What Is a Height Converter?
A height converter translates a person's height between the metric system (centimeters and meters) and the imperial system (feet and inches). Height is one of the few measurements where the imperial system remains common in everyday use, particularly in the United States, while most of the world reports height in centimeters. The conversion relies on the exact definition that 1 inch equals 2.54 centimeters, from which all other relationships follow.
One foot is 12 inches, so 1 foot equals 30.48 centimeters. To convert centimeters to feet and inches, divide by 2.54 to get total inches, then divide by 12 to get feet with the remainder as inches. For a dedicated height calculator with additional features, see our Height Calculator.
What This Calculator Does
This height converter offers two modes. In centimeters to feet and inches mode, enter a height in centimeters and get the equivalent in feet and inches with fractional inch precision. In feet and inches to centimeters mode, enter feet and inches separately and get the total in centimeters. Both modes show a full breakdown including meters, total inches, and millimeters.
- Inputs: Height in centimeters, or feet and inches, with a mode toggle
- Outputs: Converted height, meters, total inches, and millimeters
How the Conversion Works
To convert centimeters to feet and inches, the calculator divides the centimeter value by 2.54 to get total inches, then uses integer division by 12 to find whole feet, with the remainder as inches. For example, 175 centimeters divided by 2.54 equals 68.9 inches. Dividing by 12 gives 5 feet with a remainder of 8.9 inches. For converting other unit types, try our Unit Converter.
Key Conversion Factors
- 1 inch = 2.54 cm (exact, by international definition)
- 1 foot = 12 inches = 30.48 cm (exact)
- 1 meter = 100 cm = 39.3701 inches
- 1 meter = 3.28084 feet
How to Use the Calculator
- Choose the conversion mode using the toggle buttons
- Enter your height in centimeters, or in feet and inches
- Read the converted result and the full breakdown
- Use the copy button to save the result
Real World Scenarios
A doctor in the United States records a patient's height as 5 feet 9 inches. For an international medical record, this needs to be in centimeters: 5 times 12 plus 9 equals 69 inches, times 2.54 gives 175.26 centimeters. A person buying clothes from a US store sees the model is 178 cm tall and wants to know that in feet: 178 divided by 2.54 is 70.1 inches, which is 5 feet 10.1 inches. For shoe size conversions, see our Shoe Size Conversion tool.