Length Conversion Calculator – Metric to Imperial Units

Length Converter: Convert Meters, Feet, Inches, and More

Length conversions come up more often than most people expect — reading a furniture listing in centimeters when you think in inches, checking a race distance in kilometers instead of miles, or converting your own height between metric and US customary units. A length converter handles these instantly, without needing to remember the exact conversion factor yourself.

This page explains how length conversion works, walks through a few common examples, and points out where the numbers can get confusing.

How Length Conversion Works

Unlike temperature, length conversion is a straightforward ratio — you multiply or divide by a fixed factor. For example, 1 foot equals exactly 0.3048 meters, so converting feet to meters is simply feet × 0.3048. This converter supports 12 units, including meter, kilometer, centimeter, millimeter, mile, yard, foot, inch, nanometer, micrometer, nautical mile, and light year, so you can move between metric, US customary, and specialized scientific units in the same tool.

Enter a value, choose your "From" and "To" units, and the result updates instantly. A full conversion table also appears automatically, showing your entered value converted into every supported unit at once.

Common Length Conversions

These are illustrative examples using standard international conversion factors:

• 1 meter ≈ 3.28 feet
• 1 foot = 0.3048 meters
• 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
• 1 mile = 1.609344 kilometers
• 1 yard = 0.9144 meters
• 1 kilometer ≈ 0.621 miles

A common practical use case is converting height. For example, 170 centimeters converts to roughly 5 feet 7 inches. Since height is usually expressed in feet and whole inches rather than a decimal foot value, you may need to convert the decimal remainder into inches separately after the initial conversion.

Metric, US Customary, and Nautical Units

Most countries use metric length units (meters, kilometers, centimeters), while the United States commonly uses US customary units (feet, inches, yards, miles). The nautical mile is a separate unit still used in aviation and maritime navigation, and it doesn't convert evenly into either system — 1 nautical mile equals 1,852 meters, based on a fixed international definition rather than a metric or customary base unit.

Limitations to Keep in Mind

• Very small units (nanometers, micrometers) and very large ones (light years) are included for reference and scientific use, but results at these extremes are shown in scientific notation for readability.
• Conversions use standard international definitions. For most everyday, travel, and DIY purposes this is accurate; specialized engineering or scientific work may require checking the exact standard your field uses.
• Calculations happen directly in your browser using JavaScript, so there's no need to send your values to a server to get a result.

Related Conversions You Might Need

Length units often feed into other calculations. If you're working with area (length × length) or volume (length × length × length), or need a different type of measurement entirely, these tools can help:

• Use the Unit Converter if you need length, weight, temperature, and other categories in one place.
• Use the Area Converter to convert square feet, square meters, acres, and hectares.
• Use the Volume Converter for liters, gallons, and cubic measurements.
• Use the Speed Converter if you're working with distance over time, such as mph or km/h.
• Use the Weight Converter for kilograms, pounds, and ounces.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert centimeters to inches?

Divide the value in centimeters by 2.54. For example, 100 centimeters ÷ 2.54 = 39.37 inches. You can also multiply inches by 2.54 to get centimeters.

Why is the nautical mile different from a regular mile?

A nautical mile (1,852 meters) is based on the Earth's circumference and is used in aviation and maritime navigation, while a standard mile (1,609.344 meters) is a US customary land-measurement unit. They aren't interchangeable.

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

First convert centimeters to total inches by dividing by 2.54. Then divide that number by 12 to get whole feet, and use the remainder as inches. For example, 175 cm ÷ 2.54 ≈ 68.9 inches, which is 5 feet and about 8.9 inches.

Is a yard the same in every country that uses it?

The international yard (0.9144 meters) is the standard used today in the US, UK, and most other countries that still reference yards, following an agreement reached in 1959.

Do I need to know the formula, or can I just use the converter?

You don't need to memorize any formulas — enter your value and select your units, and the converter calculates the result instantly along with a full table of equivalent values in every supported unit.