Free tool
Steps to calories calculator
Turn a step count into calories burned, distance and walking time. It uses your height for stride length and your weight and pace for the energy cost, using the same MET values behind the calories burned calculator.
Updated
Two numbers, on purpose
Calories burned walking is the total energy used during the walk. It is the figure most trackers and watches show.
Extra over resting removes what you would have burned anyway sitting on the sofa for the same time. If you are deciding how much more you can eat because you walked, this is the honest number: typically 25–30% lower.
Quick reference
How many calories do 10,000 steps burn?
For a person of 170 cm walking at a normal pace, 10,000 steps is about 7 km and 85–90 minutes. What that costs depends mostly on body weight: a heavier body moves more mass with every step.
| Steps | 60 kg | 70 kg | 80 kg | 90 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | ~160 kcal | ~190 kcal | ~215 kcal | ~245 kcal |
| 7,500 | ~245 kcal | ~285 kcal | ~325 kcal | ~365 kcal |
| 10,000 | ~325 kcal | ~380 kcal | ~430 kcal | ~485 kcal |
| 15,000 | ~485 kcal | ~565 kcal | ~650 kcal | ~730 kcal |
Total calories during the walk, normal pace, 170 cm. Subtract roughly 30% for the extra over resting. Taller people cover more ground per step and burn slightly more per step.
How the calculation works
Distance comes from stride length, which is about 41–42% of height for most adults. At 170 cm that is a stride of roughly 70 cm, so 1,000 steps is about 0.7 km and 10,000 steps about 7 km.
Time is distance divided by walking speed: about 3.2, 4.8 or 5.6 km/h for a slow, normal or brisk walk.
Calories use the MET method from the Compendium of Physical Activities: MET × 3.5 × body weight in kg ÷ 200, per minute. Walking at a normal pace is about 3.5 METs, brisk about 4.3, slow about 2.8.
This is an estimate, and a reasonably good one. Walking is one of the more predictable activities to price, because the movement is so consistent. It will not account for hills, a heavy bag or an unusually efficient gait. How many steps a day to lose weight →
Frequently asked questions
How many calories does 1,000 steps burn?
About 30–50 kcal for most adults at a normal pace, roughly 38 kcal for a 70 kg person. Heavier and taller people burn more per 1,000 steps; lighter and shorter people burn less.
Does walking faster burn more calories per step?
A little more per step, and quite a lot more per minute. A brisk walk burns about 5–10% more for the same number of steps than a normal one, but gets them done in less time, which is what makes it useful.
Why is my watch showing a different number?
Watches estimate from heart rate and motion, and different devices count resting calories differently. Studies put wrist-worn calorie estimates 20–40% off in either direction. See how accurate Apple Watch calorie tracking is.
Should I eat back the calories from my steps?
Not if your calorie target already assumes an activity level. Your normal daily steps are what that activity level describes, so adding them on top counts them twice. Only a genuinely unusual day (a long hike, a 25,000-step sightseeing day) is worth adjusting for, and then only by the “extra over resting” figure.
Nothing is stored, is it?
Nothing. The arithmetic runs in your browser and no values are sent anywhere or saved.
Next step
Steps in, food in, one screen.
BetterCal reads your steps and active energy from Apple Health or Health Connect and shows them next to what you ate. Log meals by typing or speaking. Free to start on iPhone and Android.
