Pace to km/h Converter (min/km, mph, min/mile)
Pace and speed are one fact in two costumes. Edit either field below and the other updates instantly. This converter works in min/km and km/h; the mile equivalents are one multiplication away, and the table further down does it for you.
The formula, both directions
Speed (km/h) = 60 ÷ pace (decimal minutes per km) and pace (min/km) = 60 ÷ speed (km/h). The 60 is not a fudge factor — it is the number of minutes in an hour, and it is the only reason the two units are not identical.
Worked out: a pace of 4:30/km is 4.5 minutes, so 60 ÷ 4.5 = 13.33 km/h. A speed of 14 km/h is 60 ÷ 14 = 4.29 minutes per kilometer, which is 4:17/km.
Getting to miles per hour and minutes per mile
A mile is 1.609344 km exactly — the figure NIST publishes in its SI conversion tables, not the 1.6 you see on gym equipment. Two operations follow from it:
- mph = km/h ÷ 1.609344
- min/mile = min/km × 1.609344
| Pace (min/km) | Speed (km/h) | Speed (mph) | Pace (min/mile) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4:00 | 15.00 | 9.32 | 6:26 |
| 4:30 | 13.33 | 8.28 | 7:15 |
| 5:00 | 12.00 | 7.46 | 8:03 |
| 5:30 | 10.91 | 6.78 | 8:51 |
| 6:00 | 10.00 | 6.21 | 9:39 |
| 6:30 | 9.23 | 5.74 | 10:28 |
| 7:00 | 8.57 | 5.33 | 11:16 |
| 8:00 | 7.50 | 4.66 | 12:52 |
Two anchors worth memorizing: 10 km/h is 6:00/km, 6.21 mph and 9:39/mile, and 12 km/h is 5:00/km, 7.46 mph and 8:03/mile. Almost every everyday running pace sits between those two rows.
When each unit is the useful one
Road runners think in pace because it drops into race planning without arithmetic: at 5:30/km you know each kilometer marker is 5:30 apart, and at 8:51/mile you know each mile sign is 8:51 apart. Speed is the language of machines — treadmill consoles, bike computers and rowing displays all report distance per unit time, which is why the treadmill speed to pace page exists with the same math and a console label.
For calculating pace from a race distance and a finish time rather than converting a rate, use the running pace calculator. For rates slow enough that the intensity question changes, see the walking pace calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How do you convert min/km to km/h?
Speed in km/h = 60 ÷ pace in decimal minutes per kilometer. A pace of 5:00/km is 5.0 minutes, so 60 ÷ 5 = 12 km/h. The reverse is the same division: pace = 60 ÷ speed.
Why do pace and speed always multiply to 60?
Because they are reciprocals scaled by the number of minutes in an hour. Pace counts minutes per kilometer and speed counts kilometers per hour, so their product is fixed at 60 by the units themselves.
How do I get mph and min/mile out of this?
Divide km/h by 1.609344 for mph, and multiply min/km by 1.609344 for min/mile. Ten km/h is 6.21 mph, and 6:00/km is 9:39 per mile. The factor is exact, not rounded.
Does this converter work in miles?
The two live fields are min/km and km/h. The mile figures come from the table below — a deliberate choice, because labeling a field in miles while the arithmetic runs in kilometers is how conversion errors get published.
Which unit should I actually train in?
Whichever your race clock uses. US road races post mile splits, so min/mile plans best; treadmill consoles and most GPS watches will show either. Keeping one unit for the whole training block beats converting mid-run.
Sources
- NIST Guide to the SI, Appendix B.9 — Factors for Units Listed Alphabetically (1 mile = 1.609 344 km exactly)
- NIST Office of Weights and Measures — Approximate Conversions from U.S. Customary Measures to Metric
Written by Lucas Silva · Reviewed by Lucas Silva · Updated on August 15, 2026