Walking Calorie Calculator
Enter your weight, pace and how long you walked. You get the calories burned, the distance covered and the formula behind the number.
- MET values from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities
- By time or by distance, in miles or kilometers
- Shows the extra calories above sitting still
How the Walking Calorie Calculator Works
The calculator multiplies three numbers: your body weight in kilograms, the MET value for your walking pace, and the time you walked in hours. A MET (metabolic equivalent of task) compares an activity to sitting quietly. Sitting is 1 MET, so a brisk walk at 4.8 METs burns about 4.8 times as many calories per minute as sitting.
Calories burned = MET × weight in kg × hours
The MET values come from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, the standard reference researchers use to assign an energy cost to each activity. If you enter a distance instead of a time, the calculator works out the time from the middle of your pace range. You can read more about each formula and its limits on our Methods and Sources page.
Worked Example
A 180-pound person walks for 45 minutes at a brisk 3.5 to 3.9 mph. That pace is 4.8 METs.
- Convert the weight: 180 lb × 0.4536 = 81.6 kg
- Convert the time: 45 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.75 hours
- Multiply: 4.8 × 81.6 × 0.75 = about 295 calories
About 235 of those calories are extra, above what the same person would burn sitting for 45 minutes. At 3.7 mph the walk covers about 2.8 miles.
Calories Burned Walking for 30 Minutes
This table shows total calories burned in a 30-minute walk on flat ground, by body weight and pace. Double the number for an hour.
| Body weight | Easy 2.5 mph | Average 2.8 to 3.4 mph | Brisk 3.5 to 3.9 mph | Very brisk 4.0 to 4.4 mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 lb (54 kg) | 80 | 105 | 130 | 150 |
| 140 lb (64 kg) | 95 | 120 | 150 | 175 |
| 160 lb (73 kg) | 110 | 140 | 175 | 200 |
| 180 lb (82 kg) | 120 | 155 | 195 | 225 |
| 200 lb (91 kg) | 135 | 170 | 220 | 250 |
| 220 lb (100 kg) | 150 | 190 | 240 | 275 |
| 250 lb (113 kg) | 170 | 215 | 270 | 310 |
Calories Burned Walking a Mile
Per mile, pace matters less than you might expect. A faster walk burns more each minute but finishes the mile sooner, so the totals stay close until you reach power-walking speeds.
| Body weight | 2.5 mph | 3.1 mph | 3.7 mph | 4.7 mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 lb | 65 | 65 | 70 | 80 |
| 150 lb | 80 | 85 | 90 | 100 |
| 180 lb | 100 | 100 | 105 | 120 |
| 210 lb | 115 | 115 | 125 | 140 |
| 240 lb | 130 | 135 | 140 | 160 |
What Changes the Number
Body weight has the biggest effect, because moving a heavier body takes more energy. Pace comes next. Hills, sand, grass and a backpack all raise the cost further. For hiking and dozens of other activities, use the calories burned calculator.
Fitness, age and walking technique also shift the true number by a modest amount that no simple formula can capture. Treat the result as a good estimate, not a measurement.
Walking Calories FAQ
Answers to the questions people ask most about walking and calories.
How many calories does walking burn in an hour?
A 180-pound person burns about 310 calories in an hour at an average pace of 2.8 to 3.4 mph, and about 390 at a brisk 3.5 to 3.9 mph. Heavier people burn more and lighter people burn less, because the number scales directly with body weight.
How many calories does walking a mile burn?
At an average pace, most adults burn roughly 65 to 135 calories per mile, depending on body weight. For example, a 150-pound person burns about 85 calories per mile and a 210-pound person about 115.
Does walking faster burn more calories per mile?
Yes, but only a little until you pass about 4.5 mph. Between 2.5 and 4.4 mph the calories per mile stay within about 10% of each other, because a faster pace burns more per minute but finishes the mile sooner. Power walking at 4.5 mph and up costs noticeably more per mile, since walking that fast is less efficient than jogging.
Does this count calories I would have burned anyway?
The main number is total calories burned during the walk, which is how most calculators and fitness trackers report it. The result also shows the extra calories above sitting still, which is the better number to use if you are adding exercise to a daily calorie budget.
Is a fitness tracker more accurate than this calculator?
Not necessarily. Trackers estimate calories from heart rate and motion, and a Stanford study of seven wrist devices found none of them measured calories burned accurately, with average errors from 27% to 93%. Both a tracker and this calculator give estimates, so treat either number as a range.
Related Calculators
Count your walk another way, or see how it fits your daily total.
Sources
These are the studies behind the numbers on this page.
- Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE, et al. 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: A third update of the energy costs of human activities. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 2024;13(1):6 to 12. Read the study
- Walking activity codes 17151 to 17231. Adult Compendium: Walking
- Shcherbina A, Mattsson CM, Waggott D, et al. Accuracy in Wrist-Worn, Sensor-Based Measurements of Heart Rate and Energy Expenditure in a Diverse Cohort. Journal of Personalized Medicine. 2017;7(2):3.
Results are estimates for healthy adults and are not medical advice. See our medical disclaimer.