Nautical Mile Calculator

A nautical mile is a unit of distance used primarily in air and marine navigation. It is based on the circumference of the Earth and equals one minute (1/60th of a degree) of latitude. One nautical mile is exactly 1,852 meters or approximately 1.15078 statute miles.

One nautical mile equals approximately 1.15078 statute (land) miles. Conversely, one statute mile equals about 0.86898 nautical miles. The nautical mile is slightly longer than a standard mile, which is why it is preferred in navigation for its direct relationship to the Earth's geometry.

One nautical mile equals exactly 1.852 kilometers. This is an internationally agreed-upon definition. To convert nautical miles to kilometers, simply multiply the number of nautical miles by 1.852.

A knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour. So a vessel traveling at 10 knots covers 10 nautical miles in one hour. Knots are the standard speed unit used by ships and aircraft worldwide.

Multiply the speed in knots by the time in hours to get the distance in nautical miles. For example, a vessel traveling at 12 knots for 3 hours covers 36 nautical miles. Use the Speed & Time section of this calculator to compute it automatically.

Nautical miles are tied directly to the Earth's coordinate system — one nautical mile corresponds to one arc-minute of latitude. This makes chart reading and position calculation much simpler for sailors and pilots. No conversion factor is needed when working with latitude and longitude.

One nautical mile equals 6,076.115 feet, compared to a statute mile which is exactly 5,280 feet. This means a nautical mile is about 796 feet longer than a standard mile.

Yes. Enter a value in any of the input fields — nautical miles, miles, kilometers, or feet — and the calculator will convert it to all other units automatically. You can also calculate distance traveled by entering a vessel speed in knots and a sailing time.