The short answer
inches = centimeters ÷ 2.54, and centimeters = inches × 2.54. One centimeter is 0.3937 inches, so as a quick mental check, 10 cm is a little under 4 inches and 1 meter is a little over 39 inches.
Type any value into the converter below: it shows the result to up to 12 significant digits, the formula, and the same length in every other unit at once, including millimeters, feet, yards and meters. It accepts both a comma and a dot as the decimal separator, so 12,5 and 12.5 give the same result.
Try it here: Centimeters to Inches
Open the full tool pageCm to inches chart, 1 to 100 cm
Values are rounded to two decimals, which is more than enough for sewing, furniture and shopping. Read down each pair of columns.
| cm | in | cm | in | cm | in | cm | in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.39 | 26 | 10.24 | 51 | 20.08 | 76 | 29.92 |
| 2 | 0.79 | 27 | 10.63 | 52 | 20.47 | 77 | 30.31 |
| 3 | 1.18 | 28 | 11.02 | 53 | 20.87 | 78 | 30.71 |
| 4 | 1.57 | 29 | 11.42 | 54 | 21.26 | 79 | 31.10 |
| 5 | 1.97 | 30 | 11.81 | 55 | 21.65 | 80 | 31.50 |
| 6 | 2.36 | 31 | 12.20 | 56 | 22.05 | 81 | 31.89 |
| 7 | 2.76 | 32 | 12.60 | 57 | 22.44 | 82 | 32.28 |
| 8 | 3.15 | 33 | 12.99 | 58 | 22.83 | 83 | 32.68 |
| 9 | 3.54 | 34 | 13.39 | 59 | 23.23 | 84 | 33.07 |
| 10 | 3.94 | 35 | 13.78 | 60 | 23.62 | 85 | 33.46 |
| 11 | 4.33 | 36 | 14.17 | 61 | 24.02 | 86 | 33.86 |
| 12 | 4.72 | 37 | 14.57 | 62 | 24.41 | 87 | 34.25 |
| 13 | 5.12 | 38 | 14.96 | 63 | 24.80 | 88 | 34.65 |
| 14 | 5.51 | 39 | 15.35 | 64 | 25.20 | 89 | 35.04 |
| 15 | 5.91 | 40 | 15.75 | 65 | 25.59 | 90 | 35.43 |
| 16 | 6.30 | 41 | 16.14 | 66 | 25.98 | 91 | 35.83 |
| 17 | 6.69 | 42 | 16.54 | 67 | 26.38 | 92 | 36.22 |
| 18 | 7.09 | 43 | 16.93 | 68 | 26.77 | 93 | 36.61 |
| 19 | 7.48 | 44 | 17.32 | 69 | 27.17 | 94 | 37.01 |
| 20 | 7.87 | 45 | 17.72 | 70 | 27.56 | 95 | 37.40 |
| 21 | 8.27 | 46 | 18.11 | 71 | 27.95 | 96 | 37.80 |
| 22 | 8.66 | 47 | 18.50 | 72 | 28.35 | 97 | 38.19 |
| 23 | 9.06 | 48 | 18.90 | 73 | 28.74 | 98 | 38.58 |
| 24 | 9.45 | 49 | 19.29 | 74 | 29.13 | 99 | 38.98 |
| 25 | 9.84 | 50 | 19.69 | 75 | 29.53 | 100 | 39.37 |
Why exactly 2.54
Until the 1950s the inch was not quite the same in every English speaking country: the US inch and the British inch differed in the sixth decimal place. In 1959 the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa agreed on the international yard of exactly 0.9144 meters, which makes one inch exactly 2.54 cm and one foot exactly 30.48 cm.
Because 2.54 is a defined value and not a measurement, cm to inches conversions have no rounding error of their own. Any difference you see between two converters comes from how many decimals they display.
Height in feet and inches
Height in the US and UK is given in feet and inches, with 12 inches to the foot. Convert centimeters to inches first, then divide by 12: the whole number is feet, the remainder is inches. 180 cm is 70.87 inches; 70.87 ÷ 12 is 5 with 10.87 left over, so 5 feet 10.9 inches, usually said as 5 ft 11 in.
In the converter, choose Feet in the To list to get a height directly in decimal feet (180 cm is 5.906 ft), then multiply the decimals by 12 for the inches.
| Height in cm | Inches | Feet and inches |
|---|---|---|
| 150 cm | 59.06 in | 4 ft 11.1 in |
| 155 cm | 61.02 in | 5 ft 1.0 in |
| 160 cm | 62.99 in | 5 ft 3.0 in |
| 165 cm | 64.96 in | 5 ft 5.0 in |
| 170 cm | 66.93 in | 5 ft 6.9 in |
| 175 cm | 68.90 in | 5 ft 8.9 in |
| 180 cm | 70.87 in | 5 ft 10.9 in |
| 185 cm | 72.83 in | 6 ft 0.8 in |
| 190 cm | 74.80 in | 6 ft 2.8 in |
| 200 cm | 78.74 in | 6 ft 6.7 in |
Screen sizes in inches and centimeters
Phones, laptops, monitors and TVs are sold by the length of the screen diagonal in inches, measured across the visible area from corner to corner, not including the frame. Multiply by 2.54 to get centimeters. The diagonal says little about width on its own: a 27 inch 16:9 monitor is about 60 cm wide and 34 cm tall, while an ultrawide 21:9 panel with the same diagonal is wider and much lower.
| Device | Diagonal in inches | Diagonal in cm |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | 6.1 in | 15.49 cm |
| Phone, large | 6.7 in | 17.02 cm |
| Laptop | 13.3 in | 33.78 cm |
| Laptop | 15.6 in | 39.62 cm |
| Monitor | 24 in | 60.96 cm |
| Monitor | 27 in | 68.58 cm |
| TV | 55 in | 139.70 cm |
| TV | 65 in | 165.10 cm |
Clothing and shoe measurements
Jeans from US brands are often labeled by waist and inseam in inches, for example W32 L32. Measure your waist in centimeters and divide by 2.54: 76 cm is 29.9 inches (W30), 81 cm is 31.9 inches (W32) and 86 cm is 33.9 inches (W34). An inseam of 81 cm, the inside leg from crotch to hem, is about L32.
Labeled sizes are not always the true measurement: many brands cut a W32 a little larger than 32 inches, so check the brand's own size chart when it gives centimeters. For shoes, US, UK and EU sizes are separate systems that do not convert exactly from foot length, so use the brand's chart with your foot length in centimeters rather than a general formula.
Tips and common mistakes
- Multiplying instead of dividing: going from cm to inches makes the number smaller. If 30 cm turns into 76, you multiplied.
- Rounding 2.54 to 2.5: the error is 1.6 percent, which is 3 cm on a 180 cm height. Use 2.54.
- Mixing decimal feet with feet and inches: 5.5 ft is 5 ft 6 in, not 5 ft 5 in.
- Confusing inch marks: 5'10" means 5 feet 10 inches; the single mark is feet, the double mark inches.
- For quick estimates, 4 inches is about 10 cm and 1 foot is about 30 cm.