Free steps tool
Steps to Distance Calculator
Enter a step count and your height and get the distance in kilometres and miles. If you know your own step length, type it and the estimate from height is not used.
Worked example
10,000 steps with a step length of 73.9 cm (estimated from the height of 178 cm for a man) is 7.39 km, or 4.59 miles.
Convert steps to kilometres and miles
The result below starts from the example's numbers. Change any field and it updates as you type.
Track this target every day
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Results are estimates from published formulas, not medical advice. Your own body can sit above or below them.
Where the formulas come from, and how we check them: how we calculate.
How steps become distance
Distance is the number of steps times the length of one step. The calculator multiplies the two and shows the result in kilometres and miles (1 mile is 1.609344 km). The length of one step is the part that varies from person to person, so it is the part to get right.
Where the step length comes from
If you leave the step length blank, the calculator estimates it from your height: 0.415 times height for a man and 0.413 times height for a woman. This is the rule of thumb that step counters and pedometers have long used. We looked for a published study that sets those two numbers and could not find one we could check, so treat the estimate as a starting point. Walking faster or slower, uphill, or in a hurry changes how long your step is.
A better figure takes a minute: walk a known distance at your usual pace, such as 20 metres or a lap of a track, count the steps, and divide the distance by the steps. Type that into the step length field and the calculator uses it.
Men and women
The two factors differ by half a percent, so the sex field changes the answer very little. Height changes it far more. A person 10 cm taller has an estimated step about 4 cm longer, so the same number of steps covers more ground.
Want the energy cost of those steps as well? The steps to calories calculator adds your weight and your walking pace. For walking by minutes instead of steps, with the same Compendium values, see calories burned walking.
Steps to distance by height
The estimated distance for common step counts, using the height-based step length for a man. The same table for a woman is about 0.5% shorter at every height, because the factor is 0.413 against 0.415.
| Steps | 150 cm (4 ft 11 in) | 160 cm (5 ft 3 in) | 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | 3.1 km (1.9 mi) | 3.3 km (2.1 mi) | 3.5 km (2.2 mi) | 3.7 km (2.3 mi) | 3.9 km (2.4 mi) |
| 7,500 | 4.7 km (2.9 mi) | 5.0 km (3.1 mi) | 5.3 km (3.3 mi) | 5.6 km (3.5 mi) | 5.9 km (3.7 mi) |
| 10,000 | 6.2 km (3.9 mi) | 6.6 km (4.1 mi) | 7.1 km (4.4 mi) | 7.5 km (4.6 mi) | 7.9 km (4.9 mi) |
| 15,000 | 9.3 km (5.8 mi) | 10.0 km (6.2 mi) | 10.6 km (6.6 mi) | 11.2 km (7.0 mi) | 11.8 km (7.3 mi) |