Inches To Meters Converter

1. Type the inches. For a length given in feet and inches, put the feet in the Feet box and the rest in the Inches box.
2. Read the length in meters. It updates as you type and keeps up to 8 decimal places.
3. Use the supporting results for centimeters, millimeters, a feet and inches split and a reverse check.

Each result answers one question:

An inch to meter conversion expresses an inch length in meters, the SI base unit of length, by multiplying by 0.0254. The inch is a US customary and UK imperial unit equal to 1/12 foot and 1/36 yard.

The factor is a definition, not a measured value. Since 1959 the international yard is exactly 0.9144 m, so the inch is exactly 0.0254 m. NIST SP 811 lists the inch as 2.54 x 10^-2 m. The UK Weights and Measures Act 1985 sets the yard at 0.9144 metre and the inch at 1/36 yard. The inch is therefore the same length in both countries.

People search this conversion when an inch size must go on a metric form or plan. Common cases are a height for a visa or medical form, a screen size, and North American lumber used on a metric drawing. A meter holds about 39.37 inches, so inch lengths turn into small meter values with several decimals.

The converter adds any feet as 12 inches each, then multiplies the total inches by 0.0254.

1. Turn feet into inches. 5 ft 10 in = 5 x 12 + 10 = 70 in.
2. Multiply by 0.0254. 70 x 0.0254 = 1.778 m.
3. Check it in two steps. 70 x 2.54 = 177.8 cm, and 177.8 / 100 = 1.778 m.

Multiplying by 0.0254 always ends. An inch value with 1 decimal place gives a meter value with at most 5 decimals, and 4 inch decimals give at most 8. The reverse direction is different: 1 m is 39.3700787... in, a decimal that never ends, so meters to inches is always rounded.

A height of 5 ft 10 in. 5 x 12 + 10 = 70 in. 70 x 0.0254 = 1.778 m, or 177.8 cm. A form that asks for meters to two places takes 1.78 m.

A screen listed as 65 in. 65 x 0.0254 = 1.651 m. Screen sizes are normally quoted as a diagonal, but check the maker sheet for the width and height before you plan a wall or cabinet. The aspect ratio calculator splits a diagonal into width and height.

The width of a dry 2x4. A nominal 2x4 is not 2 in by 4 in. PS 20-20, the American Softwood Lumber Standard, says a dry 2 by 4 is surfaced to 1 1/2 by 3 1/2 in. In meters that is 1.5 x 0.0254 = 0.0381 m by 3.5 x 0.0254 = 0.0889 m.

An 8 ft board. 8 x 12 = 96 in. 96 x 0.0254 = 2.4384 m. Length works differently from width: PS 20-20 trims a piece of 2 in nominal thickness to not less than its nominal length and, in most cases, not more than 3 in over it.

A 1/4 in gap. 0.25 x 0.0254 = 0.00635 m, which is 6.35 mm. For small parts, millimeters read better, and the inches to mm converter takes fractions such as 3/8 directly.

The 0.0254 factor never changes. Four things still change the meter number you write down.

Nominal Versus Actual Size

Lumber is sold by a nominal size that is larger than the real piece. A dry 2x4 is 1.5 x 3.5 in, not 2 x 4 in. Converting the name gives 0.0508 x 0.1016 m, which is 12.7 mm and 12.7 mm too large. Always convert the actual dressed size.

How Many Decimals You Keep

1.778 m can be written 1.78 m or 1.8 m. Each drop in precision throws away real length: 1.8 m is 22 mm more than 70 in. Keep 3 decimals (whole millimeters) for building and 2 for body height.

Feet Entered as Decimals

5.10 ft is not 5 ft 10 in. 5.10 ft is 61.2 in, while 5 ft 10 in is 70 in. Use the Feet box for whole feet and the Inches box for the rest.

Measurement Uncertainty

A tape read to 1/16 in can be off by up to 1/32 in, which is 0.79 mm. The conversion is exact, but the result cannot be more accurate than the reading.

This comparison shows why the nominal name and the real piece convert to different meter values. The dry dressed sizes come from PS 20-20, Table 3. The metric values are exact conversions of the inch sizes.

PS 20-20 itself prints the metric sizes rounded to whole millimeters, such as 38 mm and 89 mm. The table above keeps the exact values. Green lumber is dressed slightly larger, so these sizes apply to dry pieces only. For material quantities, the board foot calculator works from the nominal size, as the lumber trade does.

Height on a Metric Form

Many forms outside the US want height in meters or centimeters. 6 ft is 72 in, which is 1.8288 m. Most forms round that to 1.83 m.

Screens and Displays

Screen sizes are often listed in inches. 55 in is 1.397 m and 75 in is 1.905 m. Use the maker spec sheet for the real width before you order a wall mount.

Timber on a Metric Plan

An inch-sized stud on a plan drawn in meters needs its actual size. 3.5 in is 0.0889 m, so a wall of 2x4 studs is 0.0889 m thick before any sheathing. For the other units on a mixed plan, the metric to imperial converter covers many at once.

Common inch lengths in meters, centimeters and millimeters. Every value is exact, computed from 1 in = 0.0254 m.

1. Multiplying by 2.54 and Stopping

2.54 turns inches into centimeters, not meters. 70 x 2.54 = 177.8 is centimeters. Divide by 100 to reach 1.778 m.

2. Dividing by 39 or 40

Dividing by 40 makes every answer 1.6 percent short. For 70 in that gives 1.75 m instead of 1.778 m, which is 28 mm short.

3. Converting a Nominal Lumber Size

A 2x4 name is a label. Convert 1.5 x 3.5 in, not 2 x 4 in.

4. Typing Feet as a Decimal

5 ft 6 in is 5.5 ft, not 5.6 ft. Using the Feet and Inches boxes avoids this.

5. Rounding Too Early

Rounding each inch value before adding, then converting, can stack small errors. Add the full inch values first, then convert once.

The meter result is exact to the digits shown for any inch value with up to 4 decimals, because 1 in is defined as exactly 0.0254 m.

One inch is exactly 0.0254 meters. That is 2.54 cm or 25.4 mm.

A meter holds 39.3700787 inches. The digits do not end, so the value is always rounded, usually to 39.37 in.

Five feet ten inches is 70 in, which is exactly 1.778 m. Rounded to two places that is 1.78 m.

Six feet is 72 in, and 72 x 0.0254 = 1.8288 m. Most forms round it to 1.83 m.

A dry 2x4 is 1.5 by 3.5 in under PS 20-20. That is 0.0381 by 0.0889 m, or 38.1 by 88.9 mm.

Fifty-five inches is exactly 1.397 m. For a screen, check whether that figure is the diagonal or the width.

Divide by 40 for a fast estimate. It reads 1.6 percent low, so add a little: 80 in / 40 = 2 m, and the true value is 2.032 m.

No. 39 in is 0.9906 m, about 9.4 mm short. 39.37 in is 0.999998 m, which is within 0.002 mm of a meter.

The inch is defined as 0.0254 m, a short decimal. Any inch value with up to 4 decimals therefore gives a meter value that ends within 8 places.

Yes. Both use the international inch of exactly 25.4 mm. UK law defines it as 1/36 of a yard of 0.9144 metre.

• Conversion factors for the inch and the foot (NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8).
• General tables of US customary and metric length units (NIST Handbook 44, 2026, Appendix C).
• The yard of 0.9144 metre and the inch as 1/36 yard (Weights and Measures Act 1985, Schedule 1, legislation.gov.uk).
• Dry 2 by 4 surfaced to 1 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches (PS 20-20 American Softwood Lumber Standard, section 2.16 and Table 3, American Lumber Standard Committee).