Convert between knots and kilometers per hour in either direction.
How it works
A knot is one nautical mile per hour, and the international nautical mile is exactly 1,852 meters, so 1 knot = 1.852 km/h exactly. Enter a value in either field and the other updates instantly.
What this does not include
This is a plain speed-unit conversion. It doesn’t account for the difference between airspeed, groundspeed, and windspeed in aviation and marine contexts, which are separate measurements beyond a simple unit conversion.
How to use this calculator
- Enter a value in knots or km/h.
- The other field updates automatically.
Why do ships and aircraft use knots instead of km/h or mph?
Knots are directly tied to nautical miles, which relate to degrees of latitude on a globe — a convenient property for navigation that km/h and mph don’t share.
How fast is 1 knot in mph?
About 1.15 mph — slightly faster than 1 mph, since a nautical mile (1,852 m) is somewhat longer than a statute mile (1,609 m).
Is a knot a unit of distance or speed?
Speed only — “knot” already means “nautical mile per hour,” so saying “knots per hour” is redundant, a common but incorrect phrasing.
