Mile Converter

The statute mile is 5,280 feet, exactly 1,609.344 m. It is still the road-distance unit in the U.S. and UK, while sailors and pilots use the longer nautical mile of 1,852 m.

How to use the Mile Converter

1. Pick the unit you are starting from in the From menu and type your value.
2. Pick the unit you want in the To menu. The heading changes to match – for example “Miles to Kilometers Converter”.
3. The most common length units are shown below at the same time, so you can compare them at a glance.
4. Type into any result to convert backwards, then use Copy results – the copied text starts with the heading for your chosen units.

Results update as you type. Everything is calculated in your browser.

How it works

Every length unit is defined by an exact factor relative to the metre (the base unit). The calculator first turns the value you type into metres, then turns that into the unit you picked in the “To” menu and into each of the common units below it. This two-step method means any unit can be converted to any other – 27 units are available in each menu – and you can type into any field, including a result, to work in the other direction. Changing a unit menu keeps the quantity the same and just re-expresses it, and the page heading and copied results follow your choice.

How to convert length units

1. Choose the unit you have in the From menu and type the value, for example 1 mi.
2. Choose the unit you want in the To menu, for example kilometres. The page heading changes to “Miles to Kilometers Converter”.
3. The calculator multiplies by the metre factor of the “from” unit and divides by the factor of the “to” unit: 1 mi × 1,609.344 ÷ 1,000 = 1.609344 km.

1 mile in common units

Miles conversion table

What is a mile?

The statute mile is 5,280 feet, exactly 1,609.344 m. U.S. and UK road signs, speed limits and running races such as the mile and the marathon (26.2 mi) use it.

What is a kilometre?

A kilometre is 1,000 metres. It is the standard unit for road distances, maps, running races and travel in almost every country except the U.S. and UK, where miles are still used on road signs.

What is a metre?

The metre is the SI base unit of length. Since 1983 it has been defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second, which ties it to a fundamental constant rather than a physical bar of metal.

Common mistakes to avoid

Mixing the international foot (0.3048 m) with the old u.s. survey foot, confusing nautical and statute miles, and writing decimal feet such as 5.5 ft as “5 ft 5 in” (it is 5 ft 6 in).