How many calories does 10,000 steps burn?

The short answer

About 420 calories, for an adult of average height who weighs 70 kg (154 lb). Your weight changes it more than anything else: about 330 calories at 55 kg (121 lb) and about 600 at 100 kg (220 lb). Ten thousand steps is about 7 km, or 4.4 miles, for an adult of average height, and about an hour and a half of walking at a normal pace.

10,000 steps, calories by body weight

Body weight	Calories burned
55 kg (121 lb)	about 330 kcal
70 kg (154 lb)	about 420 kcal
85 kg (187 lb)	about 510 kcal
100 kg (220 lb)	about 600 kcal

For an adult of average height, about 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in), on level ground. The figures come from a model of walking energy built on height, weight and speed, which tested within a few percent of measured values.

Does walking faster burn more?

Barely, for the same 10,000 steps. A brisk walk burns calories faster than a stroll, but it also gets you through the steps sooner, so the total comes out almost the same: for a 70 kg adult, about 430 calories at a stroll and 420 at a brisk walk. What changes the total is weight, hills, and how many steps you take, not how quickly.

Why your watch may show less

These are total calories, including what your body burns anyway just by being alive. Apple Watch shows less, about 310 for the same 10,000 steps at 70 kg, because its Move ring counts only the calories on top of that.

Your own number

The walking calories calculator takes your weight, your height and your steps, and how many miles is 10,000 steps has the distance and time for every height.

10,000 steps, counted toward somewhere

Ten thousand steps a day is about 7 km, and in reTrek that distance carries you along a real route. Pick one, Everest Base Camp is free, and a 10,000-step day takes you from Lukla toward Base Camp in about eight days, with a short film about the place waiting at each milestone. The calories take care of themselves. Start the walk.