XP TRACKERSteps to miles and km calculator
For many adults, 10,000 steps is roughly 6.5 to 8 km, or 4 to 5 miles, depending on height and pace. Enter your height or your own step length to convert steps to distance, or a distance to steps, both ways.
Convert your steps
How the conversion works
Distance is simply steps times step length. The hard part is knowing your step length. A widely used estimate for walking is about 41% of your height. For someone 170 cm tall that is 0.414 x 170 = about 70 cm, so 10,000 steps cover about 7 km, or 4.4 miles.
Going the other way, a 5 km walk at 70 cm a step is 5,000 / 0.70 = about 7,100 steps. One mile is 1,609 metres, so the same person takes about 2,300 steps per mile.
Walking time uses a rough 100 steps a minute, a common pace for a steady walk. A gentle stroll is slower; a brisk walk can be 110 to 130 steps a minute.
Measure it once for a better number
The height rule is an average, and people differ. Your pace changes your step length too: a brisk walk has longer steps than a stroll. For a better number, walk 20 normal steps, measure the distance and divide by 20, then type that into the step length box.
Quick reference for a 170 cm walker
| Steps | Kilometres | Miles | Walking time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,000 | 1.4 | 0.9 | about 20 min |
| 5,000 | 3.5 | 2.2 | about 50 min |
| 8,000 | 5.6 | 3.5 | about 1 h 20 min |
| 10,000 | 7.0 | 4.4 | about 1 h 40 min |
| 15,000 | 10.6 | 6.6 | about 2 h 30 min |
Those minutes are spread over a whole day for most people. Walking around the house, the shop and the office all count on a step counter.
Using the numbers
- Plan a route that matches a goal. If you want 3,000 more steps, a loop of about 2 km does it.
- Compare days fairly. A shorter person's 8,000 steps and a taller person's 7,000 can be the same distance.
- Build up slowly. If you are raising your daily total, the step goal planner gives a week-by-week ramp, and our page on walking more has ideas for fitting the steps in.
Try it today
Measure your step length on your next walk, enter it here, and see how far your normal day really takes you.
Questions people ask
How many steps are in a mile?
Roughly 2,000 to 2,500 walking steps for most adults. Someone 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) tall takes about 2,300 steps per mile at a normal walk. Taller people and faster walkers need fewer.
How many steps are in a kilometre?
About 1,250 to 1,550 walking steps for most adults. At 170 cm tall it is roughly 1,400.
How far is 10,000 steps?
About 7 km or 4.4 miles for someone 170 cm tall. For a 155 cm person it is closer to 6.4 km (4 miles), and for a 190 cm person about 7.9 km (4.9 miles).
How do I measure my own step length?
Walk 20 normal steps on a flat path, measure the distance from where you started to where you stopped, and divide by 20. A known distance such as a running track works too: count your steps over 100 metres and divide 100 by the count.
Is a step the same as a stride?
Not quite. A step is one foot moving ahead of the other. A stride is two steps, from one heel strike to the next strike of the same heel. Step counters count steps, so this calculator uses step length.
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