Conversion Form

CM
REM

About the Unit

Centimeter (cm): The centimeter (cm) is a metric physical unit, equivalent to 1/100 of a meter. In CSS, the cm unit is primarily used for print design, as it allows specifying exact physical dimensions for layouts that will be printed or exported to physical formats, like PDF. Using cm ensures that the layout elements will have the exact desired size when printed, regardless of screen resolution or device size. 1cm is approximately equal to 37.795px on a 96 DPI screen, making it useful when precise print measurements are needed, but less practical for digital web design, where relative units like px or em are more flexible.

Pro Tip: cmrem

Use cm for physical print layouts and rem for scalable typography.

Quick Reference: Unit Conversion by Tens

CMREM
10cm3.937008rem
20cm7.874016rem
30cm11.811024rem
40cm15.748031rem
50cm19.685039rem
60cm23.622047rem
70cm27.559055rem
80cm31.496063rem
90cm35.433071rem
100cm39.370079rem
110cm43.307087rem
120cm47.244094rem
130cm51.181102rem
140cm55.11811rem
150cm59.055118rem
160cm62.992126rem
170cm66.929134rem
180cm70.866142rem
190cm74.80315rem
200cm78.740157rem
210cm82.677165rem
220cm86.614173rem
230cm90.551181rem
240cm94.488189rem
250cm98.425197rem

Live Unit Preview

See how different CSS units affect the size of the box below:

10px

10rem

10em

10%

10vw

10vh

Common Mistake

Be cautious when mixing cm and rem without testing on different screen sizes.

Real Code Example

/* Mobile-first card with cm → rem */
.card {
  padding: 0cm;     /* undefinedrem */
  font-size: 1.5rem;
  width: min(90vw, 40ch);
}

Frequently Asked Questions About CM

When should I use cm instead of cm?

Use cm for print layouts or physical dimensions.

How many cm is 1cm?

1cm = 37.8px approximately.

Is cm affected by screen size?

No, it's a fixed physical measurement.

Is cm good for web design?

Not typically, better for print styles.

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Ctrl + C: Convert
  • Ctrl + I: Invert units
  • Esc: Reset values

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