---
title: "Walking Calorie Calculator (MET-Based) | City on Foot"
description: "Estimate the calories a walk uses from your weight, speed, hills and time or distance, with the MET values from the Compendium of Physical Activities."
url: https://cityonfoot.me/walking-calorie-calculator/
---

[City on Foot](https://cityonfoot.me/) 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.