Arch Convert vs RapidTables: Imperial to Metric Converters Compared
Pick Arch Convert if you write dimensions as 5' 3 1/2" and want feet, inches, millimetres and metres on screen together. Pick RapidTables if you convert across many domains, because it covers currency, time and colour and Arch Convert covers five measurement categories and nothing else. RapidTables is also ten years older with far more search authority. This page says where each one loses.
Best for: Architects, contractors, drawing-set work
Arch Convert vs RapidTables
| Dimension | Arch Convert | RapidTables |
|---|---|---|
| Feet + fractional inches in one field (5' 3 1/2") | Native | Feet and inches as separate decimal fields, no fraction notation |
| Math in the input (12 * 14) | Yes | No |
| Fraction input (3/8) | Yes | No |
| Length units visible at once | ft, in, mm, m together | One result at a time |
| Area units visible at once | sq ft, sq m, acres, hectares together | One pair per page |
| Conversion categories | 5 | 50+, including currency, time and colour |
| Years online | Under a year | Over a decade |
| Search authority | Negligible | Very high |
| Breadth of reference tables | 15 guide pages | Hundreds of pages |
| Ads | None | Ad-supported |
| Installable as an app | Yes | No |
| Cost and signup | Free, no signup | Free, no signup |
Same task, both tools
Task: convert a 24' 3 1/2" wall to millimetres.
Arch Convert. Type the dimension as written. Read 7404.1 mm. The same row shows 7.4041 m and 291.5 in, so if the next thing you need is the metre figure it is already there.
RapidTables. Convert 3 1/2 to 3.5 in your head. Enter 24 in the feet field and 3.5 in the inches field. Read 7404.1 mm. Correct answer, one manual step first, and the metre figure is a second conversion.
One wall, the difference is trivial. A schedule of forty openings is where the hand-decimalising step starts producing typos.
Which one to use
Use Arch Convert when the input is architectural notation, when you want several related units at once rather than one answer, or when you are working through a set and want the tool to stop being in the way. The cook mode is a genuine second use, not a gimmick: US, imperial and metric cups sit side by side and gas mark maps to Celsius.
Use RapidTables when the conversion is not a dimension. Currency, time, data, frequency, colour codes. It is a reference site with a decade of coverage, and for occasional one-off conversions of any kind it will usually be the first thing you find and the fastest way to an answer.
Honestly, use both. They are not competing for the same job. If you draft in feet and inches you will reach for Arch Convert daily and RapidTables monthly. See feet and inches to millimetres and architectural scale factors for the reference material behind the tool.
Frequently asked
- Is Arch Convert better than RapidTables for architects?
- For drawing-set work, yes, because it takes 5' 3 1/2" as written and shows feet, inches, millimetres and metres together. For anything outside measurement, no. RapidTables converts currency, time, frequency and colour, and Arch Convert does none of that.
- What is the best free imperial to metric converter that supports feet and fractional inches?
- Arch Convert takes fractional inch notation directly in the input, so 5' 3 1/2" is a valid entry rather than something you decimalise first. RapidTables offers a feet-plus-inches mode, but the inches field is decimal, so 3 1/2 has to become 3.5 before you type it.
- Can RapidTables handle 5' 3 1/2" input directly?
- Not as written. It has a feet-plus-inches unit, but both fields are decimal, so the fraction has to be converted by hand first. That is the step that introduces the error you were using a converter to avoid.
- Is there a RapidTables alternative for architects?
- Arch Convert is the narrow one: five measurement categories, fraction and expression input, and every related unit on screen at once. RapidTables remains the better general-purpose tool, and it is worth keeping bookmarked for everything that is not a dimension.
- Why use a specialised architect converter instead of Google?
- Google answers one conversion and drops the context. It will not take 24' 3 1/2" as a single input, will not show you the metre and inch equivalents beside the millimetre answer, and will not keep a running set of related figures while you work through a drawing.
- Is Arch Convert really free with no signup?
- Yes. No account, no paywall, no ads. It is built and maintained by FluxCo Technologies, which builds custom systems for a living, and the converter came out of that work rather than being the business.