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Convert knots to km/h

1 knot equals 1.852 kilometers per hour. Enter a value below to convert instantly.

Knots to kilometres per hour converts the speed unit of sea and air navigation into the one used on land. A knot is exactly one nautical mile per hour, and the nautical mile is exactly 1,852 metres — so the factor is a clean 1.852.

1 kn
1.852 km/h

Multiply the number of knots by 1.852 to get kilometers per hour. How this is calculated

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Need the other direction? Convert kilometer per hour to knot →

Formula

Multiply the number of knots by 1.852 to get kilometers per hour.

Step by step

  1. Start with 1 kn.
  2. Multiply by the conversion factor 1.852.
  3. 1 × 1.852 = 1.852 km/h.

Knots to Kilometers per Hour conversion table

Knots (kn) Kilometers per Hour (km/h)
1 1.852
5 9.26
10 18.52
20 37.04
30 55.56
40 74.08
50 92.6
60 111.12
80 148.16
100 185.2

Where knots and kilometers per hour are used together

Marine navigation

Boat speed, current and wind are all in knots, and a chart's latitude scale doubles as its distance scale. Converting to km/h is mainly for comparison with land speeds rather than for navigation itself.

Aviation

Airspeed and wind are in knots worldwide while altitude is in feet and visibility is often in metres — a genuinely mixed-unit environment. Ground speed in knots converts to km/h for comparison with surface travel times.

Wind and storm reporting

Meteorological agencies publish sustained winds in knots, and hurricane categories are defined with all three units side by side. A Category 1 hurricane starts at 64 knots, 74 mph or 119 km/h.

Weather routing and sailing performance

Polar diagrams give boat speed in knots against true wind speed in knots. Converting either axis to km/h breaks the comparison with published data, so the conversion is usually for presentation rather than calculation.

Everyday knots worth knowing

Values people actually look up, with the reason each one comes up. Every figure is calculated with the same engine as the converter above.

Knot (kn) Kilometer per Hour (km/h) What it is
1 1.852 The base conversion
5 9.26 A slow cruise under sail
10 18.52 A typical sailing speed
20 37.04 A fast motorboat
34 62.968 Gale-force wind threshold
64 118.528 Hurricane-force wind threshold
250 463 An airliner's approach speed range
500 926 An airliner's cruise speed

How these two units are defined

The nautical mile was defined as one minute of arc of latitude along a meridian, which is why it maps directly onto navigational charts: one minute of latitude is one nautical mile, everywhere. In 1929 it was standardised at exactly 1,852 m. A knot is one nautical mile per hour. Because the definition ties distance to angle, a course plotted on a chart can be measured in nautical miles with a pair of dividers against the latitude scale — the practical reason the unit has survived alongside the metric system.

Rounding and precision

1.852 is exact by definition, so the conversion is clean. Wind and vessel speeds are rarely known better than the nearest knot, so one decimal place is generous and two is false precision. Note that aviation and marine instruments report several different speeds — indicated, true and ground — and converting the units does not turn one into another.

Mistakes people make with this conversion

  • Saying 'knots per hour'

    A knot already is a speed — one nautical mile per hour. 'Knots per hour' would be an acceleration.

  • Using the statute mile factor

    Converting knots with 1.609 instead of 1.852 understates the speed by about 13%. The nautical mile is a different unit from the statute mile.

  • Confusing indicated and true airspeed

    Indicated airspeed diverges from true airspeed with altitude. A unit conversion changes neither into the other; that is a separate aerodynamic calculation.

Read more about these units

Sources for this page

  1. Special Publication 811 — Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI) NIST (US National Institute of Standards and Technology) · Conversion factors between US customary and SI units, and the rounding and significant-figure conventions this site follows.
  2. Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale NOAA National Hurricane Center · A worked example of the same wind speed published simultaneously in mph, knots, and km/h.

Content on this page last reviewed 12 August 2026. Spotted an error? Report it — see also how these values are calculated.

Convert Knot to other speed units

1 kn expressed in every other speed unit on this site.

  • Meter per Second m/s 0.51444444
  • Kilometer per Hour km/h 1.852
  • Kilometer per Minute km/min 0.030866667
  • Kilometer per Second km/s 0.00051444444
  • Meter per Minute m/min 30.866667
  • Meter per Hour m/h 1,852
  • Centimeter per Second cm/s 51.444444
  • Centimeter per Minute cm/min 3,086.6667
  • Centimeter per Hour cm/h 185,200
  • Millimeter per Second mm/s 514.44444
  • Millimeter per Minute mm/min 30,866.667
  • Millimeter per Hour mm/h 1,852,000
  • Mile per Hour mph 1.1507794
  • Mile per Minute mi/min 0.019179657
  • Mile per Second mi/s 0.00031966096
  • Yard per Hour yd/h 2,025.3718
  • Yard per Minute yd/min 33.756197
  • Yard per Second yd/s 0.56260329
  • Foot per Hour ft/h 6,076.1155
  • Foot per Minute ft/min 101.26859
  • Foot per Second ft/s 1.6878099
  • Inch per Second in/s 20.253718
  • Inch per Minute in/min 1,215.2231
  • Inch per Hour in/h 72,913.386
  • Knot (UK) kn (UK) 0.9993611
  • Mach (sea level) M 0.0015117824
  • Mach (SI standard) M (SI) 0.0017436052
  • Mach (20 °C, 1 atm) M (20 °C) 0.001497219
  • Speed of Sound (pure water) c (H₂O) 0.00034696462
  • Speed of Sound (sea water) c (sea) 0.0003380944
  • Speed of Light (vacuum) c 1.716002e-9
  • Cosmic Velocity (first) v₁ 0.00006511955
  • Cosmic Velocity (second) v₂ 0.00004593254
  • Cosmic Velocity (third) v₃ 0.000030860495
  • Earth's Orbital Velocity v⊕ 0.000017283536

About the knot

The knot (kn) is a Other unit of speed. One nautical mile per hour — the standard unit for marine and air navigation.

About the kilometer per hour

The kilometer per hour (km/h) is a Metric unit of speed.

Related conversions

Frequently asked questions

How fast is one knot in km/h?

Exactly 1.852 km/h, because a nautical mile is defined as exactly 1,852 metres and a knot is one nautical mile per hour.

Why do ships and aircraft use knots at all?

Because the nautical mile equals one minute of latitude, distances can be measured straight off a chart's latitude scale. The unit is tied to the geometry of navigation rather than to any physical artefact.

What wind speed in km/h is a hurricane?

The Saffir-Simpson scale sets Category 1 at 64 knots, which is 119 km/h or 74 mph. NOAA publishes all three figures together for exactly this reason.

How many kilometers per hour are in a knot?

One knot equals 1.852 kilometers per hour.

How do you convert knots to kilometers per hour?

Multiply the number of knots by 1.852 to get kilometers per hour.

What is 1 kilometer per hour in knots?

One kilometer per hour equals 0.5399568 knots.

When would I convert knots to kilometers per hour?

This conversion is common when driving, running, cycling, aviation, and weather reports.