Updates automatically as you type.
Calculated in your browser; your inputs are not sent to us. Privacy
General estimate for planning only — not medical advice. Consult a doctor about your specific situation.
Calculation details
Planning estimate only, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Verify assumptions and current rules before making decisions.
This tool runs in your browser. Your calculator inputs and results are never transmitted to us or to ad/affiliate partners. Ads and sponsored links may set third-party cookies to serve and measure them, but they never receive your calculation values. If you explicitly save a scenario, its permitted fields stay in local browser storage until you clear them. See our Privacy Policy.
Use this result
Share the current inputs or ask ChatGPT to explain the calculation in context.
More options
What does this calculator estimate?
Calories burned calculator: estimate calories burned for over 100 activities using MET values, your body weight, and workout duration. Free, no signup.
How this calculator works
Formula
Calories = MET x 3.5 x weight (kg) / 200 x minutes.
Worked example
A 155 lb (70.3 kg) person doing a 4.3-MET activity for 30 minutes burns about 350 kcal, about 12 kcal per minute.
Assumptions to verify
- This tool provides general estimates for planning and education only; it is not medical advice and not a substitute for a qualified healthcare professional.
- Always consult your doctor or another healthcare provider about your specific situation.
Cite this tool
BoringToolsKit. “Calories Burned Calculator.” boringtoolskit.com/calories-burned-calculator/ (reviewed August 2026). Free to reference in articles, syllabi, and answer posts with a link.
Privacy: Inputs and results stay in this browser. Any future sponsored recommendation or advertisement will be clearly labeled and kept separate from the calculation.
Worked example: 80 kg walker at MET 8.0 for 30 minutes
Enter weight 80, unit kg, minutes 30, and an activity at MET 8.0 (a hard stair climb or competitive inline skating pace). The calculator first checks inputs: weight above 0, minutes above 0, and an MET above 0, either from your custom override or the activity list. All three pass, so it runs the formula directly.
Calories = MET x 3.5 x weight(kg) / 200 x minutes. Step one: 8.0 x 3.5 = 28. Step two: 28 x 80 = 2240. Step three: 2240 / 200 = 11.2 kcal per minute. Step four: 11.2 x 30 = 336 kcal. The panel shows 336 kcal, with per-minute 11.2 kcal, MET 8, and weight 80 kg as supporting metrics.
The answer scales linearly in each input. At 60 minutes the same walker burns 672 kcal, exactly double. At 100 kg the rate is 28 x 100 / 200 = 14 kcal per minute, or 420 kcal in 30 minutes. At MET 5.0 and 80 kg it is 5 x 3.5 x 80 / 200 = 7 kcal per minute, or 210 kcal. Unit conversion is nearly invisible at normal weights: 155 lb converts to 0.453592 x 155 = 70.31 kg, within half a percent of a typed 70 kg.
Limits and boundary cases of the MET calculation
The formula is a population average, not a measurement of your body. The 3.5 in the numerator is the assumed resting oxygen cost (about 3.5 ml O2 per kg per minute) and the /200 converts that to roughly 1 kcal per kg per hour. People with higher body fat burn less per kg at rest than that assumption, lean muscular athletes more, and fitness level, sex, and age never enter the calculation.
The guards define the boundary cases. Weight 0 or negative, minutes 0 or negative, and MET 0 or negative all return the same Check inputs message instead of a number, so the calculator cannot produce a zero or negative calorie result. A custom MET of exactly 0 is ignored and the activity's MET is used, because the code reads the override only when it is greater than 0. There is no upper cap: 1440 minutes at MET 14 and 80 kg gives 14 x 3.5 x 80 / 200 = 19.6 kcal per minute, or 28,224 kcal for a full day, which is physically impossible and only a reminder to keep entries realistic.
MET values are lab averages for the listed activity at the listed intensity. Compendium data rates walking at 4.3 km/h at 3.0 MET and brisk walking at 7.2 km/h at 8.3 MET, a near-triple difference for the same verb, so picking the wrong row matters more than any rounding. Treat the output as a planning estimate with roughly plus or minus 10 to 20 percent error for most people.