What is the difference between the metric and imperial systems?

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Which length unit should I use for my project?

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Length Converter

Convert between different units of length including meters, feet, inches, centimeters, kilometers, miles, and more with our free length unit converter.

Calculate Your Length Converter

Value

From

Result

Formula: Value × 1 ÷ 0.3048

1 Meters = 3.280840 Feet

What is Length Conversion?

Length conversion is the process of changing a measurement from one unit of length to another. Different fields and regions use different units of measurement, making conversion necessary for consistent understanding across contexts.

Common Length Units

Metric System

Kilometer (km): 1,000 meters - used for measuring long distances like travel between cities
Meter (m): The base unit of length in the metric system - used for height of people, room dimensions
Centimeter (cm): 1/100 of a meter - used for small measurements like paper size
Millimeter (mm): 1/1,000 of a meter - used for precision measurements in engineering

Imperial/US System

Mile (mi): 5,280 feet - used for long distances in countries like the US and UK
Yard (yd): 3 feet or 36 inches - common in fabric measurements and American football
Foot (ft): 12 inches - used in architecture and height measurements in the US
Inch (in): 1/12 of a foot - used for small dimensions like screen sizes

How to Use the Length Converter

Enter the value you want to convert in the "Value" field
Select the unit you're converting from in the "From" dropdown
Select the unit you want to convert to in the "To" dropdown
The result will automatically display in the "Result" field
Use the swap button to quickly reverse the conversion direction

Common Conversion Factors

From	To	Multiply By
Inches	Centimeters	2.54
Feet	Meters	0.3048
Yards	Meters	0.9144
Miles	Kilometers	1.60934
Meters	Feet	3.28084

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Frequently Asked Questions

The metric system (used in most countries) is based on powers of 10, making conversions simple by moving decimal points. The base unit is the meter, with prefixes like kilo- (×1000) and centi- (×0.01) creating related units.

The imperial/US system (used primarily in the US) has less consistent conversion factors: 12 inches = 1 foot, 3 feet = 1 yard, 1760 yards = 1 mile. This makes calculations more complex but is still commonly used in everyday measurements in the United States.

Conversion between metric and imperial units is based on defined ratios that are often approximations. For example, 1 inch is defined as exactly 2.54 centimeters. These conversion factors have evolved over time, and different sources might use slightly different values for specialized applications. Our calculator uses the internationally accepted standard conversion factors.

The appropriate unit depends on your application and audience:

Construction/Architecture: Use feet and inches in the US, meters elsewhere
Science/Engineering: Metric units (mm, cm, m, km) are standard globally
Navigation/Travel: Miles in the US/UK, kilometers elsewhere
Small-scale precision work: Millimeters or inches, depending on industry standards

When working internationally, consider providing measurements in both systems or using the system preferred by your audience.

Our length converter uses standard conversion factors and performs calculations with high precision. However, results are displayed with a limited number of decimal places for readability. For most practical applications, the displayed precision is more than sufficient. For scientific or highly precise engineering applications, you may need to consider additional factors like temperature effects on measurement materials.

No, this converter focuses on the most commonly used units for everyday length measurements. Nautical miles (used in marine navigation and aviation) are specialized units that represent one minute of latitude (approximately 1.852 kilometers or 1.15078 miles). If you need to convert nautical distances, you can multiply nautical miles by 1.852 to get kilometers or by 1.15078 to get standard miles.

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