Tools · Knots to MPH
Knots to MPH Converter
Enter any value in knots, see the equivalent in miles per hour. Built for sailors, pilots, and anyone reading a marine or aviation gauge that does not match the speedometer they grew up with.
1 knot = 1.15077945 mph (1 nautical mile = 1.15077945 statute miles)
Why knots exist at all
A knot is one nautical mile per hour. A nautical mile is exactly 1,852 meters — defined that way by international agreement since 1929, originally derived from one minute of latitude along any meridian on Earth. That definition is what makes knots useful at sea and in the air: a heading and a speed in knots map cleanly to a position fix on a chart that uses latitude and longitude.
A statute mile on land is shorter (1,609 meters), so any speed in knots converts to a slightly larger number in mph. 30 knots feels like cruising on a small boat. 30 knots in a commercial airliner is taxi speed. 100 knots in a small Cessna is normal cruise. The metric is the same; the context makes the number mean very different things.
Knots to MPH reference
| Knots | MPH |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1.15 |
| 2 | 2.30 |
| 5 | 5.75 |
| 10 | 11.51 |
| 15 | 17.26 |
| 20 | 23.02 |
| 25 | 28.77 |
| 30 | 34.52 |
| 35 | 40.28 |
| 40 | 46.03 |
| 50 | 57.54 |
| 60 | 69.05 |
| 70 | 80.55 |
| 80 | 92.06 |
| 90 | 103.57 |
| 100 | 115.08 |
Related converters
- Knots to KPH — for kilometers per hour instead of miles.
- MPH to KPH — the standard road-speed converter.
- Live GPS speedometer — read your real speed in the browser.