City on Foot Walking calories
Walking calorie calculator
Roughly how much energy does a walk use? Enter your weight, how fast you walk and whether it is hilly, then the time or the distance.
How this is worked out
Energy = MET × body weight in kg × hours. A MET compares an activity with sitting quietly, which counts as 1 MET, about 1 kcal per kg per hour. The MET for your speed and slope comes from the walking and hill-climbing entries of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Herrmann and colleagues, Journal of Sport and Health Science), and the result shows which entry was used.
Above resting subtracts the 1 MET your body would burn anyway, which is the fairer number when you compare a walk with food. Everyone differs, so read the answer as an estimate, not a measurement.
Questions
How many calories does an hour's walk use?
For a 70 kg adult walking at 5 km/h on the flat, about 266 kcal (3.8 METs), of which about 196 kcal is above resting. Heavier people, faster walking and hills all raise it.
Does walking uphill really make a difference?
Yes. The Compendium puts a 6 to 10% slope at a moderate-to-brisk pace at 7.0 METs, nearly double the 3.8 METs of moderate walking on the flat.
Why does my fitness tracker give a different number?
Trackers combine movement, heart rate and their own formulas, and some count resting energy while others do not. None of them measure energy directly, so expect differences of a fair few percent.
Is my weight stored anywhere?
Only in this browser, so the form is filled in next time. It is never sent anywhere; clearing the site's data removes it.