Most adults take about 1,250 to 1,500 steps per kilometre, so 10,000 steps is roughly 7 to 8 km. An hour of brisk walking is about 5 to 6 km or 6,000 to 8,000 steps, and burning 500 calories takes very roughly 10,000 to 14,000 steps.
Step counters count steps; maps count kilometres. Here is how to translate between them.
Steps per kilometre
It depends on your stride, which depends mostly on your height and pace:
- Walking, average adult: about 1,250 to 1,500 steps per km
- Taller people or a brisk pace: closer to 1,200 to 1,300
- Shorter people or a slow pace: closer to 1,400 to 1,600
- Running: about 800 to 1,100 steps per km, because each stride is longer
Quick conversions (walking, about 1,350 steps per km)
| Distance | Steps (about) |
|---|---|
| 1 km | 1,350 |
| 2 km | 2,700 |
| 3 km | 4,000 |
| 4 km | 5,400 |
| 4.5 km | 6,100 |
| 5 km | 6,700 |
| 10 km | 13,500 |
And the other way round:
| Steps | Kilometres (about) |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | 0.75 km |
| 5,000 | 3.7 km |
| 10,000 | 7.4 km |
| 13,000 | 9.6 km |
Steps in an hour and a minute
- Easy walk (4 km/h): about 5,000 to 5,500 steps an hour
- Brisk walk (5 to 6 km/h): about 6,500 to 8,000 steps an hour
- Per minute: about 100 steps at an easy pace, 110 to 130 when brisk
So 30 minutes of brisk walking is roughly 3,500 to 4,000 steps.
How many steps to burn 500 calories?
Walking burns roughly 0.04 to 0.06 calories per step, more for heavier people and faster walking. As a rough guide:
- A 70 kg person burns about 300 to 400 calories in 10,000 steps.
- A 90 kg person burns about 400 to 500.
That means 500 calories takes very roughly 10,000 to 14,000 steps. Your watch's number is an estimate too.
Steps are a great tool for fat loss because they add up without making you much hungrier.
Find your own steps per km
Walk a measured kilometre (a track, or a route on your phone's map) and read your step count. That number is yours, and it makes every other estimate better.
Sources
- Walking cadence in steps per minute, and intensity: Tudor-Locke et al., 2018
- The Compendium of Physical Activities: Herrmann et al., 2024
The takeaway
Count about 1,350 steps per km, 7,000 an hour of brisk walking, and 10,000 or more to burn 500 calories. Shulah counts your steps from your phone or, through Health Connect, from your watch.