Distance & Length Converter
Convert between miles, kilometers, meters, feet, yards, inches, and centimeters.
Miles to Kilometers
Common Conversions
| Conversion | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Miles to Kilometers | km = mi × 1.60934 | 5 miles = 8.05 km |
| Miles to Feet | ft = mi × 5280 | 2 miles = 10,560 ft |
| Meters to Feet | ft = m × 3.28084 | 10 m = 32.81 ft |
| Feet to Inches | in = ft × 12 | 3 ft = 36 in |
| Inches to Centimeters | cm = in × 2.54 | 12 in = 30.48 cm |
Mental Math Shortcuts
For quick field estimates:
- Miles to km: Multiply by 1.6 (30 mi ≈ 48 km)
- Feet to meters: Divide by 3.3 (10 ft ≈ 3 m)
- Inches to cm: Multiply by 2.5 (4 in ≈ 10 cm)
About These Units
Imperial measurements (miles, yards, feet, inches) originated in England and are still used primarily in the US. A mile equals 5,280 feet – the distance comes from the Roman “mille passus” or thousand paces, though the modern definition is standardized at exactly 1,609.34 meters.
Metric measurements (kilometers, meters, centimeters) were developed in France in the 1790s and have become the international standard. The meter was originally defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the Equator through Paris. Today it’s defined more precisely using the speed of light, but for practical purposes, a meter is about 3.28 feet.
Most of the world uses metric for everything. The US uses imperial for daily life but metric for science. The UK mixes both – miles for road distances, but meters for most other measurements.