Values you can check
The result shows the activity’s Compendium code, so you can look up the original entry and its MET value.
Calories Burned Calculator
Calculate total and activity-only energy expenditure with MET values from the 2024 Adult Compendium.
Activity and duration
The result appears once weight and duration are filled in. The calculation stays on your device.
Your calories burned
Estimated total calories
kcal
-
Energy used over the whole session, resting metabolism included.
Calculation details
- Additional calories above rest
- -
- Intensity (METs)
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Method
The calculation multiplies the activity’s MET value from the 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities by your weight in kilograms and the duration in hours. Additional calories subtract 1 MET, the conventional resting level.
Limitations
- A standard MET describes a typical activity, not your actual effort: hills, wind, a load or breaks change the expenditure.
- The convention of 1 MET ≈ 1 kcal per kilogram per hour is an average: actual resting metabolism varies from person to person.
- Children, teenagers and adults over 60 need other reference values.
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How does this tool work?
How many calories does a 30-minute walk, a run or a bike ride burn? This calculator uses the method researchers rely on: the activity’s MET value from the 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities, multiplied by your weight and the time spent moving. It shows the energy used during the session and the extra energy the activity adds above rest.
A MET, or metabolic equivalent, compares the cost of an activity with sitting quietly, conventionally set at about 1 kcal per kilogram per hour. Walking at a moderate pace is 3.8 METs: your body uses about 3.8 times its resting energy. The calculation multiplies that value by your weight in kilograms and the duration in hours; pounds and stones are converted for you.
Two results are shown. Total calories cover all the energy used during the session, including what you would have burned sitting down. Additional calories remove that resting share, 1 MET: this is the energy the activity itself costs. The second figure is part of the first, so never add them together.
Each activity matches a specific entry in the 2024 Adult Compendium, which lists more than 1,100 activities measured or estimated in adults aged 19 to 59. Speeds and paces come straight from the official descriptions, in miles per hour.
How to use this tool
Choose the activity
Pick the entry whose speed or effort best matches what you actually did, not the hardest one.
Enter weight and time
Choose pounds, kilograms or stones, then enter the minutes of activity without long breaks.
Read the result
Compare activities with additional calories; describe the whole session with total calories.
Good to know
Three unit systems
Enter your weight in pounds, kilograms or stones, with no conversion to do.
Calculated in your browser
Weight and duration stay on your device; the share link only holds what you typed.
The MET formula for calories burned
Since one MET is conventionally about 1 kcal per kilogram per hour, energy expenditure is a simple multiplication.
Estimated total calories
Total calories (kcal) = MET × weight (kg) × duration (h)
Divide pounds by 2.2046 for kilograms and minutes by 60 for hours: 45 minutes is 0.75 h.
Additional calories above rest
Additional calories (kcal) = (MET − 1) × weight (kg) × duration (h)
The 1 subtracted stands for conventional rest, not your measured metabolism.
- MET
- activity intensity from the 2024 Compendium
- kg
- body weight in kilograms
- h
- active duration in hours
These values apply to adults aged 19 to 59; a separate Compendium for adults 60 and over has existed since 2024.
Use cases
Compare two workouts
Thirty minutes of running or an hour of brisk walking? At the same weight, the calculator shows which one takes more energy, without a fitness tracker.
Put everyday activity in context
Sweeping, hiking and dancing have MET values too. The calculator puts them on the same scale as a workout.
Relate a session to your day
Compare a session’s additional calories with your daily expenditure from the TDEE calculator, whose activity level already includes your usual workouts.
Examples
A 30-minute moderate walk
3.8 × 70 × 0.5 h = 133 kcal. Without rest: (3.8 − 1) × 70 × 0.5 = 98 kcal.
Input
154 lb (70 kg); moderate walking (3.8 METs); 30 minutesResult
133 kcal total; 98 additional kcalA 40-minute run
8.5 × 65 × (40 ÷ 60) ≈ 368.3 kcal, shown as 368. Without rest: 7.5 × 65 × (40 ÷ 60) = 325 kcal.
Input
143 lb (65 kg); running at 5 mph (8.5 METs); 40 minutesResult
368 kcal total; 325 additional kcalTips and best practices
- Hills, wind, a loaded backpack or rough terrain push the real cost above the standard value.
- The Compendium lists two values for doubles tennis: 4.5 METs (code 15685, used here) and 6.0 METs (code 15680). A hard-fought match may come closer to the second.
- Calories burned are not extra food to eat back: your needs depend on your whole day and your goals.
Sources and references
- Herrmann S. D. et al., 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: A third update of the energy costs of human activities (opens in a new tab), Journal of Sport and Health Science, 2024Page in English
- Compendium of Physical Activities – Adult Compendium: activity codes and MET values (opens in a new tab)Page in English
Frequently asked questions
How many calories does a 30-minute walk burn?
For 154 lb (70 kg) at a moderate pace (3.8 METs), about 133 kcal in total, 98 of them due to the walk itself. At a brisk pace (4.8 METs), the total rises to 168 kcal.
Should I use total or additional calories?
To know what an activity adds to your day, use additional calories. Total calories include the energy you would have used anyway at rest.
Why does my fitness tracker or another calculator show a different number?
Trackers combine heart rate, movement and proprietary algorithms. Some calculators use MET × 3.5 × weight ÷ 200 per minute, which works out to 1.05 kcal per kilogram per hour instead of 1, so their results are about 5% higher. Others still use older MET tables.
Does the calculation account for my own metabolism?
No: 1 MET stands for a standard resting rate. The Compendium authors note that resting metabolism varies with age, sex, height and body composition, and mention a “corrected MET” based on the Harris-Benedict equation. The BMR calculator estimates yours.
Does it work for children or adults over 60?
Not directly. The 2024 Adult Compendium excludes data from people 60 and over, who now have their own Compendium, and children and teenagers have a dedicated Youth Compendium.
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