Centimeters (cm) To Feet Converter

1. Leave Direction on Centimeters to feet and inches, and type the centimeters, such as 170 for a height.
2. Choose how to show inches: 0.1 inch for a precise figure, 1/4 inch for a tape measure, or the whole inch for a form or a height chart.
3. Read the feet and inches at the top. Decimal feet, total inches and meters sit underneath. Switch the direction to turn 5 ft 9 in back into centimeters.

Here is what each result means:

A centimeters to feet conversion restates a metric length in the foot and inch units used in the US and, for personal height, the UK. A centimeter is one hundredth of a meter. A foot is 12 inches, and each inch is exactly 2.54 cm, so one foot is exactly 30.48 cm.

Most people meet this conversion through height. Passports, ID cards, medical records and sports rosters in most countries list height in centimeters. People in the US, and many in the UK, still say their height in feet and inches, so 170 cm has to become 5 ft 6.9 in before it means much to them.

The answer can be written three ways. Feet and inches (5 ft 6.9 in) is how people talk. Decimal feet (5.577 ft) suit spreadsheets. Total inches (66.93 in) suit some forms. The tool shows all three, so you can copy the one you need.

For small lengths, such as a phone or a picture frame, the feet to inches converter and inch tools are often simpler than feet.

The converter first turns centimeters into inches by dividing by 2.54. It then splits the inches into whole feet and leftover inches.

1. Divide the centimeters by 2.54. For 170 cm: 170 / 2.54 = 66.929 in.
2. Count whole feet. 66.929 / 12 = 5.577, so there are 5 whole feet, which use 60 in.
3. Find the leftover inches: 66.929 - 60 = 6.929 in. Round to 0.1 in and the height is 5 ft 6.9 in. Round to the whole inch and it is 5 ft 7 in.

Both factors are exact. The 1959 international agreement fixed the inch at 25.4 mm, and NIST SP 811 lists the inch to centimeter factor as exactly 2.54. Any rounding in your answer comes only from the inch step you choose.

170 cm. 170 / 2.54 = 66.93 in. Take out 60 in for 5 ft, and 6.93 in is left. The height is 5 ft 6.9 in, about 5 ft 7 in.

183 cm. 183 / 2.54 = 72.05 in, which is 6 ft 0.0 in. That is why 183 cm is often called six feet.

160 cm. 160 / 2.54 = 62.99 in, which rounds to 5 ft 3 in.

Reverse: 5 ft 9 in. 5 x 12 + 9 = 69 in, and 69 x 2.54 = 175.26 cm. A form that asks for whole centimeters would take 175 cm.

Not only height. A 200 cm sofa is 78.74 in, or 6 ft 6.7 in. A 30 cm ruler is 11.81 in, just short of a foot.

If you are also converting body weight for the same form, the kg to lbs converter uses the exact 0.45359237 kg pound.

The factor is fixed, so the answer only changes with how you round and how exact the measurement was.

Inch Rounding

Rounding 170 cm to 5 ft 7 in moves the height by 0.07 in. Rounding 175 cm to 5 ft 9 in moves it by 0.1 in. Whole-inch rounding can shift a height by up to 0.5 in, or 1.27 cm.

How Precise the Centimeters Are

A height measured to the nearest centimeter has a spread of 0.5 cm either way, about 0.2 in. So 5 ft 6.9 in is as precise as a whole-centimeter height allows. Showing 5 ft 6.929 in would suggest more accuracy than the tape gave.

Decimal Feet Versus Feet and Inches

170 cm is 5.577 ft, but the .577 is a share of a foot, not inches. Multiply it by 12 to get 6.93 in.

Measuring Conditions

Shoes, hair and posture change a height reading by more than the rounding does. Measure the same way each time if you want to compare readings.

The same centimeter height can be written in different ways. Pick the one your form or audience expects.

Whole inches are the norm for spoken height. Keep 0.1 in when you will convert back later, so the round trip returns the centimeters you started with.

Height on Forms, Profiles and Rosters

Visa forms, dating profiles, school sports and medical charts may ask for height in either system. Convert once with 0.1 in precision, then round to what the form accepts. The ideal weight for your height guide shows how height feeds other estimates.

Furniture, Doors and Room Fit

European furniture and appliances list sizes in centimeters. A 200 cm wardrobe is 6 ft 6.7 in tall, which tells you at once whether it clears an 8 ft ceiling.

Travel and Gear

Ski lengths, bike frames and luggage limits often come in centimeters. Converting a 160 cm ski to 5 ft 3 in makes it easy to compare with your height.

Every row below uses 1 in = 2.54 cm and 12 in = 1 ft. Inches are rounded to 0.1 in.

Each extra 5 cm adds about 1.97 in, so you can estimate values between the rows.

1. Reading Decimal Feet as Inches

170 cm is 5.577 ft. That is not 5 ft 5.77 in or 5 ft 6 in. It is 5 ft 6.93 in, because 0.577 x 12 = 6.93.

2. Dividing by 30 Instead of 30.48

170 / 30 = 5.667 ft, which is 1.6 percent too high. For a height that is about 1 in too tall.

3. Dividing by 2.5 for Inches

Using 2.5 cm per inch gives 68 in for 170 cm, about 1.1 in too tall. The inch is 2.54 cm exactly.

4. Rounding Twice

Rounding 66.93 in to 67 in and then treating 5.58 ft as 5 ft 6 in stacks two errors. Round once, at the end.

5. Rounding 5 Ft 11.6 in to 5 Ft 12 In

Twelve inches roll over to the next foot, so it becomes 6 ft 0 in. The tool handles this for you.

6. Using a Rounded Chart for a Round Trip

5 ft 7 in converts back to 170.18 cm, not 170 cm. Keep 0.1 in if you need to return to the exact starting value.

The conversion is exact, because the inch is defined as 2.54 cm and the foot as 12 inches. The only uncertainty is the measurement you type and the rounding step you choose.

It is 5 ft 6.9 in, or about 5 ft 7 in. In decimal feet it is 5.577 ft, and in inches it is 66.93 in.

Exactly 30.48 cm. A foot is 12 inches, and each inch is 2.54 cm, so 12 x 2.54 = 30.48.

It is 5 ft 10.9 in, which most people round to 5 ft 11 in. In decimal feet it is 5.906 ft.

Six feet is exactly 182.88 cm. That is why 183 cm is often quoted as six feet.

Divide by 30 for a rough answer that runs 1.6 percent high. For a height, divide the centimeters by 2.54, or multiply by 0.4 and take off 1.6 percent, to get inches.

Because 0.5 ft is half of 12 inches, which is 6 in. So 5.5 ft is 5 ft 6 in, or 167.64 cm.

Round to the nearest inch unless a form says otherwise. 170 cm rounds up to 5 ft 7 in, while 172 cm (5 ft 7.7 in) rounds to 5 ft 8 in.

One meter is 3.28084 ft, or 3 ft 3.4 in. It equals 100 cm, or 39.37 in.

Yes. UK law defines the yard as 0.9144 m, the foot as 1/3 yard and the inch as 1/36 yard. That gives the same 2.54 cm inch used in the US.

Most charts round to the whole inch, and some round down. A height of 175 cm is 5 ft 8.9 in, so one chart may show 5 ft 9 in and another 5 ft 8 in.

• Exact factor: inch to centimeter, 2.54 (NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8).
• US customary length table: 12 inches = 1 foot (NIST Handbook 44, 2026, Appendix C).
• Metric length units: 10 mm = 1 cm, 100 cm = 1 m (NIST Office of Weights and Measures, SI Units - Length).
• UK definitions: yard = 0.9144 m, foot = 1/3 yard, inch = 1/36 yard (Weights and Measures Act 1985, Schedule 1, legislation.gov.uk).