Height Converter
Convert height between feet and inches and centimetres or metres. Type into either side and the other updates as you go — the conversion is exact, not approximated.
Convert a height
- Feet & inches
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- Decimal feet
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- Total inches
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- Centimetres
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- Metres & cm
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- Metres
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How the conversion works
Height in the imperial system is written as two units at once — feet and inches — which is what makes the conversion slightly more involved than a single multiplication. The reliable approach is to collapse the height into a single unit first, convert, and only then split it back out.
Feet and inches to centimetres
cm = ((feet × 12) + inches) × 2.54
Centimetres to feet and inches
total inches = cm ÷ 2.54
feet = total inches ÷ 12, rounded down
inches = total inches − (feet × 12)
A height of 5 feet 10 inches collapses to (5 × 12) + 10 = 70 inches. Multiplying by 2.54 gives 177.8 cm, or 1.778 metres. Going the other way, 180 cm divided by 2.54 is 70.87 inches — 5 whole feet with 10.9 inches remaining, so 180 cm is 5 feet 10.9 inches.
The inch is defined as exactly 2.54 centimetres, and has been since the international yard and pound agreement of 1959. It is not a measured approximation, so any rounding you see in a converted height comes from the number of decimal places shown, never from the conversion factor itself.
Feet and inches to cm chart
Common heights from 4′6″ to 6′6″, in one-inch steps.
| Feet & inches | Decimal feet | Total inches | Centimetres | Metres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4′ 6″ | 4.5 | 54 | 137.2 | 1.372 |
| 4′ 7″ | 4.58 | 55 | 139.7 | 1.397 |
| 4′ 8″ | 4.67 | 56 | 142.2 | 1.422 |
| 4′ 9″ | 4.75 | 57 | 144.8 | 1.448 |
| 4′ 10″ | 4.83 | 58 | 147.3 | 1.473 |
| 4′ 11″ | 4.92 | 59 | 149.9 | 1.499 |
| 5′ 0″ | 5 | 60 | 152.4 | 1.524 |
| 5′ 1″ | 5.08 | 61 | 154.9 | 1.549 |
| 5′ 2″ | 5.17 | 62 | 157.5 | 1.575 |
| 5′ 3″ | 5.25 | 63 | 160 | 1.6 |
| 5′ 4″ | 5.33 | 64 | 162.6 | 1.626 |
| 5′ 5″ | 5.42 | 65 | 165.1 | 1.651 |
| 5′ 6″ | 5.5 | 66 | 167.6 | 1.676 |
| 5′ 7″ | 5.58 | 67 | 170.2 | 1.702 |
| 5′ 8″ | 5.67 | 68 | 172.7 | 1.727 |
| 5′ 9″ | 5.75 | 69 | 175.3 | 1.753 |
| 5′ 10″ | 5.83 | 70 | 177.8 | 1.778 |
| 5′ 11″ | 5.92 | 71 | 180.3 | 1.803 |
| 6′ 0″ | 6 | 72 | 182.9 | 1.829 |
| 6′ 1″ | 6.08 | 73 | 185.4 | 1.854 |
| 6′ 2″ | 6.17 | 74 | 188 | 1.88 |
| 6′ 3″ | 6.25 | 75 | 190.5 | 1.905 |
| 6′ 4″ | 6.33 | 76 | 193 | 1.93 |
| 6′ 5″ | 6.42 | 77 | 195.6 | 1.956 |
| 6′ 6″ | 6.5 | 78 | 198.1 | 1.981 |
Frequently asked questions
- How many centimetres are in a foot?
- Exactly 30.48 cm. A foot is twelve inches and an inch is exactly 2.54 cm, so the figure is fixed rather than rounded. It is also a useful shortcut in reverse: dividing a height in centimetres by 30.48 gives it in feet alone.
- Is 5.5 feet the same as 5 feet 5 inches?
- No, and it is the most common mistake in height conversion. Decimal feet count tenths of a foot, not inches. Half a foot is six inches, so 5.5 feet means 5 feet 6 inches, which is 167.6 cm. 5 feet 5 inches is 165.1 cm — a difference of 2.54 cm.
- Why do some converters round 175 cm to 5 feet 9 inches?
- Because they round to the nearest whole inch. 175 cm is 68.9 inches, which is 5 feet 8.9 inches. Rounded up to a whole inch that becomes 5 feet 9 inches. Neither answer is wrong, but the whole-inch version can be off by up to half an inch, so this converter shows a decimal place by default. The Decimals control sets how many.
- Why do some conversions end and others run on forever?
- Because one direction is a multiplication and the other is a division. An inch is defined as exactly 2.54 cm, so inches to centimetres always terminates — 70 inches is exactly 177.8 cm, with nothing left over. Centimetres to inches divides by 2.54, which is 50 over 127, and 127 is prime, so 180 cm is 70.8661417322834... and never settles. The Decimals control sets how much of that to show; Max stops at fifteen significant figures, which is where browser arithmetic stops being reliable.
- How many inches are in a metre?
- A metre is 39.37 inches, or 3 feet 3.4 inches. The exact value is 39.3700787 inches, since a metre is 100 cm and each inch is 2.54 cm. Two metres is 78.74 inches, or 6 feet 6.7 inches.
- How do I convert a height to feet only, without inches?
- Divide the height in centimetres by 30.48. For example, 178 cm ÷ 30.48 = 5.84 feet. This is the format spreadsheets and calculators expect, and it is what the decimal feet result above shows.
Related tools
Converting your weight too? The weight converter handles kilograms to stone and pounds, and works the same way. If you need both at once, the BMI calculator takes a height and a weight together. The full list of tools is on the homepage.