Inches to CM formula
1 inch = 2.54 centimetres, and 1 centimetre = 0.3937007874 inches. Exactly 2.54 cm, fixed by the 1959 international yard and pound agreement.
Inches to CM chart
| Inches (in) | Centimetres (cm) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2.54 |
| 2 | 5.08 |
| 3 | 7.62 |
| 4 | 10.16 |
| 5 | 12.7 |
| 6 | 15.24 |
| 7 | 17.78 |
| 8 | 20.32 |
| 9 | 22.86 |
| 10 | 25.4 |
| 11 | 27.94 |
| 12 | 30.48 |
| 14 | 35.56 |
| 16 | 40.64 |
| 18 | 45.72 |
| 20 | 50.8 |
| 24 | 60.96 |
| 28 | 71.12 |
| 30 | 76.2 |
| 32 | 81.28 |
| 36 | 91.44 |
| 40 | 101.6 |
| 48 | 121.92 |
| 55 | 139.7 |
| 60 | 152.4 |
| 65 | 165.1 |
| 72 | 182.88 |
Values are rounded to 4 decimal places. The converter above shows more precision.
Worked examples
Jeans with a 32-inch waist
32 in × 2.54 = 81.28 cm
32 inches = 81.28 centimetres. Measure round your waist with a tape: if it reads about 81 cm, a W32 should fit. Brands cut differently, so treat this as a starting point.
A 65-inch TV
65 in × 2.54 = 165.1 cm
65 inches = 165.1 centimetres. That is the diagonal of the screen. To check your wall or cabinet, you also need the width, which the maker lists separately and is always smaller.
Converting inches to centimetres in real life
Inches are still printed on a lot of things sold worldwide: TV and monitor diagonals, phone screens, jeans waist and leg sizes, pizza diameters, wheel and tyre sizes, and the paper sizes used in the US. Anyone following an American DIY video or a furniture listing from a US shop will need centimetres to check whether something fits.
Because the factor is exact, the only judgement call is rounding. For a shelf or a frame, one decimal place of a centimetre (a millimetre) is plenty. For screens, remember the size is the diagonal, not the width: a 65-inch TV is 165.1 cm corner to corner but only about 144 cm wide. For very small parts, the inches to mm page is easier to read.