Calories Burned Calculator
Estimate the calories you burn in any activity from your body weight and workout time, using MET values from the Compendium of Physical Activities.
How many calories does a workout actually burn? Pick your activity, enter your body weight (pounds or kilograms — the calculator converts automatically) and how long you did it, and this calorie burn calculator estimates the energy you used with the MET (metabolic equivalent) method.
How it works
Every activity has a MET value — a measure of intensity relative to sitting still. The energy you burn is:
calories = MET × 3.5 × weight (kg) ÷ 200 × minutes
The formula works in kilograms; if you enter pounds, the calculator converts (1 kg = 2.205 lb) before computing. Two things drive the result: how intense the activity is (its MET) and how much you weigh, because moving a heavier body costs more energy. Duration then scales it linearly.
Worked example
Running at 6 mph (about 9.8 METs) for 30 minutes at 70 kg (154 lb):
9.8 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 × 30 ≈ 360 calories
Representative MET values
| Activity | METs |
|---|---|
| Walking (3 mph) | 3.5 |
| Weight training (general) | 3.5 |
| Cycling (moderate, 12–14 mph) | 8.0 |
| Running (6 mph) | 9.8 |
| Jump rope (fast pace) | 12.3 |
Reading the result
These figures are estimates from population averages, so treat them as a good guide rather than an exact count — your real burn varies with fitness, intensity, and terrain. To lose weight, pair your activity burn with the calorie target from a calorie calculator: sustainable fat loss comes mostly from a modest daily deficit, with exercise supporting it. To see the burn from a workout folded into your whole-day total, the TDEE calculator adds this kind of activity on top of your resting metabolism.
Frequently asked questions
How are calories burned calculated?
Using MET values — metabolic equivalents. The formula is: calories = MET × 3.5 × body weight in kg ÷ 200 × minutes. Each activity has a MET value that reflects how intense it is relative to sitting still, so heavier people and longer or harder workouts burn more.
What is a MET?
One MET is the energy you use at rest. An activity rated at 8 METs burns about eight times as many calories per minute as resting. Walking is roughly 3.5 METs, running around 10, and vigorous cycling about 8.
Why is this different from my Apple Watch or Fitbit?
Wearables estimate calories from your heart rate and personal data, while this calculator uses MET values — activity-intensity averages from the Compendium of Physical Activities. Both are estimates and both can be off by 10–20%: MET tables stay steadier across activities, while heart-rate devices adapt to how hard you personally worked. Expect them to disagree, and track trends with one method rather than comparing numbers between them.
How accurate is the estimate?
It's a solid ballpark. MET values are population averages, so your real burn depends on fitness, intensity, terrain, and efficiency. Fitness trackers use heart rate to personalise the estimate, but they aren't perfectly accurate either — expect any method to be within roughly 10–20%.
Does this include the calories I'd burn anyway?
The MET formula gives gross calories for the activity, which includes the small amount you'd have burned at rest during that time. For most planning purposes that difference is minor, so the figure is fine to use as your activity burn.