How does KMeans converge and what are its limitations?

Updated May 17, 2026

Short answer

KMeans converges by iteratively updating centroids until assignments stabilize.

Deep explanation

It alternates between assigning points to nearest centroid and recomputing centroids. Convergence occurs when assignments no longer change or centroid movement is below threshold. However, it is sensitive to initialization and assumes spherical clusters of similar density.

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