Calories Burned Calculator

Whether you are going for a run, hitting the gym or just want to know how much a session of gardening adds up to, this calorie burn calculator gives a general estimate of the energy you use during exercise based on your bodyweight, the activity and how long you do it for.

How to use the calories burned calculator

Choose the activity that best matches what you did, or plan to do, enter your weight in kilograms, and enter how long you were active for in minutes. The calculator instantly shows an estimated total calorie burn for that session, along with a calories per minute figure so you can compare activities at a glance.

How the calculation works

The calculator uses MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) values, a standard measure from the widely published Compendium of Physical Activities that rates how intense an activity is compared with resting. Calories per minute are worked out as MET × 3.5 × your weight in kilograms, divided by 200, then multiplied by your session length in minutes to get a total.

Worked example

For someone weighing 75kg going for a 30 minute run at a moderate 10km/h pace (MET of 9.8), calories per minute work out as (9.8 × 3.5 × 75) ÷ 200 ≈ 12.9 kcal per minute. Over a 30 minute session, that comes to roughly 386 kcal burned. The same person doing 30 minutes of yoga (MET of 3.0) would burn considerably less, at around 118 kcal, showing how much intensity affects the total.

Comparing activities fairly

Because this calculator uses MET values, you can compare very different activities on a like-for-like basis. A brisk 45 minute walk might burn a similar number of calories to a shorter, more intense HIIT session, which can help you choose an activity that fits your available time as well as your fitness goals. It is worth remembering that consistency over time tends to matter more for overall health and fitness than any single session's calorie total.

Common mistakes people make

A common mistake is picking an activity intensity that flatters your actual effort, for example choosing “vigorous cycling” for a relaxed ride, which can significantly overestimate the result. Another mistake is treating the figure as exact rather than an estimate, and then trying to precisely offset it with food, since day-to-day energy needs vary for many reasons beyond a single workout. It also helps to remember that this only covers the activity itself, not your total daily energy expenditure from everything else you do.

Related calculators

For your full daily energy needs including rest and general activity, try our TDEE calculator or our BMR calculator. Runners can also check their running pace with our dedicated calculator, and gym-goers may find our heart rate zone calculator useful for planning training intensity. For more on how these energy figures fit together, see our guide on TDEE vs BMR explained.