Steps and calories are different kinds of number, and the best apps admit it. A step is countable: you either took it or you did not, and a phone or watch can verify it within a few percent. A calorie is modelled: an equation fed by your weight, pace and heart rate, with an error bar the app never prints. This page does two jobs. First, the honest maths of turning steps into calories, so you know what your own 10,000 is roughly worth. Second, the apps we would actually use to track both in 2026, on iPhone and Android.
Short verdict: For steps with calorie estimates and zero cost, Pedometer by Fitcoin or Fitcoin (ours). For the full calories-in-versus-out picture, MyFitnessPal for food plus any watch for burn is still the classic combination. Samsung Health does both adequately out of the box on a Galaxy phone. Whatever you choose, treat the calorie line as a weather forecast: useful direction, silly precision.
Disclosure: Fitcoin and Pedometer by Fitcoin are our products. We are not affiliated with MyFitnessPal, Samsung, Pacer or StepsApp. Where our apps appear, we say so. Calorie figures on this page and in every app named are wellness estimates, not medical measurements, and none of this is dieting or medical advice.
The steps-to-calories maths, honestly
Walking burn scales mostly with body weight and distance. A common rule of thumb from exercise-science tables is roughly 0.5 kcal per kilogram of body weight per kilometre walked at an easy pace, and 1,000 steps covers about 0.7–0.8 km for most adults. Multiply through and you get the table below. These are gross figures at a normal pace on the flat; brisk pace, hills and a heavy rucksack push them up, and short shuffling steps pull them down.
| Body weight | Per 1,000 steps (approx.) | Per 5,000 steps | Per 10,000 steps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 kg (8st 9lb) | 25–30 kcal | 125–150 kcal | 250–300 kcal |
| 70 kg (11st) | 30–40 kcal | 150–200 kcal | 300–400 kcal |
| 85 kg (13st 5lb) | 38–48 kcal | 190–240 kcal | 380–480 kcal |
| 100 kg (15st 10lb) | 45–55 kcal | 225–275 kcal | 450–550 kcal |
Two caveats worth engraving somewhere. First, part of that burn would have happened anyway: your body spends calories existing, so the extra cost of walking versus sitting is a bit lower than the gross figure. Second, apps differ on exactly this point, which is why two apps disagree about the same walk. Neither is lying; they are answering slightly different questions with slightly different formulas.
Practical conclusion: 10,000 steps is worth roughly 300–500 kcal for most adults, which is real but is also one large flat white and a flapjack. Walking is magnificent for health, mood and consistency. As a licence to eat, it is weaker than the apps make it feel.
The best apps to track steps and calories
1. Pedometer by Fitcoin: steps first, calories included (ours)
Our free companion app, rolling out on iPhone and Android, disclosed as ours. It leads with today’s steps, a 1,000-steps-a-day streak and a seven-day trend, and when you record a live walk or run it shows route, pace, heart rate and calories for the session. No ads, no subscription, no food logging, and GPS only runs during a live session. It is the right pick if you want the steps-and-burn picture without turning your phone into a diet.
2. Fitcoin: the version where the steps earn something
Fitcoin, our main app, is free on iPhone and Android and reads steps, workouts and energy burned from Apple Health or Health Connect, deduplicating overlapping devices so nothing counts twice. Movement builds a daily FitScore, and FitScore earns Fitcoin you redeem for partner rewards; it is a rewards currency, not cash and not crypto. If part of your motivation is that the walk should be worth something, this is the category, and the realistic numbers are in how much walking apps pay for 10,000 steps.
3. MyFitnessPal + a watch: the full energy equation
Steps apps only see calories-out. If you are managing weight, calories-in is the half that decides the outcome, and MyFitnessPal remains the biggest food database on either platform. The classic setup: any watch (Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, Fitbit) measures activity burn with heart rate, MyFitnessPal logs food, and the two sync through Apple Health or Health Connect. Free tier with ads and a subscription for macros and deeper analysis. One warning from the maths section: MyFitnessPal will cheerfully add your exercise calories to your food budget, and step estimates run generous, so eating back all of them is how tracked weeks produce untracked results.
4. Samsung Health: both jobs, no installs, on Galaxy
Samsung Health counts steps, estimates burn, and includes basic food logging, free on most Galaxy phones and best with a Galaxy Watch feeding heart-rate data. The food database is thinner than MyFitnessPal’s, but for a casual steps-plus-rough-calories picture it does everything in one preinstalled app, with no ads.
5. Pacer: steps, calories and company
Pacer shows steps, distance and calorie estimates from the phone sensor, then adds groups and organised challenges, which is what keeps people opening it in February. Free with ads; the subscription adds coaching plans. Calories here are phone-modelled without heart rate, so treat them as the roughest estimates on this list.
6. StepsApp: the prettiest way to see both numbers
StepsApp presents steps, distance and calories in the best-looking charts and widgets in the category, on iPhone and Android, syncing with Apple Health and Health Connect. Free with ads, paid upgrade for themes and no ads. If a beautiful chart is what makes you take the long way home, that is a legitimate feature.
Which setup fits which person
| You want | Use | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Steps + session calories, clean and free | Pedometer by Fitcoin | Free |
| Steps + calories that also earn rewards | Fitcoin | Free |
| Weight management with food logging | MyFitnessPal + any watch | Free tier; subscription for extras |
| Everything in one preinstalled app | Samsung Health (Galaxy) | Free |
| Social pressure to keep walking | Pacer | Free tier; subscription |
Whichever you pick, run one app as the calorie authority. Steps merge cleanly across devices; calorie models do not, and averaging two estimates produces a third estimate with extra confidence. If you want the counting side ranked in full, the platform-agnostic list is best pedometer apps.
How to use the calorie number without being fooled by it
- Watch the weekly trend, not the daily integer. 2,100 steps-calories this week versus 1,400 last week is signal. 342 versus 358 on Tuesday is noise.
- Do not eat back the full estimate. If weight change is the goal, treat activity calories as half-real and let the scales arbitrate over a month.
- Keep the same app for the comparison. Switching apps mid-month changes the model and fakes progress in either direction.
- Weigh yourself into the app occasionally. Every model on this page uses your weight as its main input; a figure from two years ago quietly skews every estimate.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories do 1,000 steps burn?
Roughly 25–50 kcal at a normal walking pace, depending mostly on body weight: around 25–30 kcal at 55 kg, 30–40 kcal at 70 kg, and 45–55 kcal at 95 kg. Pace, hills and stride length shift the number, which is why 10,000 steps is commonly worth somewhere between 250 and 500 kcal, not one universal figure.
What is the best app to track steps and calories?
For steps plus honest calorie estimates in one place, Pedometer by Fitcoin or Fitcoin (ours, both free). If you also want to log food so calories-in meets calories-out, MyFitnessPal synced with a watch is the classic combination. Samsung Health does both natively on Galaxy phones; Pacer and StepsApp are strong step-first options.
Why do two apps show different calories for the same walk?
Because calories are modelled, not measured. Each app combines your weight, pace and sometimes heart rate with its own formula, so a 312 and a 428 for the same walk are two estimates, not a right and a wrong answer. Pick one app and watch its trend rather than comparing integers across apps.
Do I burn calories from steps even without an app?
Obviously, yes. The app changes measurement, not physiology. What tracking adds is awareness and a nudge: people who see a number tend to walk more, and an app that rewards the habit, as Fitcoin does, stacks a second incentive on top.
Should I eat back the calories my step counter says I burned?
Be careful. Step-calorie figures are estimates that often run generous, and eating back an overestimate erases the deficit. A common-sense approach is to eat back no more than half of estimated activity calories and judge by the scale trend over a few weeks. For medical weight management, talk to a professional, not an app.
Can I earn rewards for my daily steps?
Yes. Fitcoin (ours) converts verified steps and workouts into Fitcoin you redeem for partner rewards, and several other apps run points schemes. Across the whole category the amounts are modest, so treat rewards as a habit bonus rather than income. The realistic figures are in how much walking apps pay for 10,000 steps.
How we researched this: Written 16 August 2026 from standard exercise-physiology walking-energy tables (kcal per kg per km approximations, cross-checked against published MET values for walking), hands-on use of these apps on iPhone and Android, Apple Health and Health Connect developer documentation on steps and energy types, and the public feature pages of MyFitnessPal, Samsung Health, Pacer and StepsApp. All calorie figures are rounded estimates for healthy adults at an easy pace; individual burn varies. Fitcoin and Pedometer by Fitcoin inclusion is ownership-disclosed. Not medical or dietetic advice.
Related reading: best pedometer apps, how much walking apps pay for 10,000 steps, the most accurate step counter app.
About the author: Harris Khan is the co-founder of Fitcoin. He studied at Loughborough University and has more than 15 years of personal experience across strength training, bodybuilding, Muay Thai and general fitness.