how fast is a knot in mph

June 28, 2026

A knot is about 1.15 miles per hour (mph).

What is a knot, exactly?

A knot is a unit of speed used at sea and in aviation.

By definition, 1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour.

A nautical mile is slightly longer than a regular (statute) mile, which is why a knot is a bit faster than 1 mph.

Knot to mph: simple conversion

You can think of it like this:

1 knot ≈ 1.1508 mph.

So:
- 5 knots ≈ 5.75 mph.

* 10 knots ≈ 11.5 mph.

* 20 knots ≈ 23.0 mph.

Handy formula

To convert knots to mph:

mph=knots×1.1508\text{mph}=\text{knots}\times 1.1508mph=knots×1.1508

For example, a boat going 30 knots is going about 30×1.1508≈34.530\times 1.1508\approx 34.530×1.1508≈34.5 mph.

Why knots instead of mph?

Knots are linked to nautical miles , which are based on the Earth’s latitude and longitude grid, making them convenient for navigation on sea and in the air.

Because charts and GPS for ships and planes use nautical miles, using knots keeps distance and speed in the same system.

HTML table: knots to mph

Here is a small reference table in HTML, as requested:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Knots (kn)</th>
      <th>Miles per hour (mph)</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td>1</td><td>1.15</td></tr>
    <tr><td>5</td><td>5.75</td></tr>
    <tr><td>10</td><td>11.51</td></tr>
    <tr><td>20</td><td>23.02</td></tr>
    <tr><td>30</td><td>34.52</td></tr>
    <tr><td>40</td><td>46.03</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

(Values rounded using 1 knot ≈ 1.1508 mph.)

TL;DR

1 knot ≈ 1.15 mph.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.