FreeToolStation

Height Converter

Centimetres to feet and inches, and back.

Unit Converters Free, no sign-up Runs in your browser

For the first direction.

For the second direction.

For the second direction.

—
Converted
—
In centimetres
—
In metres
—
In inches
—
In decimal feet
CentimetresFeet and inchesInches
An inch is exactly 2.54 centimetres by international agreement, so these conversions are exact rather than approximate. Rounding to the nearest whole inch loses up to 1.3 centimetres, which is why the exact figure is shown alongside.

About the Height Converter

Height Converter moves a height between centimetres and feet and inches, in both directions. It is the conversion that comes up constantly for anyone dealing with two measurement systems at once -- filling in a form, reading a passport, comparing a height from one country against another.

The conversion is exact. An inch has been defined as precisely 2.54 centimetres since the international yard and pound agreement of 1959, so there is no approximation involved and no disagreement between countries. What does lose precision is rounding: giving a height as a whole number of inches can be out by up to 1.3 centimetres, which is why the exact decimal figure is shown beside the rounded one.

The carry case is handled properly. 182.88 centimetres is five feet and exactly twelve inches, which should read as six feet, not five feet twelve. Rounding the inches first and then carrying into the feet is the only way to get that right, and it is where simpler converters produce nonsense.

The page shows its working, not just its answer. Where there is a formula it is printed with your own numbers substituted in, so you can check the result rather than take it on trust -- which is the difference between a calculator you can use for something that matters and one you cannot.

Everything runs inside your browser. What you type is never uploaded, never logged and never stored, and the calculator keeps working if your connection drops after the page has loaded.

Looking for something this does not cover? FreeToolsHub.org is another hub of free online tools that need no account, and it is worth a look if height converter is only part of what you are working on.

How to use the Height Converter

  1. Choose convertThe fields below change to match what you pick, so only the figures that matter to your case are asked for.
  2. Enter centimetres, feet and inchesDecimals are fine, and thousands separators are accepted and ignored.
  3. Read the converted, in centimetres and in metresThe figures update as you type. The Calculate button is there if you would rather press something, but nothing waits for it.
  4. Copy or check the resultCopy the summary with the copy button, or open the table to check it row by row.

Features

  • Shows converted, in centimetres, in metres, in inches and in decimal feet together, so you are not running it twice
  • A results table you can read across
  • Updates as you type, with no button to press and no page reload
  • Copy the result in one click
  • Free, no sign-up, and it runs entirely in your browser

Who uses this tool

The height converter is used by writers, developers, students, marketers and anyone else who needs the job done once without installing software. Common cases include:

  • Converting a height on a form from cm to feet and inches
  • Reading a height given in feet into metric
  • Comparing heights recorded in different systems
  • Looking up a conversion from the chart

Frequently asked questions

How many cm in a foot?

Exactly 30.48. A foot is twelve inches and an inch is exactly 2.54 cm, so the conversion is exact rather than approximate.

What is 5 foot 9 in cm?

175.26 cm. Enter 5 and 9 in the feet and inches boxes to see the exact figure.

Why does it show a decimal number of inches?

Because rounding to a whole inch can be out by more than a centimetre. The rounded figure is there too, but the exact one is more useful on a form.

Is 2.54 cm per inch exact?

Yes. It has been the international definition since 1959, so every country that uses inches uses the same one.

If the height converter is not quite what you need, these other free tools solve closely related problems, and there are 18 more in unit converters.

Length Converter

Convert any length between metric and imperial units.

Unit Converters Use tool

Weight Converter

Convert weight between metric and imperial units.

Unit Converters Use tool

BMI Calculator

Work out BMI from height and weight, in metric or imperial units.

Health Calculators Use tool

Unit Converter

Convert between metric and imperial units across seven categories.

Unit Converters Use tool

Checked and rebuilt on 2026-10-14. The method this calculator uses is described in the section above, and corrections go through the contact page.