Length Converter

Created by Gabriela Diaz
Last updated: Jul 08, 2022

With the length converter, you'll be able to quickly obtain the equivalence of any length measurement in different units. As simple as entering the value in the known unit, and the calculator will display it in meters, kilometers, inches, yards, and even lightyears.

Not sure how many feet are in a yard? Kilometers in a mile? or how to convert from feet to inches? Then you might find the accompanying text of this calculator of great help. Keep reading to also learn:

  • How to convert length in the metric system;
  • How to convert lengths in the US measurement system; and
  • Length conversion tables.

Converting length measurements — Length conversion

Lenght can be used as a measure of distance, the displacement between two points, or the dimensions of an object.

Depending on where we live, using one or other measuring system is more or less common. When you're used to measuring lengths in terms of miles or yards, hearing someone mention the grocery store is about one kilometer away might be a bit confusing. To better understand how many kilometers are in a mile and reduce confusion when referencing this or that unit, length conversion comes in handy.

To go from one unit to another, you might use a converter or calculator like this one, or you could make the conversion yourself. For this last one, you need to know the equivalency or conversion factor between the units. Let's look at some typical cases of length unit conversion:

Converting between same measurement system — Metric

Converting lengths within the metric system is quite simple since there are all multiples of 10. In the table below, we show the equivalence of 1 meter in different metric units:

mm

cm

dm

m

km

1000

100

10

1

0.001

This means that if we'd like to convert 1.65 m to cm, all we have to do is multiply by 100:
1.65 m * 100 cm / m = 165 cm
Or to express it kilometers, we multiply by 0.001:
1.65 m * 0.001 km / m = 0.00165 km

Converting between same measurement system — Imperial

Same as with the metric system, when converting between imperial units all you have to do is either multiply or divide by the respective conversion factor. Below you can find the conversion for 1 yard to other imperial length units:

in

ft

yd

mi

36

3

1

0.0005682

So, for example, to express 880 yards into miles:
880 yd * 0.0005682 mi / yd = 0.5 mi
Or in terms of feet:
880 yd * 3 ft / yd = 2640 ft

Converting between measurement systems

Here are some commonly used conversion between units from imperial and metrical systems:

  1. meters to feet / feet to meters
    To go from meters to feet:
    • 1 meter ≈ 3.281 feet, which is 3 feet 3⅜ inches
    • 1 foot = 0.3048 meter
  2. centimeters to inches / inches to centimeters
    In order to convert between centimeters and inches, use:
    • 1 centimeter ≈ 0.3937 inches
    • 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
  3. miles to kilometers / kilometers to miles
    The equivalence for kilometers and miles is given by:
    • 1 mile = 1.6093 kilometers
    • 1 kilometer ≈ 0.6214 miles
  4. yards to meters / meters to yards
    To convert meters to yards and vice-versa:
    • 1 yard = 0.9144 meters
    • 1 meter = 1.0936 yards

Length conversion table

In the tables below, we've included some of the most often used length units.

From metric to metric and imperial

This first table provides conversions from the metric system to other units within the same system as well as from the metric to the imperial system:

1 millimeter [mm]

1 centimeter [cm]

1 meter [m]

1 kilometer [km]

millimeter [mm]

1

10

1000

1000000

centimeters [cm]

0.1

1

100

100000

meters [m]

0.001

0.01

1

1000

kilometers [km]

0.000001

0.001

0.001

1

inches [in]

0.03937

0.3937

39.37

39370

feet [ft]

0.003281

0.03281

3.281

3281

yards [yd]

0.0010936

0.010936

1.0936

1093.6

miles [mi]

0.0000006214

0.000006214

0.0006214

0.6214

From imperial to metric and imperial

Similarly, the equivalences for converting imperial units, or lengths in the US measurement system, to other length units from both systems are shown in the following length conversion table:

1 inch [in]

1 foot [ft]

1 yard [yd]

1 mile [mi]

millimeter [mm]

25.4

304.8

914.4

1609344

centimeters [cm]

2.54

30.48

91.44

160934

meters [m]

0.0254

0.3048

91.44

1609.3

kilometers [km]

0.0000254

0.0003048

0.0009144

1.6093

inches [in]

1

12

36

63360

feet [ft]

0.08333

1

3

5280

yards [yd]

0.02778

0.33333

1

1760

miles [mi]

0.000015783

0.0001894

0.0005682

1

If we'd like to know how many feet are in a yard, go to the 1 yard column and read the value in the corresponding feet row. This is 1 yd = 3 ft.

See that if we want go from inches to feet, what we need to do is simply dive the value in inches by 12, e.g.:
48 in = 48 in * (1 ft / 12 in) = 4 ft

How to use the length converter calculator

Using the length converter calculator is quite straightforward. All you have to do is simply input the length measurement in the appropriate unit field, whether it's in the metric system, imperial system, or any other not-so-common unit. Instantly, the calculator will display the equivalent value in a variety of other length units.

Can't see the length unit you're looking for in any of the calculator's input fields? To show a full list of units, click on any unit to display a dropdown menu and select the unit you want.

If you found the length converter useful, you might be interested in any of our other converters, such as the area converter 🟩 or the weight converter

Gabriela Diaz
Metric
mm
cm
m
km
Imperial/US
in
ft
yd
mi
Others
nmi
R☉
ly
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