Work out calories and kilojoules burned skipping rope, based on your body weight, skipping pace, and how many minutes you kept the rope turning.
Jump rope calorie burn depends on your body weight, how fast you're turning the rope, and how long you keep going, captured in a MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) value for each pace. The formula is calories = MET × body weight in kilograms × time in hours. Even a slow, controlled pace (MET 8.8) sits well into vigorous cardio territory, and pushing past 120 skips a minute (MET 12.3) burns calories faster than most gym cardio machines. A 70 kg adult skipping at a moderate pace (11.8 MET) for 15 minutes burns close to 207 kcal, about 864 kJ.
| Metric | Value |
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The calculation comes down to three things: how fast you're turning the rope (expressed as a MET value), your body weight, and how long the session lasts. A faster pace and a heavier body both burn more per minute, and more minutes simply adds more total calories on top.
The table below holds pace and duration fixed at a moderate skipping pace (MET 11.8) for 15 minutes, so you can see how much body weight alone changes the result.
| Body Weight | MET | Calories (15 min) | Kilojoules |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 kg | 11.8 | 177 kcal | 741 kJ |
| 70 kg | 11.8 | 207 kcal | 864 kJ |
| 80 kg | 11.8 | 236 kcal | 987 kJ |
| 90 kg | 11.8 | 266 kcal | 1,111 kJ |
| 100 kg | 11.8 | 295 kcal | 1,234 kJ |
Here body weight is fixed at 70 kg and only the pace preset changes, so you can see exactly how much faster skipping affects the burn on its own.
| Pace | MET | Calories/hour | Calories/minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slow (under 100 skips/min) | 8.8 | 616 kcal/hr | 10.27 kcal/min |
| Moderate (100-120 skips/min) | 11.8 | 826 kcal/hr | 13.77 kcal/min |
| Fast (over 120 skips/min) | 12.3 | 861 kcal/hr | 14.35 kcal/min |
What stands out about the MET values above is how high they sit compared with most other everyday cardio: even the slow preset (8.8) burns calories faster per minute than a brisk walk, and the moderate and fast presets (11.8 and 12.3) push well into vigorous-exercise territory, all from a piece of kit that fits in a drawer and needs about two square metres of floor space. That density shows up directly in how quickly you can hit a calorie target. For a 70 kg adult aiming to burn 200 kcal, that takes roughly 19.5 minutes at a slow pace, about 14.5 minutes at a moderate pace, and around 13.9 minutes at a fast pace — a meaningful time saving simply from turning the rope quicker.
The catch is that fast-pace skipping is genuinely demanding, and most beginners can only hold 120+ skips a minute in short bursts before their calves or coordination give out. A more realistic progression is to build duration first at a pace you can sustain, then add speed once that becomes comfortable. As an illustration, five minutes at a fast pace for a 70 kg person burns about 72 kcal, while a sustained 20 minutes at a slow, controlled pace burns about 205 kcal — noticeably more total energy from a pace that's actually achievable for a longer stretch. Extending duration at an easier pace is often the more productive move early on, with faster intervals layered in as fitness improves.
Australian nutrition panels list energy in kilojoules, not calories, so it helps to convert your jump rope session into the same unit your food packaging uses. Multiply your calorie figure by 4.184 to get kilojoules. A 70 kg person skipping at a moderate pace for 15 minutes burns about 207 kcal, which is roughly 864 kJ — useful to know if you want to weigh a session against the energy value printed on a snack or drink label.
How many calories does 15 minutes of jump rope burn?
For a 70 kg adult, 15 minutes of skipping burns about 154 kcal at a slow pace, about 207 kcal at a moderate pace, and about 215 kcal at a fast pace. In kilojoules that's roughly 644 kJ, 864 kJ and 901 kJ respectively. A heavier or lighter body weight will scale these figures up or down proportionally — use the calculator above with your own numbers for a precise result.
How many calories does jumping rope burn per hour?
For a 70 kg adult: a slow pace burns about 616 kcal/hr, a moderate pace burns about 826 kcal/hr, and a fast pace burns about 861 kcal/hr. Since calories per hour equals MET multiplied by body weight in kilograms, these numbers scale directly with how much you weigh.
Is jump rope better than running for burning calories?
Both sit in the vigorous cardio range, and which one burns more depends on the specific pace you're comparing. Jump rope's MET values here span from 8.8 for a slow pace up to 12.3 for a fast pace, which for a 70 kg adult works out to 616-861 kcal per hour. Running intensity varies just as widely depending on your speed, so rather than declaring one exercise universally "better," it's more useful to compare your actual pace in each activity using the calculator here alongside our running calorie calculator.
Does body weight change how many calories jump rope burns?
Yes, body weight is one of the three inputs in the calculation along with pace and time. At a moderate skipping pace for 15 minutes, a 60 kg person burns roughly 177 kcal while a 100 kg person burns roughly 295 kcal for the identical session, because calories equal MET multiplied by weight in kilograms multiplied by time in hours. A heavier body does more mechanical work with each jump.
What's the difference between slow, moderate and fast jump rope pace?
These presets are based on skips per minute: slow is under 100 skips/min (MET 8.8), moderate is 100-120 skips/min (MET 11.8), and fast is over 120 skips/min (MET 12.3). The jump from slow to moderate makes the biggest difference in calorie burn — for a 70 kg person that's an extra 210 kcal/hr — while moderate to fast adds a smaller but still meaningful 35 kcal/hr on top.
How many calories does jump rope burn per minute?
For a 70 kg adult: a slow pace burns about 10.27 kcal/min, a moderate pace burns about 13.77 kcal/min, and a fast pace burns about 14.35 kcal/min. Multiply your chosen figure by your session length in minutes for a quick total, or use the calculator above for an exact number with your own body weight.
Is jump rope a good exercise for weight loss?
Weight loss ultimately comes down to your total calorie deficit over time rather than any single workout, but jump rope's high MET values make it a genuinely time-efficient option to include. A 70 kg person can burn around 200 kcal in as little as 14-20 minutes depending on pace, which is a useful amount of exercise to fit into a short session. As with any form of exercise, consistency over weeks and months matters more than any one skipping workout.
Can beginners jump rope at a fast pace for calorie burn?
Most beginners struggle to sustain over 120 skips a minute for more than short bursts, since it demands a level of coordination and calf endurance that takes time to build. A more sensible progression is to build up total duration first at a pace you can hold comfortably, then layer in faster intervals as fitness improves. For example, five minutes at a fast pace burns about 72 kcal for a 70 kg person, while a sustained 20 minutes at a slow, controlled pace burns about 205 kcal — more total calories from a pace that's actually achievable for longer.