Kilometers to miles
Enter a distance in kilometers to see it in miles.
One kilometer equals 0.621371 miles. To convert kilometers to miles, multiply the number of kilometers by 0.621371.
How the conversion works
The factor comes from the definition of the international mile, which is exactly 1,609.344 metres. Divide one kilometer by that and you get 0.6213711922 miles, which is where the rounded 0.621371 you see everywhere comes from.
A worked example
A 42.195 km marathon: 42.195 × 0.621371 = 26.219 miles. That is the familiar 26.2 mile figure, and it is where the odd marathon distance comes from — the race was standardised in miles first.
Reference table
| Kilometers | Miles |
|---|---|
| 1 km | 0.62137 |
| 2 km | 1.24274 |
| 3 km | 1.86411 |
| 5 km | 3.10686 |
| 10 km | 6.21371 |
| 15 km | 9.32057 |
| 20 km | 12.42742 |
| 25 km | 15.53428 |
| 30 km | 18.64114 |
| 50 km | 31.06856 |
| 75 km | 46.60284 |
| 100 km | 62.13712 |
| 150 km | 93.20568 |
| 200 km | 124.27424 |
| 500 km | 310.6856 |
| 1000 km | 621.37119 |
Doing it in your head
Multiplying by 0.6 gets you within about 3.5%, which is close enough for reading a road sign. For a much closer answer, multiply by five and divide by eight: 80 km becomes 400 ÷ 8 = 50 miles, against a true 49.7. That trick stays within 0.6% at any distance.
Going the other way? Use the miles to kilometers converter.
Next steps
Common questions
- How do I convert kilometers to miles?
- Multiply the number of kilometers by 0.621371. For example, 50 kilometers multiplied by 0.621371 gives 31.07 miles.
- Is the kilometer to mile conversion exact?
- Yes. The international mile has been defined as exactly 1,609.344 metres since 1959, so the conversion involves no approximation. Only the displayed result is rounded.
- How can I convert km to miles in my head?
- Multiply by five and divide by eight. 80 kilometers becomes 400 divided by 8, which is 50 miles against a true 49.7. Multiplying by 0.6 is quicker but about 3.5 per cent low.
- How many miles is a 5K run?
- A 5 kilometer run is 3.11 miles. A 10K is 6.21 miles and a marathon, at 42.195 kilometers, is 26.22 miles.