By Tim King · Updated 19 September 2026

cm to Inches and Inches to cm Converter

How Many Inches in a Centimetre, With the Exact Factor and Reference Tables

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centimetres to inches formula

inches = cm ÷ 2.54

1 centimetre = 0.3937007874 inches, so multiply centimetres by 0.3937007874. Going the other way, 1 inch = 2.54 centimetres.

centimetres to inches table

centimetres (cm)	inches (in)
1	0.393701
2	0.787402
3	1.1811
4	1.5748
5	1.9685
6	2.3622
7	2.75591
8	3.14961
9	3.54331
10	3.93701
12	4.72441
15	5.90551
20	7.87402
25	9.84252
30	11.811
40	15.748
50	19.685
60	23.622
70	27.5591
80	31.4961
90	35.4331
100	39.3701
120	47.2441
150	59.0551
180	70.8661
200	78.7402

How many inches in centimetres?

1 cm = 0.393701 in. There are 0.393701 inches in 1 centimetres.

10 cm = 3.93701 in. There are 3.93701 inches in 10 centimetres.

30 cm = 11.811 in. There are 11.811 inches in 30 centimetres.

50 cm = 19.685 in. There are 19.685 inches in 50 centimetres.

100 cm = 39.3701 in. There are 39.3701 inches in 100 centimetres.

inches to centimetres formula

cm = inches × 2.54

1 inch = 2.54 centimetres, so multiply inches by 2.54, or divide by 0.3937007874.

inches to centimetres table

inches (in)	centimetres (cm)
1	2.54
2	5.08
3	7.62
4	10.16
5	12.7
6	15.24
7	17.78
8	20.32
9	22.86
10	25.4
11	27.94
12	30.48
15	38.1
18	45.72
20	50.8
24	60.96
30	76.2
36	91.44
40	101.6
48	121.92
50	127
60	152.4
72	182.88
100	254

How many centimetres in inches?

1 in = 2.54 cm. There are 2.54 centimetres in 1 inches.

5 in = 12.7 cm. There are 12.7 centimetres in 5 inches.

10 in = 25.4 cm. There are 25.4 centimetres in 10 inches.

12 in = 30.48 cm. There are 30.48 centimetres in 12 inches.

36 in = 91.44 cm. There are 91.44 centimetres in 36 inches.

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How the Cm To Inches works

This cm to inches converter gives exact inches and the nearest fraction. Type a length in centimetres and get inches as you type. Because an inch is exactly 2.54 cm, converting the other way means dividing by 2.54, which gives 0.3937 inches per centimetre. The result is shown as a decimal; the explainer covers turning it into feet and inches or a fraction. Press the swap button to go the other way.

Cm to inches: dividing, not multiplying

Centimetres to inches is the inverse of the inch definition: 1 cm = 1 ÷ 2.54 = 0.393700787… inches. That decimal never terminates, so results are shown to ten significant figures and you round from there. For most purposes two decimal places is plenty; a tape measure cannot read closer than a sixteenth of an inch anyway.

Worked example: a 180 cm height

180 ÷ 2.54 = 70.866 inches. To give that as feet and inches, divide by 12: 70.866 ÷ 12 = 5 remainder 10.866, so 5 feet 10.9 inches — usually quoted as 5'11". Note that rounding the inches and rounding the total can disagree by an inch: 179 cm is 70.47 inches, which is 5'10", while 180 cm rounds up to 5'11".

Worked example: a 60 cm suitcase

Cabin baggage limits are often published in centimetres by European airlines and in inches by American ones. A 55 × 40 × 20 cm case is 21.65 × 15.75 × 7.87 inches. An American limit of 22 × 14 × 9 inches is 55.9 × 35.6 × 22.9 cm, so the same case is fine on height but a little over on width, which is exactly the kind of detail a rounded estimate hides.

From decimal inches to fractions

Tape measures and drill bits use fractions. Multiply the decimal part by 16 and round to get sixteenths: 0.866 × 16 = 13.9, so 70.866 inches is about 70 and 14/16, which simplifies to 70 7/8 inches. For eighths multiply by 8 instead. If the result lands halfway between two fractions, pick the one that matters for the job — undersize for a hole you will file out, oversize for a piece you will trim.

A rough figure in your head

Ten centimetres is very nearly four inches (3.94), so divide by ten and multiply by four. 150 cm becomes 15 × 4 = 60 inches, against the exact 59.06. The estimate runs about 1.6% high, which is fine for deciding whether a 150 cm desk fits a 60-inch alcove — it does, just — but not for cutting timber.

Where the conversion is needed

Clothing sizes from European retailers, furniture dimensions on IKEA-style listings, bicycle frame sizes, and medical records from metric countries are the usual sources of centimetre figures that need turning into inches. Screen sizes go the other way; see the reverse page for those.

Worked example: a 27-inch monitor

Screen sizes are quoted as a diagonal in inches. A 27-inch monitor is 27 × 2.54 = 68.58 cm across the diagonal. If the panel is 16:9, the width is roughly 87% of the diagonal, so about 59.8 cm, and the height about 33.6 cm — useful when checking whether it fits on a shelf.

Worked example: a 5'10" height

Enter 5'10" and the page reads it as 70 inches. 70 × 2.54 = 177.8 cm. The same answer comes from converting the parts separately: 5 feet is 60 inches, which is 152.4 cm, and 10 inches is 25.4 cm, and 152.4 + 25.4 = 177.8. Medical forms, passport applications and sports registrations in metric countries generally expect the answer rounded to the nearest centimetre, so 178 cm.

Centimetre to inches formula and table

The formula on this page is inches = cm ÷ 2.54, applied exactly before rounding for display.

How many inches in 1 centimetre? 1 cm is 0.3937 in. Likewise 10 cm is 3.937 in, 30 cm is 11.81 in, 50 cm is 19.69 in.

Centimetre to inch conversion table

Centimetres (cm)	Inches (in)
1	0.3937
2	0.7874
3	1.1811
4	1.5748
5	1.9685
6	2.3622
7	2.7559
8	3.1496
9	3.5433
10	3.937
12	4.7244
15	5.9055
20	7.874
25	9.8425
30	11.81
40	15.75
50	19.69
60	23.62
70	27.56
80	31.5
90	35.43
100	39.37
120	47.24
150	59.06
180	70.87
200	78.74

FAQ

How many inches are in a centimetre?

One centimetre is 0.3937 inches, or exactly 1 ÷ 2.54. The figure follows from the definition of the inch as 2.54 centimetres, so it is exact as a fraction and only approximate as a decimal.

How do I convert cm to feet and inches?

Divide the centimetres by 2.54 to get total inches, then divide by 12: the whole number is feet and the remainder is inches. 175 cm is 68.9 inches, which is 5 feet 8.9 inches, usually written 5'9".

Why does my answer differ from another site by a hundredth?

Some sites use 0.39 or 0.3937 as the factor rather than dividing by 2.54. Over 100 cm the difference between 0.39 and the exact factor is 0.37 inches, which is enough to matter when fitting something into a gap.

Is a centimetre bigger or smaller than an inch?

Smaller. An inch is about two and a half centimetres, so a centimetre is a little under two-fifths of an inch. The width of a small fingernail is roughly a centimetre; the width of a thumb at the knuckle is roughly an inch.

How many cm are in an inch?

There are exactly 2.54 centimetres in one inch. The figure is a definition rather than a measurement, agreed internationally in 1959, so it never needs updating and every multiple of it is exact as well.