Free Online Calorie Calculator
Calculate daily calorie needs based on your stats
Basal Metabolic Rate
1,665
calories/day
Total Daily Energy Expenditure
2,580
calories/day
| Goal | Calories/day |
|---|---|
| Maintain weight | 2,580 |
| Lose 0.5 lb/week | 2,330 |
| Lose 1 lb/week | 2,080 |
| Gain 0.5 lb/week | 2,830 |
This tool provides general estimates and is not a substitute for professional medical or nutritional advice. For body composition insights, try our BMI Calculator.
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Knowing your daily calorie target is useful, but sticking to it is the hard part. Noom pairs your nutrition goals with behavioral coaching to help you actually follow through, which is why we recommend it over basic food tracking apps. (We may earn a commission, at no cost to you.)
Why use Calorie Calculator
- Uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation -the formula most dietitians consider the most accurate BMR estimator for healthy adults.
- Shows separate calorie targets for maintenance, mild deficit, aggressive deficit, and surplus so you can pick the right pace.
- Activity-level multiplier accounts for your actual lifestyle instead of giving a one-size-fits-all number.
- Supports imperial and metric units with a single toggle, so users worldwide get results without manual conversion.
- Your height, weight, and age never leave your device -nothing is stored or transmitted to a server.
How it works
The calculator first computes your Basal Metabolic Rate using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation: for males, BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age in years) + 5; for females, the same formula but minus 161 instead of plus 5. BMR represents the calories your body burns at complete rest. To estimate real-world expenditure, BMR is multiplied by an activity factor: sedentary (1.2) for desk jobs with no exercise, lightly active (1.375) for light exercise one to three days per week, moderately active (1.55) for moderate exercise three to five days, very active (1.725) for hard exercise six to seven days, and extra active (1.9) for athletes or physical labor jobs. The product is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). Weight-loss targets subtract 250 or 500 calories from TDEE, corresponding to roughly half a pound or one pound of fat loss per week, since one pound of body fat stores about 3,500 calories. The weight-gain target adds 250–500 calories above TDEE. All unit conversions (pounds to kilograms, feet/inches to centimeters) and math run client-side in your browser.
About this tool
Estimate your daily calorie needs with this free calorie calculator. Enter your age, gender, height, weight, and activity level to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the formula most nutritionists consider the gold standard for estimating metabolic rate. The calculator shows calorie targets for maintaining your current weight, losing half a pound per week (250 calorie deficit), losing one pound per week (500 calorie deficit), and gaining weight (250-500 calorie surplus). Each target is derived from your TDEE by adjusting the daily calorie count up or down, based on the well-established principle that 3,500 calories equals roughly one pound of body weight. Activity levels range from sedentary through lightly active, moderately active, very active, and extra active (athlete-level training). Each level applies a specific multiplier to your BMR: sedentary (1.2) for desk jobs with little or no exercise, lightly active (1.375) for light exercise one to three days per week, moderately active (1.55) for moderate exercise three to five days per week, very active (1.725) for hard exercise six to seven days per week, and extra active (1.9) for athletes in twice-daily training or people with physically demanding jobs. Choosing the right multiplier is the single biggest factor in getting an accurate calorie target, so the calculator includes descriptions to help you self-assess honestly. Once your TDEE is established, the deficit and surplus targets are derived using the 3,500-calorie-per-pound rule: a 250-calorie daily deficit creates roughly a 1,750-calorie weekly shortfall, equating to about half a pound of fat loss; a 500-calorie daily deficit doubles that to approximately one pound per week. The surplus targets mirror this logic, adding 250 or 500 calories above TDEE to support muscle gain or weight restoration. Supports both imperial (feet/inches, pounds) and metric (cm, kg) units with a single toggle. Results update instantly when you change any input, making it easy to explore how different activity levels or weight goals affect your daily target. All processing runs entirely in your browser. Your health data is never stored, transmitted, or logged. This calculator is intended for general informational purposes and is not a substitute for personalized advice from a registered dietitian or physician.
How to use Calorie Calculator
- Enter your details. Input your age, gender, height, and weight.
- Select activity level. Choose how active you are on a typical week.
- View results. See your BMR, TDEE, and calorie targets for different goals.
Use cases
- A marathon runner in training calculating their TDEE to make sure they are eating enough to fuel 50-mile weeks without losing muscle.
- A new mother estimating her calorie needs post-pregnancy to set a realistic and healthy weight-loss timeline with her doctor.
- A personal trainer showing a client the difference between sedentary and moderately active calorie targets to motivate consistent gym attendance.
- A college athlete switching from off-season to in-season training and recalculating daily intake to match the higher activity level.
- A remote worker who recently shifted from an active warehouse job to a desk job using the calculator to understand why their weight has been creeping up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body burns at complete rest to maintain basic functions like breathing, circulation, and cell production. It typically accounts for 60–75% of your total daily calorie expenditure.
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is your BMR multiplied by an activity factor. It represents the total calories you burn in a day including exercise and daily movement. Eating below your TDEE creates a calorie deficit for weight loss.
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is considered the most accurate BMR formula for most people. For men: 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5. For women: the same formula minus 161 instead of plus 5.
A deficit of 500 calories per day below your TDEE typically results in about 1 pound of weight loss per week. A 250-calorie deficit produces about half a pound per week. Never go below 1,200 calories (women) or 1,500 calories (men) without medical supervision.
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is accurate to within about 10% for most people. Individual variation depends on body composition, genetics, and metabolic adaptation. Use the result as a starting point and adjust based on real-world results over 2–4 weeks.
Sedentary: desk job, no exercise. Lightly active: light exercise 1–3 days/week. Moderately active: moderate exercise 3–5 days/week. Very active: hard exercise 6–7 days/week. Extra active: very intense exercise or physical job.
Walking burns roughly 80–100 calories per mile for an average-weight adult, depending on pace and body weight. A 150-pound person walking at 3 mph burns about 80 calories per mile. A 200-pound person burns closer to 105. Running the same mile burns more calories per minute but roughly the same total per mile.
Eating back all exercise calories often stalls weight loss because calorie-burn estimates from fitness trackers tend to overestimate by 20–40%. A safer approach is to eat back about half. If your tracker says you burned 400 calories on a run, add 200 to your daily target. Your TDEE already includes a baseline activity multiplier, so only add calories for exercise beyond your usual routine.
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