Power Conversion

Convert hp to kW

1 hp = 0.7457 kW

0.7457kW

Motor and engine power is rated in horsepower on US nameplates and in kilowatts almost everywhere else. It's the single most-searched power conversion for anyone comparing US and international equipment.

Mechanical horsepower is defined as 33,000 ft·lbf of work per minute. Converting that to watts (via foot-pounds to joules and minutes to seconds) gives 1 hp = 745.7 W = 0.7457 kW.

A common 5 hp shop motor is rated about 3.73 kW; a 300 hp car engine is roughly 224 kW.

Practical next step

For rotating equipment, convert hp to kW for the nameplate comparison, then use the Horsepower or Torque Calculator if RPM and torque also need to be checked.

Reference Table

horsepower (hp)	kilowatts (kW)
1	0.7457
5	3.7285
10	7.457
25	18.642
50	37.285
100	74.57

Used In These Calculators

Frequently Asked Questions

Is horsepower always the same 745.7-watt definition?

No - this is a genuine, common source of small discrepancies. This conversion uses mechanical (imperial) horsepower, 745.7 W, the standard in US practice. Metric horsepower (PS, used historically in parts of Europe and Japan) is slightly different, at about 735.5 W - close enough to cause confusion but not identical.

How does horsepower relate to torque?

Power equals torque times angular speed (P = T × ω), so the same horsepower figure can come from very different torque-and-RPM combinations. In US customary units this relationship simplifies to the well-known HP = Torque(lb·ft) × RPM / 5,252 - the same constant behind why torque and horsepower curves cross at exactly 5,252 RPM on a dyno chart.

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