CM to M converter, centimeters to meters.

To convert cm to m, divide the centimeters by 100. So 175 cm is 1.75 m, 50 cm is 0.5 m and 7 cm is 0.07 m. A meter holds 100 centimeters, so the answer is always the smaller number. The converter also shows the length in millimeters, inches, feet, and feet and inches, so a height such as 175 cm reads as 5 ft 8.9 in as well.

How to use the converter

1. Type a length in the Centimeters (cm) box. The Meters (m) box and the big result follow as you type.
2. Look at the cards under the result for the same length in other units. Choose Decimals in the side column to fix the number of places.
3. Click a row in Common values to load it. Use Copy result, Copy link, Copy table or Print chart to keep the answer, the ⇄ button to go the other way and Start again to reset.

Where the factor comes from

The NIST list of metric (SI) prefixes gives kilo as a thousand, centi as a hundredth and milli as a thousandth (checked 24 Oct 2026). A centimeter is therefore 0.01 m exactly, and nothing is rounded in the sum.

Heights in centimeters and meters

A person's height is often given in centimeters and a room or a car in meters. The table shows heights as meters. Say the number the way people say it: 1.75 m is "one meter seventy-five", and it is the same as 175 cm.

Length is not area

Dividing by 100 works for lengths only. For an area in square centimeters, divide by 100 twice, which is 10,000. A rug 250 cm by 180 cm has an area of 45,000 cm². In meters it is 2.5 m by 1.8 m, and 2.5 × 1.8 = 4.5 m², which is 45,000 ÷ 10,000. Dividing 45,000 by 100 instead would give 450 m², which is 100 times too big. Volumes divide by 1,000,000. Keep that in mind when you copy a number from a drawing.

Worked examples

• A door 203 cm high. 2.03 m, which is 6 ft 7.9 in.
• A table 87 cm high. 0.87 m.
• A room 1,250 cm long. 12.5 m.
• Adding two lengths. 45 cm plus 1.2 m: convert first. 45 cm is 0.45 m, so the total is 1.65 m, or 165 cm.

Where you meet it

Height charts, clothing sizes and furniture listings often quote lengths in centimeters, while rooms and trips use meters. A wardrobe listed at 215 cm high needs 2.15 m of ceiling, and a bed listed at 190 cm by 90 cm is 1.9 m by 0.9 m. Keep the same unit when you compare two items, or the numbers will mislead.

Write the sum as a unit chain

A unit chain shows why the sum works. Write the length, then a fraction that equals 1 with the unit you want on top: 175 cm × 0.01 m / 1 cm = 1.75 m. The cm on the left cancels the cm under the line, and only m is left. You can also go through a third unit, millimeters, in two steps: 175 cm × 10 mm / 1 cm × 0.001 m / 1 mm = 1,750 mm × 0.001 m / 1 mm = 1.75 m. Both routes give the same answer, which is a handy check when a factor looks odd. If the wrong unit is left over, the fraction is upside down.

Mixed units in one measurement

Lengths are often given in two or three units, such as 2 m 45 cm. Convert each part to meters, then add. 2 m stays 2 m; 45 cm = 0.45 m. The total is 2.45 m. Rounded parts can drift in the last digit, so when the parts are not exact, convert the whole once instead. In centimeters the same length is 245 cm.

The metric ladder

Read along a row: the row is one of that unit, and each column says how many of the column unit it holds. Exact values are shown in full. Long ones are rounded to five decimals.

Check by converting back

Type the number 175 in the Centimeters box and note the answer, 1.75 m. Now press the ⇄ button, so the answer becomes the input. It should return 175 cm. If it does not, one of the boxes was read wrongly. This takes two seconds and catches a slipped decimal point.

Mistakes to avoid

Moving the decimal one place gives decimeters, three places gives millimeters. Check the size of the answer: 175 cm should be a bit under 2 m, not 17.5 m or 0.175 m. Also watch mixed units on one drawing, for example 2,400 mm and 240 cm side by side. For centimeters to feet, see the CM to feet converter.