How many calories does a 5 km jog burn?

At 10 km/h, 5 km take half an hour. At 70 kg that is about 300 kcal total energy, about 270 kcal of it on top of your resting metabolism.

Is the rule of thumb “1 kcal per kilogram per kilometre” right?

Roughly. With the Compendium values a 70 kg person burns about 60 to 70 kcal per kilometre, depending on pace. The rule of thumb is a little higher but works as an estimate.

How long do I need to jog to burn 500 kcal?

At 70 kg just under an hour at 8 km/h, about 50 minutes at 10 km/h. Lighter people need longer, heavier people less.

Calories burned by sportCalories burned

Calories burned jogging

By Thomas Freimoser · Updated: October 26, 2026

Jogging burns more per hour than almost any other endurance sport – but hardly anyone keeps it up as long as walking. For calories per hour, pace is what counts.

Short answer

At 70 kg you burn about 555 kcal per hour jogging at 8 km/h, about 425 kcal at an easy 6.5–7 km/h and about 720 kcal at 11 km/h.

kcal per hour by pace and body weight

Pace / variant	55 kg	70 kg	85 kg	100 kg
easy, 6.5–7 km/h6.5 MET · Code 12028	375	425	470	520
8 km/h8.5 MET · Code 12030	495	555	615	680
10 km/h9.3 MET · Code 12050	540	605	675	740
11 km/h11 MET · Code 12070	640	720	800	880

Example person: 35 years, 172 cm · total energy including resting metabolism · rounded to 5 kcal · MET values: Compendium 2024.

Calculate for your bodyHeight, age and sex shift the values by up to 20 %.

What raises the burn

Per hour, pace counts: from easy to 11 km/h the burn rises by about 69 %.
Per kilometre, pace hardly matters: at 70 kg a kilometre costs about 60 to 70 kcal depending on pace – running slower just takes longer.
Running puts heavy load on feet, knees and hips. The planner therefore caps it at 3 hours a day; for long days walking and cycling are the better base.

Frequently asked questions

How many calories does a 5 km jog burn?: At 10 km/h, 5 km take half an hour. At 70 kg that is about 300 kcal total energy, about 270 kcal of it on top of your resting metabolism.
Is the rule of thumb “1 kcal per kilogram per kilometre” right?: Roughly. With the Compendium values a 70 kg person burns about 60 to 70 kcal per kilometre, depending on pace. The rule of thumb is a little higher but works as an estimate.
How long do I need to jog to burn 500 kcal?: At 70 kg just under an hour at 8 km/h, about 50 minutes at 10 km/h. Lighter people need longer, heavier people less.

In comparison

Similar burn at 70 kg, from the calmest to the most intense variant:

Jogging425–720 kcal/h
Swimming345–685 kcal/h
Dancing390–640 kcal/h
Indoor cycling390–585 kcal/h

And for the 10K Burn Challenge?

With jogging alone it would take 1.8 hours to burn 1,000 kcal. The planner shows how a whole day of 5,000 to 10,000 kcal comes together.

Build a day in the planner

Link to this page from your website

For blogs, club websites or forums – just paste this code:

<a href="https://10kburn.com/en/kalorienverbrauch/joggen">Calories burned jogging – 10K Burn Challenge</a>

For healthy, trained adults only. Burning 10,000 kcal in a day is extreme. Drink, eat, rest – and stop immediately at any warning sign. Safety & methodology