Height Converter

Every height on HeightViz is stored in centimetres and converted from there. The inch is defined as exactly 2.54 cm, a foot is 12 inches and a metre is 100 cm, so the maths is a chain of exact multiplications. Rounding happens only when a value is displayed: inches to one decimal place, metres to two, centimetres to one.

That order matters. Converting 180 cm to a rounded 5'11" and then back again gives 180.3 cm, not 180. The converter keeps the exact value between steps so a height survives a round trip unchanged.

Divide the centimetres by 2.54 to get total inches, then divide by 12. The whole number is the feet and the remainder is the inches. For 180 cm: 180 ÷ 2.54 = 70.87 in, and 70.87 ÷ 12 = 5 remainder 10.9, so 180 cm is 5'10.9".

The remainder is the part people get wrong. 5.9 feet is not 5 feet 9 inches: 0.9 of a foot is 10.8 inches. The converter also shows decimal feet separately so the two readings are never confused.

Multiply the feet by 12, add the inches, and multiply the total by 2.54. For 5 ft 11 in: 5 × 12 + 11 = 71 in, and 71 × 2.54 = 180.34 cm. Type the feet and inches in their own boxes; a value of 12 or more inches is rejected because it belongs in the feet box.

Heights written as 5'11" or 5 ft 11 in mean the same thing. Decimal inches are accepted, so 5 ft 10.5 in converts to 179.07 cm.

Metres are centimetres divided by 100, so 1.75 m and 175 cm are the same height written two ways; the converter shows metres to two decimals because a centimetre is the precision heights are given in. Plain inches are common on medical forms and in some countries' records: 69 inches is 175.26 cm and 5'9".

To see two heights in different units side by side, use the height difference calculator or add both people to the height comparison board, where every label shows both units.

The table lists every 5 cm from 140 to 210 cm and every whole inch from 4'7" to 6'11", each converted exactly and rounded for display.