How many feet are in a meter?

1 meter equals 3.28084 feet. Conversely, 1 foot equals 0.3048 meters exactly.

How many inches in a centimeter?

1 centimeter equals 0.393701 inches. Conversely, 1 inch equals 2.54 centimeters exactly.

How many kilometers in a mile?

1 mile equals 1.60934 kilometers. Conversely, 1 kilometer equals 0.621371 miles.

What is the difference between metric and imperial length?

The metric system (meters, centimeters, kilometers) is based on powers of 10 and used by most countries. The imperial system (feet, inches, miles, yards) is used primarily in the US, UK, and a few other countries.

📏 Length Converter

Convert between meters, feet, inches, centimeters, kilometers, miles, yards, and millimeters. Results update instantly as you type.

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How to Convert Length Units

Length conversion works by first converting the input value to a base unit (meters), then converting from meters to the target unit. This two-step process ensures accuracy across all unit combinations.

Common Conversion Factors

From	To	Multiply by
Meters	Feet	3.28084
Feet	Meters	0.3048
Inches	Centimeters	2.54
Kilometers	Miles	0.621371
Miles	Kilometers	1.60934
Yards	Meters	0.9144
Meters	Yards	1.09361

The Metric System

The metric system is an internationally recognized decimal system of measurement. It was originally adopted in France in 1795 and has since been adopted by almost every country in the world. The base unit of length is the meter, defined as the distance light travels in 1/299,792,458 of a second.

1 kilometer (km) = 1,000 meters
1 meter (m) = 100 centimeters
1 centimeter (cm) = 10 millimeters
1 millimeter (mm) = 1,000 micrometers

The Imperial System

The imperial system is used primarily in the United States, United Kingdom, and a few other countries. It evolved from older English units of measurement.

1 mile = 5,280 feet = 1,760 yards
1 yard = 3 feet = 36 inches
1 foot = 12 inches
1 nautical mile = 1,852 meters (used in aviation and marine navigation)

When to Use Which Unit

Use Case	Metric	Imperial
Room dimensions	Meters	Feet
Body height	Centimeters	Feet & Inches
Road distances	Kilometers	Miles
Small objects	Millimeters	Inches
Engineering	Millimeters	Thousandths of an inch
Maritime/Aviation	Nautical Miles

Frequently Asked Questions

1 meter equals exactly 3.28084 feet. This is the standard conversion factor used internationally. To convert meters to feet, multiply the number of meters by 3.28084. For example, 5 meters = 16.4042 feet.

1 centimeter equals 0.393701 inches. Conversely, 1 inch equals exactly 2.54 centimeters. This is an exact definition — the inch was officially redefined in terms of centimeters in 1959.

Multiply the number of kilometers by 0.621371 to get miles. For example, 100 km = 62.14 miles. A quick mental approximation: multiply by 0.6 for a rough estimate. For miles to km, multiply by 1.60934.

A nautical mile is exactly 1,852 meters (about 1.151 land miles). It's used in air and sea navigation because it corresponds to one minute of latitude on Earth's surface, making it practical for navigation with charts and coordinates.

The United States, Liberia, and Myanmar are the only countries that haven't officially adopted the metric system. The US uses a customary system based on old English units. The UK uses a mix — road signs show miles, but most other measurements use metric.

This converter uses official NIST conversion factors and provides results accurate to at least 6 significant digits. All calculations happen in your browser using double-precision floating-point arithmetic (IEEE 754).