Centimeters Converter
Convert Centimeters (cm) to any other length unit. The table below gives the exact figure for each unit, and every conversion is worked from the same engine as the converter.
What centimeters convert to
One cm in every other length unit.
| Unit | 1 cm | Reverse |
|---|---|---|
| Millimeters | 10 mm | 0.1 cm |
| Meters | 0.01 m | 100 cm |
| Kilometers | 1e-5 km | 100,000 cm |
| Inches | 0.393701 in | 2.54 cm |
| Feet | 0.032808 ft | 30.48 cm |
| Yards | 0.010936 yd | 91.44 cm |
| Miles | 6.2137e-6 mi | 160,934.4 cm |
| Nautical miles | 5.3996e-6 nmi | 185,200 cm |
Multiply a centimeters figure by the figure in the second column to get the unit in the first, or multiply by the third column to go the other way.
Centimeters conversion reference
Centimeters to Millimeters
One centimeters is 10 millimeters, and one millimeters is 0.1 centimeters.
A millimeter is one thousandth of a meter. It is the unit for precision work — engineering tolerances, rainfall, wire gauges and the thickness of paper or sheet metal.
- 1 cm= 10 mm
- 5 cm= 50 mm
- 10 cm= 100 mm
Centimeters to Meters
One centimeters is 0.01 meters, and one meters is 100 centimeters.
The meter is the SI base unit of length, defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. It is used for room sizes, heights, fabric and track distances.
- 1 cm= 0.01 m
- 5 cm= 0.05 m
- 10 cm= 0.1 m
The meter is the base unit of length in the International System, defined by the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
It measures room dimensions, fabric sold by the metre, athletic tracks, water depth and building heights. Scientific work uses meters and its decimal multiples, from nanometers to gigameters, almost everywhere outside everyday imperial trade.
Centimeters to Kilometers
One centimeters is 1e-5 kilometers, and one kilometers is 100,000 centimeters.
A kilometer is 1,000 meters. It is the standard unit for road distances and speed limits, and the one used on road signs and by police across Tanzania and most of the world.
- 25 cm= 2.5e-4 km
- 100 cm= 0.001 km
- 500 cm= 0.005 km
The kilometer is exactly 1,000 meters, the unit of length in the International System used for distances between places rather than across a room. It is written km and is the basis of the metric road network.
Road signs, speed limits, odometers and race distances use kilometers in most of the world. Maps quote distances in kilometers, and athletic events such as the marathon are described in kilometers.
Centimeters to Inches
One centimeters is 0.393701 inches, and one inches is 2.54 centimeters.
An inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters. It remains the standard unit for screen sizes, pipe and hose diameters, and tool sizes in imperial-measure countries.
- 1 cm= 0.393701 in
- 5 cm= 1.968504 in
- 10 cm= 3.937008 in
An inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters, or 25.4 millimeters. Twelve inches make one foot and thirty-six make a yard, so the inch sits inside two larger imperial units.
Screen and tyre sizes are given in inches, as are pipe and hose diameters, wrench openings and the diagonal of a television. Rainfall is still recorded in inches in some countries.
Centimeters to Feet
One centimeters is 0.032808 feet, and one feet is 30.48 centimeters.
A foot is exactly 0.3048 meters, or 12 inches. It is used for height, altitude in aviation and room dimensions wherever imperial measurements are standard.
- 1 cm= 0.032808 ft
- 5 cm= 0.164042 ft
- 10 cm= 0.328084 ft
The foot is exactly 0.3048 meters, or twelve inches. United States survey work has used a separate survey foot, defined as 1200/3937 meters and equal to about 0.3048006 meters.
Aviation uses feet for altitude and flight levels worldwide, even in countries that measure road distance in kilometers. Building heights, room dimensions, timber and, in some places, body height are also quoted in feet.
Centimeters to Yards
One centimeters is 0.010936 yards, and one yards is 91.44 centimeters.
A yard is exactly 0.9144 meters, or 3 feet. It is the unit for fabric and carpet sales, and for sports distances such as the 22-yard cricket pitch.
- 1 cm= 0.010936 yd
- 5 cm= 0.054681 yd
- 10 cm= 0.109361 yd
The yard is exactly 0.9144 meters, three feet or thirty-six inches. It is a defined multiple of the meter, not an independent standard. Its value was fixed by the same international agreement that defined the foot and the inch.
Fabric, carpet and some flooring are still sold by the yard, and the chain and furlong used in land and horse racing are built from yards. American football is measured in yards.
Centimeters to Miles
One centimeters is 6.2137e-6 miles, and one miles is 160,934.4 centimeters.
A mile is exactly 1,609.344 meters, or about 1.609 kilometers. It is the standard road-distance unit in the United States and the United Kingdom.
- 25 cm= 1.5534e-4 mi
- 100 cm= 6.2137e-4 mi
- 500 cm= 0.003107 mi
The international mile is exactly 1,609.344 meters, or 1.609344 kilometers. It descends from the Roman mile of a thousand paces and remains the standard road distance in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Road signs and speed limits, distance markers on highways, running and cycling events and aviation track distances are quoted in miles in those countries. Nautical miles are separate and longer.
Centimeters to Nautical miles
One centimeters is 5.3996e-6 nautical miles, and one nautical miles is 185,200 centimeters.
A nautical mile is exactly 1,852 meters — one minute of latitude. It is the standard unit for maritime and air navigation, which is why ship and aircraft speeds are given in knots per hour.
- 25 cm= 1.3499e-4 nmi
- 100 cm= 5.3996e-4 nmi
- 500 cm= 0.0027 nmi
What centimeters are used for
A centimeter is one hundredth of a meter. It is the everyday metric unit for short distances: body measurements, clothing sizes, furniture and school rulers.
The centimeter is exactly one hundredth of a meter, written 0.01 m, and it is the unit most metric rulers and tape measures are marked in, with ten millimeters to one centimeter.
It appears on clothing labels, school rulers, rainfall reports and body measurements, and in medicine for wound sizes. A person's height is commonly recorded in centimeters on metric forms.
The factor between centimeters and inches is exact: one inch equals 2.54 centimeters. Results on this site are shown with up to six decimal places, so a value converted out and back can end one digit away.
The usual error is reading a millimeter figure as centimeters, which overstates a length tenfold, or treating square centimeters as if they scaled with centimeters rather than with their square.
Centimeters, millimeters and meters divide the same scale: millimeters suit engineering tolerances, centimeters suit height and clothing, and meters suit rooms and buildings. Choosing the wrong unit misplaces the decimal point by ten or a hundred, so the label matters as much as the figure.
Metric-to-metric conversions are exact. Imperial figures are exact by definition but are rounded for display, so a value converted back and forth can differ in the final digit.
Inside the metric units every length conversion is a shift of the decimal point, so millimeters to centimeters, meters to kilometers and the rest can be done by moving it. Which way, and how far, follows from the prefix alone.
Converting between metric and imperial is not a shift but a single exact multiplication, and the factor is the same one for that pair however large or small the value. The trap is mixing the two systems halfway, as when a distance is stated in meters and inches in the same sentence.
To check a length conversion, run it backwards, or convert through a familiar middle value such as a meter or a foot. The one thing to keep straight is pairs that differ by a thousand rather than by ten, since those are where a misplaced decimal point survives unnoticed.
Tanzania reference points
Real quantities, converted into centimeters.
Uhuru Peak on Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa
5,895 m = 589,500 cm
The datasheet also records Kilimanjaro as rising 4,877 m above the surrounding plains.
Source: UNEP-WCMC World Heritage datasheet — Kilimanjaro National Park · verified 2026-09-14
Marangu Gate, the main road entrance to Kilimanjaro National Park
1,830 m = 183,000 cm
Source: UNEP-WCMC World Heritage datasheet — Kilimanjaro National Park · verified 2026-09-14
How far Mount Kilimanjaro rises above the plains around it
4,877 m = 487,700 cm
Source: UNEP-WCMC World Heritage datasheet — Kilimanjaro National Park · verified 2026-09-14
Centimeters conversion tables
Centimeters to Millimeters
| Centimeters (cm) | Millimeters (mm) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 20 |
| 3 | 30 |
| 4 | 40 |
| 5 | 50 |
| 10 | 100 |
| 25 | 250 |
| 50 | 500 |
| 100 | 1,000 |
Centimeters to Meters
| Centimeters (cm) | Meters (m) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.01 |
| 2 | 0.02 |
| 3 | 0.03 |
| 4 | 0.04 |
| 5 | 0.05 |
| 10 | 0.1 |
| 25 | 0.25 |
| 50 | 0.5 |
| 100 | 1 |
Centimeters to Kilometers
| Centimeters (cm) | Kilometers (km) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1e-5 |
| 2 | 2e-5 |
| 3 | 3e-5 |
| 4 | 4e-5 |
| 5 | 5e-5 |
| 10 | 1e-4 |
| 25 | 2.5e-4 |
| 50 | 5e-4 |
| 100 | 0.001 |
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