Convert feet to centimetres

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Type a number of feet and read the result in centimetres. The field also takes a height written as feet with inches, so 6 ft goes in as easily as 5'10". Six feet comes to 182.88 cm. Below you will find a height table with a row for every inch and the dimensions the world still quotes in feet.

ft

You can also type a height as 5'10".

cm
to

What is a foot and what is a centimetre?

A foot divides into twelve inches, a split the feet to inches converter works through, and that division is what shapes the way heights are written in English-speaking countries. Somebody who stands 5 feet 10 inches gives the whole feet and adds the remainder in inches. The foot itself has measured exactly 0.3048 metres since 1959[1].

A centimetre is one hundredth of a metre, and the metre takes its value from the speed of light: it is the distance light travels in vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second[2]. Both units have exact definitions, so the multiplier 30.48 follows directly from them.

The foot has one value worldwide; only the notation varies, from 5'10" through 5 ft 10 in to 5-10[3]. This converter takes the first of those, so you copy a height in exactly the form you have it.

A measuring tape stamped 25 FEET with an inch scale below the wording
The 25 FEET stamp gives the length of the tape in feet, and the scale underneath counts inches. Twenty-five feet come to 762 cm. Photo: Stilfehler, public domain.

How many centimetres are in one foot?

One foot is exactly 30.48 centimetres. To turn feet into centimetres you multiply the value by 30.48. Inches count separately: one inch is exactly 2.54 centimetres.

Three whole feet give round figures. Five feet is 152.4 cm. Six feet is 182.88 cm. Seven feet is 213.36 cm. Each of them lands on a round value because the multiplier itself is exact.

A rough figure helps in conversation: three feet is almost a metre, at 91.44 cm exactly. Ten feet comes to a little over three metres. For room dimensions that estimate does the job, and the field above supplies the precise number.

How do you convert 5 feet 10 inches to centimetres?

The calculation takes three steps. You multiply the feet by 30.48. You multiply the inches by 2.54. You add the two results and you have the value in centimetres.

Take a height of 5 feet 10 inches. Five feet gives 152.4 cm. Ten inches adds 25.4 cm. The sum is 177.8 cm, and that is exactly what the result field shows when you type 5'10" into the field above.

If you would rather use one multiplier than two, convert everything to inches first. Five feet is sixty inches, so with ten inches on top you have seventy. Seventy times 2.54 gives the same 177.8 cm. That calculation belongs to the inches to centimetres converter.

The reverse direction starts with division by 30.48 and belongs to the centimetres to feet converter, which prints the finished feet and inches notation under its result field. For longer distances reach for the feet to metres converter.

How many centimetres is a given number of feet?

The first column gives the result in centimetres and the second gives the same value in metres, so larger dimensions can be compared with a floor plan straight away.
FeetCentimetresMetres
0.5 ft15.24 cm0.1524 m
1 ft30.48 cm0.3048 m
2 ft60.96 cm0.6096 m
3 ft91.44 cm0.9144 m
4 ft121.92 cm1.2192 m
5 ft152.4 cm1.524 m
5.5 ft167.64 cm1.6764 m
6 ft182.88 cm1.8288 m
6.5 ft198.12 cm1.9812 m
7 ft213.36 cm2.1336 m
8 ft243.84 cm2.4384 m
9 ft274.32 cm2.7432 m
10 ft304.8 cm3.048 m
12 ft365.76 cm3.6576 m
15 ft457.2 cm4.572 m
16 ft487.68 cm4.8768 m
20 ft609.6 cm6.096 m
25 ft762 cm7.62 m
30 ft914.4 cm9.144 m
40 ft1,219.2 cm12.192 m
50 ft1,524 cm15.24 m
60 ft1,828.8 cm18.288 m
70 ft2,133.6 cm21.336 m
80 ft2,438.4 cm24.384 m
90 ft2,743.2 cm27.432 m
100 ft3,048 cm30.48 m
150 ft4,572 cm45.72 m
200 ft6,096 cm60.96 m
250 ft7,620 cm76.2 m
300 ft9,144 cm91.44 m
500 ft15,240 cm152.4 m
1,000 ft30,480 cm304.8 m
Two rows turn up more than any others: five feet is 152.4 cm and six feet is 182.88 cm. The whole height range of the table below falls between those two values. The reverse conversion lives in the centimetres to feet converter.

How many centimetres is a height given in feet and inches?

The rows step by one inch, which is how heights are quoted in the United States and the United Kingdom. The highlighted rows are the whole feet.
HeightCentimetresMetres
4 ft 6 in137.16 cm1.3716 m
4 ft 7 in139.7 cm1.397 m
4 ft 8 in142.24 cm1.4224 m
4 ft 9 in144.78 cm1.4478 m
4 ft 10 in147.32 cm1.4732 m
4 ft 11 in149.86 cm1.4986 m
5 ft 0 in152.4 cm1.524 m
5 ft 1 in154.94 cm1.5494 m
5 ft 2 in157.48 cm1.5748 m
5 ft 3 in160.02 cm1.6002 m
5 ft 4 in162.56 cm1.6256 m
5 ft 5 in165.1 cm1.651 m
5 ft 6 in167.64 cm1.6764 m
5 ft 7 in170.18 cm1.7018 m
5 ft 8 in172.72 cm1.7272 m
5 ft 9 in175.26 cm1.7526 m
5 ft 10 in177.8 cm1.778 m
5 ft 11 in180.34 cm1.8034 m
6 ft 0 in182.88 cm1.8288 m
6 ft 1 in185.42 cm1.8542 m
6 ft 2 in187.96 cm1.8796 m
6 ft 3 in190.5 cm1.905 m
6 ft 4 in193.04 cm1.9304 m
6 ft 5 in195.58 cm1.9558 m
6 ft 6 in198.12 cm1.9812 m
6 ft 7 in200.66 cm2.0066 m
6 ft 8 in203.2 cm2.032 m
One inch of difference is 2.54 cm, so neighbouring rows sit under three centimetres apart. When you order clothes or sports gear from abroad that gap can be a whole size, which is why a height is copied to the nearest inch.
A basketball hoop and backboard bolted to the wooden wall of a house
The regulation rim height above the court is ten feet, or 304.8 cm; FIBA rounds it to 305 cm. Photo: cogdogblog, CC0.

What does the world still measure in feet?

Metric countries converted most dimensions, yet a number of them still carry a name written in feet. The second column converts that name exactly, while the rule books themselves publish a rounded metric figure.
DimensionIn feetIn centimetres
Basketball rim above the court10 ft304.8 cm
Height of a football goal8 ft243.84 cm
Width of a football goal (8 yards)24 ft731.52 cm
Length of a standard container20 ft609.6 cm
Length of the longer container40 ft1,219.2 cm
Width of a standard container8 ft243.84 cm
Height of a standard container8 ft 6 in259.08 cm
Organ stop designation8 ft243.84 cm
FIBA puts the top edge of the rim 3,050 mm above the floor, two millimetres more than ten feet[4]. The football laws give the goal as 7.32 m between the posts and 2.44 m to the crossbar, and state the width in yards[5]. Aviation never switched to metres and quotes whole cruising altitudes in feet. Flight level FL100 means ten thousand feet, or 3,048 metres. China, Mongolia and several members of the Commonwealth of Independent States give flight levels in metres instead, so a crew flying that way converts altitude in the middle of a trip[6].
A blue shipping container with weight and capacity markings on its doors
The 22G1 code on the doors marks a general-purpose container twenty feet long. Measured outside it comes to 605.8 cm, so the name rounds the length to whole feet[7]. Photo: Robert-brook, CC0.

How do you convert feet to centimetres in a spreadsheet or a CAD drawing?

For a single value the field above is quicker. For a whole column of dimensions, or for a drawing that arrived from abroad, you set the units once and the software converts from there.

  1. Excel: the CONVERT function

    The formula reads CONVERT(number, from_unit, to_unit). A foot carries the code "ft" and a centimetre the code "cm", so for a value in cell A1 you type =CONVERT(A1,"ft","cm"). The unit codes are case sensitive, and localised versions of Excel separate the arguments with a semicolon[8].

  2. Plain multiplication if you prefer no function

    The formula =A1*30.48 gives the same answer and works in every spreadsheet, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc included. When feet and inches sit in separate columns, use =A1*30.48+B1*2.54.

  3. AutoCAD: drawing units

    In AutoCAD 2027 the UNITS command opens the drawing units dialog. Set the Insertion scale list to centimetres and from that point a block saved in feet scales itself when you insert it into a metric drawing.

  4. Check the result on one cell first

    Before you drag the formula down the column, put 1 in cell A1 and check that the answer comes out as 30.48. A #VALUE! message in place of the result means Excel does not read the content of cell A1 as a number, for example when a unit has been typed next to the value. Leave just the number in the cell[9].

Convert other units to Centimeters

px to cmmm to cmdm to cmmeters to cminches to cmkm to cmyards to cm

Convert Feet to other units

feet to milesfeet to yardsfeet to metersfeet to inchesfeet to mmfeet to px

Sources

  1. SI Units – Length — National Institute of Standards and Technology
  2. SI base unit: metre (m) — Bureau International des Poids et Mesures
  3. Foot (unit) — Wikipedia
  4. Official Basketball Rules 2024 – Basketball Equipment — FIBA
  5. Laws of the Game – Law 1: The Field of Play — The IFAB
  6. Flight level — Wikipedia
  7. Intermodal container — Wikipedia
  8. CONVERT function — Microsoft
  9. How to correct a #VALUE! error — Microsoft

Every figure in the tables was computed from the unit definitions and checked arithmetically before publication. Historical values and the names of local units come from the sources listed above.

Content last reviewed: · written and checked by the Arteon team

Common questions about converting feet to centimetres

Is 30.48 cm per foot an exact value?

One foot is exactly 30.48 cm. That value has applied since 1959 and is exact to the hundredth of a centimetre.

How many centimetres is 6 feet?

Six feet is 182.88 cm, or 1.8288 metres. Five feet gives 152.4 cm.

How many centimetres is 5 feet 10 inches?

5 feet 10 inches is 177.8 cm. Five feet gives 152.4 cm and ten inches adds 25.4 cm.

How many centimetres is 5 feet 8 inches?

5 feet 8 inches is 172.72 cm, or 1.7272 metres.

How many centimetres is 5 feet 6 inches?

5 feet 6 inches is 167.64 cm. The same height is also written as 5.5 feet.

How many centimetres is 5 feet 7 inches?

5 feet 7 inches is 170.18 cm, which is under two millimetres above a round 170 cm.

How many centimetres is 5 feet 4 inches?

5 feet 4 inches is 162.56 cm, or 1.6256 metres.

How many centimetres is 3 feet?

Three feet is 91.44 cm. The same length is one yard, because a yard divides into exactly three feet. In millimetres that dimension comes from the feet to millimetres converter.

How do I type a height of 5'10" into this tool?

Copy it into the feet field in exactly that form. The converter reads the apostrophe as feet and the quotation mark as inches, and answers 177.8 cm. Typing 5' on its own works too.

What is the formula for feet to centimetres?

Centimetres = feet × 30.48. When you also have inches, add them separately: inches × 2.54.

Has a foot always been 30.48 cm?

No. The British foot stood at 30.4799 cm until 1959, the US survey foot at 30.48006 cm until the end of 2022, and before metrication local feet ranged from 27.28 cm in Utrecht to 35.72 cm around Bordeaux.

How many feet is a metre?

A metre is 3.28084 feet, which reads as 3 ft 3.4 in. The inches alone come from the metres to inches converter, and the full calculation in that direction belongs to the metres to feet converter.

Arteon free tool screenshot: Convert feet to centimetres

Help us improve the tools

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