The centimetre is one hundredth of a metre, the everyday unit for body height, clothing sizes and school rulers. One inch is exactly 2.54 cm.
How to use the Centimeter Converter
- Pick the unit you are starting from in the From menu and type your value.
- Pick the unit you want in the To menu. The heading changes to match, for example “Centimeters to Millimeters Converter”.
- The most common length units are shown below at the same time, so you can compare them at a glance.
- Type into any result to convert backwards, then use Copy results. The copied text starts with the heading for your chosen units.
Results update as you type. Everything is calculated in your browser.
How it works
Each of the 27 length units on this page is defined by a factor relative to the metre, the base unit: 1 cm = 0.01 m and 1 mm = 0.001 m, for example. The calculator first turns the value you type into metres, then turns that into the unit you picked in the “To” menu and into metres, inches and feet. Typing into any result works backwards the same way, so the centimetres and millimetres values always describe the same amount.
How to convert length units
- Choose the unit you have in the From menu and type the value, for example 1 cm.
- Choose the unit you want in the To menu, for example millimetres. The page heading changes to “Centimeters to Millimeters Converter”.
- The calculator multiplies by the metre factor of the “from” unit and divides by the factor of the “to” unit: 1 cm × 0.01 ÷ 0.001 = 10 mm.
1 centimetre in common units
| Unit | Value |
|---|---|
| Millimetres (mm) | 10 |
| Metres (m) | 0.01 |
| Inches (in) | 0.39370079 |
| Feet (ft) | 0.032808399 |
| Kilometres (km) | 1 × 10-5 |
Centimetres conversion table
| Centimetres | mm | m | in | ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 0.01 | 0.39370079 | 0.032808399 |
| 5 | 50 | 0.05 | 1.9685039 | 0.16404199 |
| 10 | 100 | 0.1 | 3.9370079 | 0.32808399 |
| 30 | 300 | 0.3 | 11.811024 | 0.98425197 |
| 50 | 500 | 0.5 | 19.685039 | 1.6404199 |
| 100 | 1,000 | 1 | 39.370079 | 3.2808399 |
| 150 | 1,500 | 1.5 | 59.055118 | 4.9212598 |
| 180 | 1,800 | 1.8 | 70.866142 | 5.9055118 |
Length units explained
- Centimetre (cm)
- A centimetre is one hundredth of a metre (10 mm). It is the everyday metric unit for body height, clothing, furniture and school rulers.
- Millimetre (mm)
- A millimetre is one thousandth of a metre. Engineering drawings, construction plans, rainfall, screws, bolts and jewellery are all dimensioned in millimetres.
- Metre (m)
- The metre is the SI base unit of length. Since 1983 it has been defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second, which ties it to a fundamental constant rather than a physical bar of metal.
- Inch (in)
- The inch has been defined as exactly 25.4 mm since 1959. It is used in the U.S. for almost everything and worldwide for screen sizes, wheel and tyre sizes, pipe threads and many tools.
- Foot (ft)
- The international foot is exactly 0.3048 m and contains 12 inches. It remains the everyday unit for height, room dimensions and altitude in the U.S., and for aviation altitude worldwide.
- Kilometre (km)
- A kilometre is 1,000 metres. It is the standard unit for road distances, maps, running races and travel in almost every country except the U.S. and UK, where miles are still used on road signs.
Formula
1 cm = 10 mm
1 cm = 0.01 m
1 cm = 0.39370079 in
1 cm = 0.032808399 ft
1 cm = 1 × 10⁻⁵ km
Worked example
Inputs: From: 1 cm.
Results: To = 10 mm; Metres = 0.01 m; Inches = 0.39370079 in; Feet = 0.0328084 ft; Kilometres = 0.00001 km.
Frequently asked questions
How many inches is 1 cm?
About 0.3937 in.
How many mm in a cm?
10.
How many cm is 6 feet?
182.88 cm.
How many metres are in one centimetre?
1 cm = 0.01 m.
How many inches are in one centimetre?
1 cm = 0.39370079 in.