Swim Stroke Rate Calculator

1. Count your strokes over a set number of seconds.
2. Enter the number of strokes.
3. Enter the time in seconds you counted over.
4. Read your stroke rate in strokes per minute and your tempo.

Stroke rate, or stroke cadence, is how many strokes you take per minute. It is one half of how fast you swim, the other being how far each stroke carries you. A higher stroke rate turns your arms over more often, while a lower rate relies on a longer, more powerful pull.

Tempo is the same thing seen the other way: the number of seconds between strokes. Swimmers use tempo trainers, small beeping devices, to hold a target stroke rate through a set and build a consistent rhythm. Watching your stroke rate is one of the quickest ways to feel what a coach means by holding your stroke together late in a swim: the moment it starts creeping up while your speed does not, you are usually shortening your stroke and beginning to fight the water rather than glide through it.

1. Count your strokes over a set time in seconds.
2. Divide the strokes by the time.
3. Multiply by 60 for strokes per minute.
4. Divide 60 by the rate for the tempo in seconds per stroke.

Counting over a longer window, such as 20 or 30 seconds, gives a steadier reading than counting over just a few strokes. Counting over three or four strokes exaggerates any single slow or quick arm, whereas a twenty-second window smooths those out and gives a number you can actually trust to compare between swims.

You count 12 strokes in 20 seconds. Your stroke rate is 12 divided by 20, times 60, which is 36 strokes per minute. The tempo is 60 divided by 36, about 1.67 seconds per stroke. Pick the pace up so you take 20 strokes in 25 seconds and the rate rises to 48 per minute, a tempo of 1.25 seconds, a much quicker turnover. The interesting question is always whether that faster turnover actually made you quicker, or simply cost more effort for the same speed, which is exactly why stroke rate is best read alongside your distance per stroke.

Distance

Sprinters use a high stroke rate; distance swimmers hold a lower, more sustainable cadence.

Stroke Length

A long, powerful stroke lets you swim fast at a lower rate; a short stroke needs a higher rate.

Fitness and Fatigue

As you tire, stroke rate often rises while stroke length falls, slowing you down.

Stroke Type

Each stroke has its own natural rate, so compare freestyle with freestyle, not with breaststroke.

Typical freestyle stroke rates by event.

There is no single right rate; the best cadence balances a strong stroke length against a sustainable turnover. The best swimmers tend to settle on a personal rate that feels smooth and repeatable, then work over months to make each of those strokes travel a little further.

Setting a Tempo

Find your current rate to program a tempo trainer for a target cadence.

Comparing Efforts

See how your stroke rate changes between easy and race-pace swims.

Improving Efficiency

Work on holding pace at a lower rate by lengthening your stroke.

1. Counting Too Few Strokes

A short count is noisy; count over 20 to 30 seconds for a steady reading.

2. Chasing a High Rate

A faster turnover is not always faster swimming if stroke length collapses.

3. Ignoring Stroke Length

Rate is only half the picture; distance per stroke is the other half.

4. Comparing Strokes

Different strokes have different natural rates, so keep comparisons within one stroke.

The rate maths is exact for the strokes and time you enter. It measures cadence only, not how far each stroke takes you.

Divide the number of strokes by the time in seconds and multiply by 60. 12 strokes in 20 seconds is 36 strokes per minute.

It depends on the event: 55 to 65 for a sprint, 40 to 50 for a 200, and 30 to 40 for distance swimming.

Tempo is the time between strokes, in seconds. It is the inverse of stroke rate: a 36 stroke per minute rate is a 1.67 second tempo.

Not always. Speed is stroke rate times stroke length, so a high rate with a short stroke can be slower than a lower rate with a long one.

Count your strokes over a set time, such as 20 or 30 seconds, while swimming steadily, then enter both numbers.

A small device that beeps at a set interval so you can hold a target stroke rate. Set it from the tempo this tool gives.

Often it rises as you tire while stroke length falls, which can slow you down despite the faster turnover.

No. Freestyle, breaststroke and the others have different natural rates, so compare only within the same stroke.

No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.

• Front crawl (Wikipedia).
• Swimming (sport) (Wikipedia).
• Cadence (rhythm) (Wikipedia).