Steps to distance calculator
Turn a step count into miles or kilometers, or work out how many steps a walk takes. Your stride is estimated from your height with a common rule of thumb, or you can type your own measured stride.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Choose metric or US units.
- Enter your sex and height. If you know your stride length, type it to override the estimate.
- Enter the steps you took to get the distance, and a distance to get the number of steps.
- Both answers update as you type.
How it works
The stride length is a rule of thumb from your height:
- women: stride ≈ 0.413 × height
- men: stride ≈ 0.415 × height
Then:
- distance = steps × stride
- steps = distance ÷ stride
A typed stride replaces the estimate. One mile is exactly 1.609344 km and one inch exactly 2.54 cm.
Worked example
A woman who is 160 cm tall has a stride of 0.413 × 160 = 66.08 cm.
- 10,000 steps × 66.08 cm = 660,800 cm = 6.608 km (about 4.1 miles)
- To walk 5 km she needs 500,000 ÷ 66.08 ≈ 7,567 steps
Limits and tips
- The height factors describe an average walking stride. Speed, terrain, shoes and age change it, so measure your own stride for a better result.
- Phone and watch step counters count steps with their own errors, often a few percent.
- For pace and race times, see the pace calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How long is an average step?
It depends mostly on height. A common rule of thumb puts a walking stride at about 0.413 × height for women and 0.415 × height for men, so a 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) woman steps about 70 cm. These factors are approximate and not exact science.
How many steps are in a mile or a kilometer?
With a 70 cm stride, a kilometer takes about 1,430 steps and a mile about 2,300. Taller people take fewer steps, and running strides are longer than walking strides.
How can I measure my own stride?
Walk 10 steps at a normal pace, measure the distance covered and divide by 10. Type the result into the stride field to replace the height estimate. Measuring is more accurate than any formula.
Are 10,000 steps really a goal?
10,000 is a round target popular with step counters, not a rule from a medical study. With an average stride it is roughly 7 km or 4.5 miles. Any extra walking compared with your current day helps.