About this tool
Calorie burn from walking or running is commonly estimated using MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) values — a standard way of expressing how many times more energy an activity uses compared to sitting quietly (1 MET). The formula is straightforward: calories = MET × your weight in kilograms × duration in hours. Faster paces have higher MET values because they demand more oxygen and effort per minute, which is why a brisk walk burns more per hour than a slow one, and a hard run burns far more than a jog.
This calculator offers two ways to estimate: pick a pace preset directly (from a slow stroll to a fast run) and enter how long you were active, or — if you tracked a route — enter the distance and time and let the calculator work out your average speed and match it to the closest preset automatically. Either way, treat the result as a useful estimate rather than an exact measurement: real-world calorie burn depends on your individual metabolism, body composition, terrain (hills, sand, treadmill incline), footwear, wind, and effort level, so actual numbers can vary meaningfully from person to person even at the same pace and duration.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the same activity burn different calories for different people?
Body weight is the single biggest factor in the MET formula (`MET × weight × time`) — moving more mass takes more energy, which is exactly why the calculator asks for your weight. Beyond weight, actual calorie burn also depends on individual metabolism, fitness level (a well-trained person can move more efficiently, potentially burning somewhat less for the identical pace), terrain/incline (walking uphill burns considerably more than flat ground, which this simple calculator doesn't account for), and even things like temperature. The MET method used here is a population-average estimate, deliberately simple and transparent rather than claiming false precision.
Why is running so much more calorie-intensive than walking at similar speeds?
Running and walking are biomechanically very different movements, not just "walking but faster" — running involves an airborne phase where both feet leave the ground between strides, requiring significantly more muscular force to propel the body upward and forward each stride, while walking always keeps at least one foot in contact with the ground. This is why the MET values jump substantially between the fastest walking preset (~6.3) and the slowest running preset (~8.3) even though their actual speeds can be fairly close (around 7.2 vs 8 km/h) — the biomechanical shift to running itself, not just the speed increase, is what drives the bigger calorie burn.