Free TDEE Calculator: Maintenance Calories and BMR
Free, no sign-up, works in your browser. Enter your age, height, weight and activity level to see your BMR and TDEE, the calories you burn in a day, with daily targets to lose, keep or gain weight. Uses the Mifflin-St Jeor formula, in metric or imperial units. An estimate, not medical advice.
Mifflin-St Jeor has one version for women and one for men.
years
cm
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Enter your age, height and weight to see your BMR and TDEE.
Track your day against your number
Log your meals in the Calorie Counter and see how they add up to a daily target. It uses the same formula.
An estimate for healthy adults, not medical advice. For some people, real needs differ by more than 10%. Talk to a doctor if you're pregnant, have a medical condition, or have a history of disordered eating. Your numbers stay on your device.
Why use the TDEE Calculator
- BMR, TDEE and five targets
- One screen shows your resting calories, your maintenance calories, and what to eat to lose or gain at two different speeds.
- Shows the working
- See your BMR, the activity factor and the result, so you know exactly where the number comes from.
- Careful with low targets
- A target below your BMR or below 1,200 or 1,500 calories is marked, so you don't set one that's too low by accident.
- 100% free
- Use it as often as you like. No sign-up, no watermark, nothing to install.
- Private by design
- What you type stays in your browser and is never sent to us.
- Works on any device
- Runs in your browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iPhone. No app needed.
Who it's for
- Starting to lose weight
- Find your maintenance calories, then pick a daily target 250 or 500 calories under it.
- Building muscle
- See how much to eat for a small surplus of 250 or 500 calories a day while you train.
- Keeping your weight steady
- After a diet, a new job or a change in training, check how many calories keep your weight where it is now.
- Setting up a food tracker
- Get a sensible daily number before you start logging meals in the Calorie Counter or another app.
- Checking another calculator
- Compare a number from a fitness app or a coach with the Mifflin-St Jeor estimate, and see the working.
How TDEE Calculator compares
- NIH Body Weight Planner
- The US National Institutes of Health planner models how your weight changes over months, which suits long-term planning. This calculator is quicker when you just want your BMR, TDEE and a daily target.
- Calorie counting apps
- Most food tracking apps work out a calorie goal when you sign up. Use this calculator to see the number and how it's worked out before you commit to one.
- Working it out by hand
- You can do Mifflin-St Jeor on paper or in a spreadsheet. The calculator does the same sums as you type, in metric or imperial, and adds the targets for you.
How to use the TDEE Calculator
- Choose Metric (cm, kg) or Imperial (ft, lb), and the female or male version of the formula.
- Enter your age, height and weight.
- Pick the activity level that sounds most like a normal week for you.
- Read your BMR and TDEE, then the daily calorie targets to lose, keep or gain weight. The numbers update as you type.
Frequently asked questions
- What is TDEE?
- TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure: roughly how many calories your body uses in a day, including rest, everyday movement, exercise and digesting food. If you eat about your TDEE, your weight should stay about the same. That's why it's also called your maintenance calories.
- What's the difference between BMR and TDEE?
- BMR (basal metabolic rate) is what your body burns at complete rest, just to keep you alive. TDEE adds everything else you do in a day. The calculator works out your BMR first, then multiplies it by an activity factor from 1.2 (mostly sitting) to 1.9 (very hard daily exercise or physical work) to get your TDEE.
- Which formula does it use, and why?
- The Mifflin-St Jeor equation: 10 × weight in kg + 6.25 × height in cm − 5 × age in years, then +5 for the male version or −161 for the female version. For example, a 30-year-old man who is 180 cm and 80 kg has a BMR of 800 + 1,125 − 150 + 5 = 1,780 kcal a day. A 2005 review (Frankenfield et al.) found it the most reliable of the four common equations for healthy adults. It's the same formula our Calorie Counter uses.
- How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
- It's an estimate. Mifflin-St Jeor comes within 10% of measured resting energy for most people, but not everyone, and it is less accurate at very high body weights. Choosing your activity level adds more guesswork. Treat the number as a starting point: track your weight for two or three weeks and adjust by 100 to 200 calories if it moves when you didn't want it to.
- Which activity level should I choose?
- Pick the one that matches a typical week, not your best one. Mostly sitting (× 1.2): desk job, little or no exercise. Lightly active (× 1.375): light exercise or lots of walking 1 to 3 days a week. Moderately active (× 1.55): moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week. Very active (× 1.725): hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week. Extra active (× 1.9): very hard daily exercise or a physical job. If you're between two, choose the lower one.
- How do I use my TDEE to lose or gain weight?
- Eat less than your TDEE to lose weight and more to gain. The calculator shows five daily targets: 500 or 250 calories under, your maintenance calories, and 250 or 500 over. By the usual rule of thumb, 500 calories a day is about 1 lb (0.45 kg) a week, though real loss tends to slow over time as your body adjusts. Targets below your BMR, or below 1,200 calories (female formula) or 1,500 (male formula), are marked: don't eat that little without a doctor's advice.
- Can I use pounds and feet?
- Yes. Choose Imperial to enter your height in feet and inches and your weight in pounds, or Metric for centimetres and kilograms. The results are in calories (kcal) a day either way.
- Who is this calculator for?
- Adults aged 18 and over. It isn't meant for children or teenagers, or during pregnancy or breastfeeding, when energy needs are different. If you have a medical condition or a history of disordered eating, talk to a doctor before setting a calorie target.
- Is the TDEE calculator free?
- Yes. It's free to use, with no account needed. The calculation runs in your browser and the numbers you enter stay on your device.
Related tools
- Calorie CounterWork out how many calories you need a day with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then count calories and macros against it from 13,000 verified USDA foods, your own foods and barcodes. A target that adapts to your weight trend, fibre and sodium, exercise, recipes, quick add and streaks. Free, no ads, no tracking on this page, and it works offline.
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- Workout PlannerAnswer five questions and get a complete weekly workout plan: full body, upper/lower, push/pull/legs, dumbbell-only or bodyweight at home, or a well-known programme such as a 5/3/1-style wave, GZCLP-style tiers or 5×5. Edit every exercise, set and rest time, see exactly how the weights go up each week, and start each session in the Workout Tracker with one tap. Free, no ads, works offline.
- Unit ConverterConvert between metric and imperial units of length, weight, temperature, volume, area, speed, time and data size, like cm to inches, kg to lbs, Celsius to Fahrenheit or miles to km. Results appear as you type, using exact conversion factors.