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mm to Inches Converter

1 inch equals exactly 25.4 mm, so 100 mm is about 3.94 inches. This converter switches between millimeters, centimeters, meters, and inches in either direction. Enter a value and pick the units to size a bolt, read a drawing, or convert a metric spec to imperial.

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Quick answer

1 inch is defined as exactly 25.4 millimeters.

Result

3.937008 in

What this tells you

  • 1 inch is defined as exactly 25.4 millimeters.
  • To convert mm to inches, divide by 25.4.
  • To convert inches to mm, multiply by 25.4.
  • Switch the from and to units to convert in either direction.

How to Use

  1. 1Enter the measurement you want to convert.
  2. 2Choose the unit you are converting from.
  3. 3Choose the unit you are converting to.
  4. 4Read the converted measurement below.

How It Works

Formula

inches = mm / 25.4

The inch has been defined as exactly 25.4 mm since 1959, so the conversion is exact rather than approximate. Divide millimeters by 25.4 to get inches, or multiply inches by 25.4 to get millimeters. Centimeters are 10 mm and meters are 1000 mm, so they convert through the same base.

Calculation note: values are processed in the order shown above, using the current input units.

Worked Examples

Convert 100 mm to inches

Value100
Frommm
Toin
Result3.937008 in

Divide 100 by 25.4 to get about 3.94 inches.

Convert 2.5 inches to mm

Value2.5
Fromin
Tomm
Result63.5 mm

Multiply 2.5 by 25.4 to get 63.5 mm.

Common mm to Inches Conversions

Frequent sizes, rounded to 4 decimal places.

MillimetersInchesClose fraction
1 mm0.0394 in3/64 in
5 mm0.1969 in13/64 in
10 mm0.3937 in25/64 in
20 mm0.7874 in25/32 in
25.4 mm1 in1 in
50 mm1.9685 in1 31/32 in
100 mm3.937 in3 15/16 in

Fractions are the nearest 64th of an inch, which is how tape measures and drill bits are usually marked.

Common mistakes

  • Dividing by 25 instead of 25.4. The rounding error grows fast on larger measurements.
  • Mixing up mm and cm. 10 mm is 1 cm, so a 100 mm part is 10 cm, not 100 cm.
  • Rounding too early when chaining conversions. Convert first, then round the final answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

There are exactly 25.4 millimeters in 1 inch.
Divide the millimeter value by 25.4. For example, 100 mm divided by 25.4 is about 3.94 inches.
Multiply the inch value by 25.4. For example, 2.5 inches times 25.4 is 63.5 mm.
Yes. The international yard and pound agreement of 1959 defined the inch as exactly 25.4 mm, so the conversion has no rounding built in.
10 mm is about 0.394 inches, which is just under 25/64 of an inch.
It estimates mm to inches converter outputs using the visible inputs and formula assumptions on this page.

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