Watts to horsepower converter
Convertersconversion pair
Convert watts to horsepower instantly: 1 hp is 745.7 W. Cars, motors and power, with the exact math and one-click copying.
745.7 W to the horsepower — the unit Watt never got to trademark.
work surface
Math, not advice — results are indicative. Read the disclaimer.
pro tips
Divide by 745.7: 1,000 W is about 1.34 hp.
745.7 W is 1 mechanical horsepower — the exact anchor.
Electric motors often list watts; petrol engines list horsepower. This bridges them.
what it does
One mechanical horsepower is 745.7 watts, so a watt is 0.00134 horsepower. Divide watts by 745.7 and the horsepower appear, which is how a motor's rating becomes a car-brochure number.
It shows up when an electric motor in watts has to be compared to a petrol engine in horsepower, when a vacuum or a pump is rated one way and marketed another, when solar inverters and generators cross into vehicle terms, and in any spec sheet that mixes SI with tradition.
The shortcut: 745.7 W is 1 hp, so 1,000 W is about 1.34 hp, 5,000 W is about 6.7 hp, and a 2 kW motor is about 2.7 hp. James Watt's unit survives mostly because engines sound better in it than in kilowatts.
Type any watt value and the widget answers in horsepower instantly, with the math in the hint. Click to copy, and swap when a horsepower figure has to be read in watts.
quick answers
How many horsepower is 1,000 watts?
About 1.34 hp. One kilowatt is 1.34 mechanical horsepower ? the conversion that lets an electric motor argue with a petrol engine.
Is 1,000 W a horsepower?
A bit more — 1,000 W is 1.34 hp.
Why compare watts and horsepower?
Because electric motors are rated in watts while cars and engines are sold in horsepower.