CM to feet converter, centimeters to feet and inches.

To convert cm to feet, divide the centimeters by 30.48. So 170 cm is 5.57743 ft, 180 cm is 5.90551 ft and 100 cm is 3.28084 ft. For a height you usually want feet and inches: 170 cm is 5 ft 6.9 in. This converter shows both, so you can copy whichever form you need.

How to use the converter

1. Type a height in the Centimeters (cm) box, for example 170.
2. The big result shows decimal feet. The Feet and inches card gives the form people say aloud.
3. The other cards give the same height in inches and in meters.
4. Click a height in Common values to load it. Or type feet in the second box to get centimeters.
5. Use Copy result, Copy link or Print chart to keep it.

The definition

NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C says that 1 inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters and that 12 inches are 1 foot, which makes 1 foot exactly 30.48 cm. Page checked 18 Oct 2026. Dividing by 30.48 is exact arithmetic, but the answer often repeats: 170 cm is 5.57742782 ft to eight places. The converter works on exact fractions and rounds only the last digit shown.

A quick way in your head, and how far off it is

Divide by 30, then take off a sixtieth of the answer. For 180 cm: 180 ÷ 30 = 6, a sixtieth of 6 is 0.1, and 6 − 0.1 = 5.9 ft. The exact answer is 5.90551 ft, so the rule is 0.0055 ft low, which is 0.09 percent. Without the last step the rule runs 1.6 percent high: 200 cm would be 6.67 ft against the true 6.56 ft. Two heights to remember: 152 cm is just under 5 ft (4.987 ft) and 183 cm is just over 6 ft (6.004 ft).

Worked examples

• 170 cm. 170 ÷ 30.48 = 5.5774 ft. In inches that is 66.93, so 5 ft 6.9 in.
• 160 cm. 160 ÷ 2.54 = 62.99 in, which is 5 ft 3 in.
• 185 cm. 6.0696 ft, or 6 ft 0.8 in.
• A 120 cm child. 3.937 ft, or 3 ft 11.2 in.
• A 90 cm desk depth. 2.953 ft, or 2 ft 11.4 in.

A mistake to avoid: decimal feet against feet and inches

5.58 ft is not 5 ft 5.8 in, and it is not 5 ft 6 in either. The part after the point is a part of a foot, so 0.58 ft is 7 inches and the height is 5 ft 6.9 in. Use the card that says Feet and inches when you talk to a person and the decimal when you type into software. The other trap is rounding too early. Round 170 cm to 5.6 ft first and then to inches and you get 5 ft 7.2 in, a different height. Convert once, from the centimeters.

Heights from 150 to 195 cm

The table gives each height in decimal feet and in feet and inches, rounded to a tenth of an inch.

Five centimeters is a bit under two inches: 5 cm is 1.97 in. So each 5 cm step in the table adds about two inches. Few heights land on a whole inch, so the card shows one decimal.

What the tenth of an inch means

The Feet and inches card rounds to one tenth of an inch, which is 2.54 mm. That is finer than any height form needs. A tenth of an inch is not a fraction on a tape measure, so for a tape reading use the CM to inches converter, which gives the nearest 1/16 or 1/32 inch. For a height, 170 cm is 66.929 inches, close to 66 15/16 inches, so people round it to 67 and say 5 ft 7 in.

Which number to give on a form

Copy the unit the form asks for. A form with two boxes wants feet and inches, so use 5 and 7. Some forms want centimeters and some want inches. A form with one number box may want the total inches: 170 cm is 67 in. If a field asks for a decimal, give it the decimal feet and not the feet and inches written with a point.

Who uses cm to feet

Travellers filling in a form in the US. Dating profile and sports bios. Shoppers reading a size chart. Parents tracking a child's growth. Builders who read a plan in centimeters but order in feet. For longer lengths see Meters to feet, for inches only see the CM to inches converter, and for the opposite direction use Feet to cm.