is not an approximation — since 1959 the international inch has been defined as exactly 2.54 cm by the International Yard and Pound Agreement. Therefore 1 foot = 30.48 cm and 1 yard = 91.44 cm exactly. Common reference: a US quarter coin is 24.26 mm (≈ 1 inch = 25.4 mm). A standard A4 page is 210 × 297 mm = 8.27 × 11.69 inches.
How do you convert height from feet and inches to centimeters (and vice versa)?
To cm: multiply total inches by 2.54. Convert feet to inches first (×12), then add remaining inches, then ×2.54. Example: 5 ft 9 in = (5×12 + 9) × 2.54 = 69 × 2.54 = 175.26 cm. To feet/inches from cm: divide by 2.54 to get total inches; divide by 12 for feet, remainder is inches. 180 cm ÷ 2.54 = 70.87 in = 5 ft 10.87 in ≈ 5 ft 11 in.
What are some useful length conversion benchmarks to know?
Handy reference conversions: 1 inch = 25.4 mm. 1 foot = 30.48 cm. 1 yard = 0.9144 m. 1 mile = 1.609 km = 1,760 yards = 5,280 feet. 1 nautical mile = 1.852 km (used in aviation and maritime). 1 light-year ≈ 9.461 × 10¹⁵ m = 5.879 × 10¹² miles. 1 nanometer = 10⁻⁹ m (wavelength of visible light: 400–700 nm). 1 micrometer (micron) = 10⁻⁶ m (width of a human hair ≈ 70 µm).