Centimeters to Inches Converter
Enter a measurement in centimeters and the converter shows it in inches straight away. Since one inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters, the answer is your figure divided by 2.54, rounded to four decimals.
Related converters
Created by the Reeliy Editorial Team. Last updated: Oct 19, 2026
How many centimeters are in an inch?
One inch is 2.54 centimeters, and this value is exact by definition. The international yard and pound agreement of 1959 fixed the inch at 25.4 millimeters, which removed the small differences that used to exist between national inches.
inches = centimeters ÷ 2.54The same as multiplying by 0.393700787 (rounded).
Because an inch is longer than a centimeter, a length always has fewer inches than centimeters. If your answer is bigger than your input, the division went the wrong way.
How to convert cm to inches
- Enter the length in centimeters in the first box.
- The inches box fills in as you type.
- Use the decimal result, or turn it into a fraction with the tip further down.
Example 1. A4 paper measures 21.0 cm by 29.7 cm. Dividing each side by 2.54 gives about 8.2677 in by 11.6929 in.
Example 2. A waist measurement of 84 cm is 84 ÷ 2.54 = 33.0709 in.
Example 3. A phone screen 15.5 cm tall is 15.5 ÷ 2.54 = 6.1024 in.
Turning decimal inches into fractions
Tape measures and woodworking plans mark inches in halves, quarters, eighths and sixteenths. To read a decimal result on such a tape, multiply the part after the decimal point by 16 and round to the nearest whole number of sixteenths.
For the 84 cm waist, 33.0709 in has a fractional part of 0.0709. Then 0.0709 × 16 = 1.13, so the nearest mark is 1/16 and the measurement reads about 33 1/16 in.
Example: photo print sizes
Print shops quote sizes in centimeters in most countries and in inches in the United States, so the same frame can carry both labels. Note that the familiar 4 × 6 in print (10.16 × 15.24 cm) is slightly larger than a 10 × 15 cm print.
| Print size (cm) | Width (in) | Height (in) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 × 15 | 3.937 | 5.9055 |
| 13 × 18 | 5.1181 | 7.0866 |
| 20 × 30 | 7.874 | 11.811 |
Centimeters to inches conversion table
| Centimeters (cm) | Inches (in) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.3937 |
| 2 | 0.7874 |
| 2.54 | 1 |
| 5 | 1.9685 |
| 10 | 3.937 |
| 15 | 5.9055 |
| 20 | 7.874 |
| 25 | 9.8425 |
| 30 | 11.811 |
| 50 | 19.685 |
| 60 | 23.622 |
| 100 | 39.3701 |
| 150 | 59.0551 |
| 170 | 66.9291 |
| 180 | 70.8661 |
| 200 | 78.7402 |
Good to know
- Rounding. Answers are rounded to four decimals and trailing zeros are dropped, so 10 cm appears as 3.937 rather than 3.9370.
- Areas. One square inch is 6.4516 square centimeters (2.54 × 2.54), so do not divide an area by 2.54.
- Bigger units. For feet use the centimeters to feet converter, and for the opposite direction the inches to centimeters converter.
- Yards and meters. The centimeters to yards converter and centimeters to meters converter cover the longer units.
Frequently asked questions
How many inches is 100 cm?
100 cm equals 100 ÷ 2.54 = 39.3701 inches.
What is the formula for cm to inches?
Divide the length in centimeters by 2.54. Multiplying by 0.3937 gives almost the same answer.
Is 2.54 an exact number?
Yes. Since 1959 an inch has been defined as exactly 2.54 cm (25.4 mm), so the conversion carries no rounding error of its own.
Why is the result in inches smaller than the centimeters I entered?
An inch is a longer unit than a centimeter, so you need fewer of them to cover the same distance.
References
Cite this converter and page
If you use this page in your work, you can cite it as:
Reeliy Editorial Team. (2026). Centimeters to Inches Converter. Reeliy. https://reeliy.com/converters/convert-cm-to-in-centimeters-to-inches“Centimeters to Inches Converter.” Reeliy, 2026, https://reeliy.com/converters/convert-cm-to-in-centimeters-to-inches.