Calories Burned Calculator
Estimate calories burned during exercise and everyday activities, using standard MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) values.
Calculation Breakdown
Calories = MET × weight (kg) × duration (hours) — the standard MET-based estimation method. This is gross energy expenditure and includes the calories you’d have burned at rest anyway.
Calories Burned Calculator
Our Calories Burned Calculator estimates the energy you use during exercise and everyday activities, using MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) values from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities — a widely used reference for estimating energy expenditure from physical activity. Choose your weight, an activity, and how long you did it for, to get an estimate of calories burned, broken down by minute and by hour.
How Are Calories Burned Calculated?
Every activity in our list has a MET value, which describes how much energy it takes relative to sitting quietly (1 MET). For calorie estimation, 1 MET is commonly treated as approximately 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour, so calories burned can be estimated as:
Calories = MET × weight (kg) × duration (hours)
For example, a 70 kg person doing 30 minutes of brisk walking (4.8 MET) burns approximately 4.8 × 70 × 0.5 = 168 calories. Because the formula scales directly with body weight, a heavier person burns more calories doing the same activity for the same time, and a more intense activity (higher MET) burns more per minute than a gentler one.
This figure is gross energy expenditure — the total energy used during the activity. It does not subtract the calories you would have burned anyway just by resting for that same length of time (your resting or basal metabolic rate). If you want the additional energy cost of the activity above and beyond rest, that “net” figure would be somewhat lower than the gross estimate shown here.
How to Use the Calories Burned Calculator
- Choose your units — metric (kg) or imperial (stone and pounds).
- Enter your weight.
- Select an activity from the list, grouped by category (walking, running, cycling, sports, gym, and more).
- Enter your duration in minutes — use active time only, pausing for long rest breaks.
- Click Calculate to see your estimated calories burned, plus the rate per minute and per hour.
MET Values for Common Activities
| Activity | MET Value | Calories/Hour (70kg person) |
|---|---|---|
| Walking, moderate pace | 3.8 | 266 |
| Walking, brisk pace | 4.8 | 336 |
| Jogging, general | 7.5 | 525 |
| Running, 6 mph (10 min/mile) | 9.3 | 651 |
| Cycling, moderate effort | 8.0 | 560 |
| Swimming laps, freestyle, fast | 9.8 | 686 |
| Weight training, vigorous | 6.0 | 420 |
| Yoga, general | 2.3 | 161 |
| HIIT, vigorous | 11.0 | 770 |
Figures shown are for a 70kg person and rounded to the nearest whole calorie; use the calculator above for your own weight.
What Affects How Many Calories You Actually Burn?
- Body weight and composition: heavier bodies and greater muscle mass generally burn more calories for the same activity, but MET values don’t distinguish between muscle and fat mass.
- Fitness level: how efficiently your body performs a given activity can vary from person to person, and may differ from the population averages that MET values are based on — not always in the same direction.
- Technique, terrain and conditions: incline, resistance, load carried, water/wind conditions, and technique all change true energy expenditure, sometimes substantially.
- “Afterburn” (EPOC): more intense exercise can raise your metabolism for a period afterwards. MET values describe the activity itself and don’t include this additional effect, the size of which varies considerably by activity, intensity and individual.
- Individual metabolism: resting metabolic rate varies between people of the same weight, age and sex.
Because of all this, MET-based estimates — including those from fitness apps and wearables — are a useful guide rather than an exact measurement. Studies comparing wearable calorie estimates to lab-measured energy expenditure have found meaningful differences, particularly for higher-intensity or less common activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a MET value?
MET stands for Metabolic Equivalent of Task. One MET is the energy cost of sitting quietly. For calorie estimation, 1 MET is commonly treated as approximately 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour. Every physical activity has an associated MET value showing how many times more energy it takes compared with resting — for example, brisk walking at around 4.8 MET burns roughly 4.8 times as much energy as sitting still.
How accurate are calories-burned calculators?
MET-based calculators give a reasonable population-average estimate, not a precise personal measurement. Actual energy expenditure depends on factors like fitness level, body composition, technique, and conditions on the day, so your true calorie burn could be meaningfully higher or lower than the estimate. Fitness trackers and wearables use similar underlying methods and have the same fundamental limitation.
Why does a heavier person burn more calories doing the same exercise?
The standard MET formula (Calories = MET × weight in kg × hours) scales directly with body weight, because moving a heavier body takes more energy. This is a well-established pattern in exercise physiology, not specific to this calculator.
Where do the MET values come from?
The MET values used here are drawn from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, a published reference developed and maintained by exercise scientists and widely used for estimating energy expenditure from physical activity in research and fitness applications.
Does this calculator account for muscle mass or fitness level?
No. MET values are population averages and don’t adjust for individual differences in muscle mass, body composition, or fitness level. Two people of the same weight can have genuinely different energy costs for the same activity — this calculator gives a general estimate rather than a personalised figure.
Should I use this to plan how much to eat?
We’d suggest not relying on calorie-burned estimates to decide how much to eat. These figures are rough estimates with real margins of error, and using them to closely offset food intake isn’t a reliable or particularly healthy approach. This calculator is intended as a general activity-tracking tool, not for guiding eating decisions.