OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
Steps to Distance Calculator
Steps to km or Miles and Distance to Steps
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How the Steps to Distance Calculator works
This steps to distance calculator turns a step count into kilometres and miles, or a distance into the number of steps it takes. It estimates your step length from your height, entered as 5'10" or 178 cm, or uses a step length you have measured yourself.
How the steps to distance calculator works
The formula is distance = steps × step length. Without a measured value, walking step length is estimated as 41.4% of height, the long-standing pedometer rule, and running as 65%. Step length is heel to heel for one step; a stride, in the strict sense, is two steps.
First example. At 5'10" (177.8 cm) the walking step is 177.8 × 0.414 = 74 cm, so 10,000 steps is 7.36 km or 4.57 miles.
Second example. At 160 cm the step is 66 cm. A 5 km walk is 5,000 ÷ 0.66 = 7,548 steps.
How many steps are in a kilometre? For most adults 1,250 to 1,550 walking steps, and 2,000 to 2,500 in a mile. Taller people take fewer, longer steps.
The height rule is an average and can be out by 10% either way. For a better figure, walk a measured 100 m at your normal pace, count the steps and divide 10,000 cm by the count. Enter that as your measured step length and it replaces the estimate.
Walking step length, steps per km and mile, and the distance of 10,000 steps by height
| Height | Feet and inches | Step length | Steps per km | Steps per mile | 10,000 steps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150 cm | 4'11" | 62 cm | 1,610 | 2,592 | 6.21 km |
| 152 cm | 4'12" | 63 cm | 1,589 | 2,557 | 6.29 km |
| 154 cm | 5'1" | 64 cm | 1,568 | 2,524 | 6.38 km |
| 156 cm | 5'1" | 65 cm | 1,548 | 2,492 | 6.46 km |
| 158 cm | 5'2" | 65 cm | 1,529 | 2,460 | 6.54 km |
| 160 cm | 5'3" | 66 cm | 1,510 | 2,430 | 6.62 km |
| 162 cm | 5'4" | 67 cm | 1,491 | 2,400 | 6.71 km |
| 164 cm | 5'5" | 68 cm | 1,473 | 2,370 | 6.79 km |
| 166 cm | 5'5" | 69 cm | 1,455 | 2,342 | 6.87 km |
| 168 cm | 5'6" | 70 cm | 1,438 | 2,314 | 6.96 km |
| 170 cm | 5'7" | 70 cm | 1,421 | 2,287 | 7.04 km |
| 172 cm | 5'8" | 71 cm | 1,404 | 2,260 | 7.12 km |
| 174 cm | 5'9" | 72 cm | 1,388 | 2,234 | 7.20 km |
| 176 cm | 5'9" | 73 cm | 1,372 | 2,209 | 7.29 km |
| 178 cm | 5'10" | 74 cm | 1,357 | 2,184 | 7.37 km |
| 180 cm | 5'11" | 75 cm | 1,342 | 2,160 | 7.45 km |
| 182 cm | 5'12" | 75 cm | 1,327 | 2,136 | 7.53 km |
| 184 cm | 6'0" | 76 cm | 1,313 | 2,113 | 7.62 km |
| 186 cm | 6'1" | 77 cm | 1,299 | 2,090 | 7.70 km |
| 188 cm | 6'2" | 78 cm | 1,285 | 2,068 | 7.78 km |
| 190 cm | 6'3" | 79 cm | 1,271 | 2,046 | 7.87 km |
| 192 cm | 6'4" | 79 cm | 1,258 | 2,025 | 7.95 km |
| 194 cm | 6'4" | 80 cm | 1,245 | 2,004 | 8.03 km |
| 196 cm | 6'5" | 81 cm | 1,232 | 1,983 | 8.11 km |
| 198 cm | 6'6" | 82 cm | 1,220 | 1,963 | 8.20 km |
| 200 cm | 6'7" | 83 cm | 1,208 | 1,944 | 8.28 km |
FAQ
How many km is 10,000 steps?
About 7 to 8 km for most adults, or 4.5 to 5 miles. At 5'10" it is about 7.4 km. Shorter people cover 6 to 7 km and very tall people over 8 km.
How many steps are in a mile?
Around 2,000 to 2,500 when walking, depending on height. At 5'10" it is about 2,190. Running steps are longer, so a mile of running takes roughly 1,400 to 1,600 steps.
How do I measure my step length?
Walk a known distance, such as 20 m on a track or between two marks, at your normal pace and count the steps. Divide the distance in centimetres by the steps. Repeat it a couple of times and take the average.
Is stride length the same as step length?
Not strictly. A step is from one heel strike to the other foot's heel strike, and a stride is two steps, back to the same foot. Fitness trackers often say stride when they mean step; this calculator works in steps.
Why does my fitness tracker show a different distance?
Trackers use their own step-length estimate and sometimes GPS. If your entered height is wrong, or you walk faster or slower than average, the distance drifts. Setting a measured step length in the tracker's app fixes most of the difference.
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