Last verified against the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities.
Example: 1.5 miles in 30 minutes, 154 lb
The 2024 Compendium rates walking at 2.8 to 3.4 mph at 3.8 MET, 3.8 times the energy of sitting quietly, so this total includes what your body burns at rest. Enter your own walk above to replace this example.
| Calories burned | Amount |
|---|---|
| Per minute | 4.6 |
| Per mile | 93 |
| Per kilometer | 58 |
| 2024 Compendium row | MET |
|---|---|
| Code 17190Walking, 2.8 to 3.4 mph, level, moderate pace, firm surface | 3.8 |
kcal = MET x 3.5 x kg / 200 x minutes, with the MET of code 17190 in the 2024 Adult Compendium.
Calories burned walking for 30 minutes, by weight and speed
Each row is one walking speed from the 2024 Compendium, with its pace and MET, and each column is a body weight, from 125 lb (57 kg) to 250 lb (113 kg). The figures are calories for 30 minutes of level walking at that speed.
| Speed | 125 lb | 150 lb | 175 lb | 200 lb | 225 lb | 250 lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 2.0 mphslower than 30:00 per mile, 2.3 MET | 68 | 82 | 96 | 110 | 123 | 137 |
| 2.0 to 2.4 mph30:00 to 25:00 per mile, 2.8 MET | 83 | 100 | 117 | 133 | 150 | 167 |
| 2.5 mph24:00 per mile, 3.0 MET | 89 | 107 | 125 | 143 | 161 | 179 |
| 2.8 to 3.4 mph21:26 to 17:39 per mile, 3.8 MET | 113 | 136 | 158 | 181 | 204 | 226 |
| 3.5 to 3.9 mph17:09 to 15:23 per mile, 4.8 MET | 143 | 171 | 200 | 229 | 257 | 286 |
| 4.0 to 4.4 mph15:00 to 13:38 per mile, 5.5 MET | 164 | 196 | 229 | 262 | 295 | 327 |
| 4.5 to 4.9 mph13:20 to 12:15 per mile, 7.0 MET | 208 | 250 | 292 | 333 | 375 | 417 |
| 5.0 to 5.5 mph12:00 to 10:55 per mile, 8.5 MET | 253 | 304 | 354 | 405 | 455 | 506 |
How the walking calorie calculator works
The calculator turns your distance and time, or your pace, into a speed. It then finds that speed in the walking table of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, a research list of the energy cost of adult activities. Each row gives a MET: the energy cost of walking at that speed as a multiple of sitting quietly. The Compendium's level walking rows go from 2.3 MET (under 2.0 mph) to 8.5 MET (5.0 to 5.5 mph).
The calculator uses the rows for walking on level, firm ground. The Compendium gives uphill walking, walking with a load and treadmill walking rows of their own, and this calculator does not use them.
Calories come from the Compendium's own conversion, with your weight in kilograms: kcal = MET x 3.5 x kg / 200 x minutes.
The Compendium lists walking in speed bands, with small gaps between some of them. Most speeds land inside a Compendium row. When yours falls in a gap between two rows, the calculator uses the nearer row, and the slower one if it sits exactly halfway. Above the fastest row, it uses that row. The result tells you when this happened. The Compendium asks its users not to change its MET values or combine rows, so the calculator never averages two of them.
A walk and a run at the same speed can sit in different rows, so a run belongs in the running calorie calculator.
What your walking calorie number means
It is a gross figure. One MET is the energy you use sitting quietly, so the total includes the calories your body would have burned at rest over the same minutes.
Weight and time scale it in proportion: twice the weight or twice the minutes gives twice the calories. Speed works through the MET, and the faster rows carry higher values. Per mile, speed matters much less, because a faster mile takes fewer minutes.
The calculation uses only your weight, your time and the MET for your speed. It cannot allow for hills, heat, wind or how fit you are, and the 2024 Adult Compendium covers adults aged 19 to 59.
Walking calories in the 2024 Compendium
The 2024 edition of the Compendium rates a 3.0 mph walk at 3.8 MET, up from 3.5 in the 2011 edition, so the same walk now counts more calories. Calculators built on the 2011 Compendium, including the one this page used to carry, give different numbers for the same walk.
Walking calorie questions
How many calories does a 30 minute walk burn?
At 3.0 mph (3.8 MET in the 2024 Compendium), about 113 calories if you weigh 125 lb and 226 if you weigh 250 lb.
How many calories does walking a mile burn?
At 20:00 per mile (3.0 mph, 3.8 MET in the 2024 Compendium), about 75 calories if you weigh 125 lb and 151 if you weigh 250 lb.
How long do I have to walk to burn 1,000 calories?
At a brisk 3.5 to 3.9 mph (4.8 MET in the 2024 Compendium), about 3 hours 7 minutes if you weigh 140 lb and 2 hours 11 minutes if you weigh 200 lb.
How many calories do 10,000 steps burn?
The answer depends on your step length, because it sets how far those steps take you. The steps to calories calculator works it out from your step count.
Do I burn more calories walking or running a mile?
Running. For a 154 lb person, a mile walked at 20:00 per mile burns about 93 calories, and a mile run at 10:00 per mile about 114 (3.8 and 9.3 MET in the 2024 Compendium).
Will walking help me lose weight?
This calculator counts the calories a walk burns. To set a weight loss target, use the calorie deficit calculator.
Sources
- Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE, et al. 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: a third update of the energy costs of human activitiesJournal of Sport and Health Science 2024;13(1):6-12. How the 2024 MET values were set. Read 4 Oct 2026.
- 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: Walking (17)pacompendium.com. The MET for each walking speed on level, firm ground. Read 4 Oct 2026.
- 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: Running (12)pacompendium.com. The MET for each running speed. Read 4 Oct 2026.
- Compendium of Physical Activities: Unit Conversionspacompendium.com. The formula the calculator uses: kcal = MET x 3.5 x kg / 200 x minutes. Read 5 Oct 2026.
- Ainsworth BE, et al. 2011 Compendium of Physical ActivitiesMedicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2011;43(8):1575-1581, supplemental activity list. The 2011 values in the edition note. Read 4 Oct 2026.
- NIST Special Publication 811, Appendix B.8NIST, 2008 edition. The exact mile and pound conversions. Read 4 Oct 2026.
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