How many calories did you burn? This free calories burned calculator uses your body weight, the activity’s intensity and your duration to estimate energy used — with per-minute and per-hour rates.
A general estimate using standard MET values — actual burn varies with fitness, effort, terrain and individual metabolism. For a personalised plan, a fitness or health professional can help.
How the Calories Burned Calculator Works
This calculator estimates how many calories a specific activity burns using a standard MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) value for that activity, combined with your body weight and how long you did it. It's the same approach used behind most general activity-calorie estimates.
Formula: Calories per hour = MET × weight (kg). Calories per minute = Calories per hour ÷ 60. Total calories burned = Calories per minute × duration (minutes). If weight is entered in pounds, it's first converted to kilograms (× 0.45359237) before the calculation runs.
- Body weight — your weight in kg or lb; a unit button toggles between them
- Activity — chosen from a list of common activities (walking, running, cycling, swimming, weight training, and more), each assigned a standard MET intensity value
- Duration — how many minutes you did the activity
Example Scenarios
| Weight | Activity (MET) | Duration | Calories Burned |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70 kg | Walking, brisk (3.5 MET) | 30 min | 123 kcal |
| 65 kg | Cycling, moderate (7.5 MET) | 60 min | 488 kcal |
| 80 kg | Running, 6 mph (9.8 MET) | 45 min | 588 kcal |
| 90 kg | HIIT / circuit training (8 MET) | 20 min | 240 kcal |
| 150 lb | Swimming, laps (8 MET) | 30 min | 272 kcal |
Calories Burned Calculator FAQ
What is a MET and how does it relate to calories burned?
MET stands for Metabolic Equivalent of Task — a standard measure of how intense an activity is compared to sitting still (1 MET). The calculator multiplies an activity's MET value by your body weight and the time spent to estimate calories used.Why do heavier people burn more calories doing the exact same activity?
The formula multiplies MET by body weight, so a heavier body uses more energy to do the same movement at the same intensity — for example, walking briskly for 30 minutes burns more estimated calories at 90 kg than at 60 kg.How accurate is a MET-based estimate compared to a fitness tracker or heart-rate monitor?
MET values are population averages for a given activity, so they won't capture your personal fitness level, exact effort, or terrain the way a heart-rate-based tracker can. Treat the result as a reasonable general estimate rather than an exact reading.What if my activity isn't in the list?
Pick the closest match by intensity and pace — for example, an activity similar in effort to brisk walking or jogging will burn a comparable number of calories per minute, even if the exact name differs from what you did.Does effort or intensity within an activity change the estimate?
Yes in reality, though the calculator uses one fixed MET value per activity option — for example, separate options exist for light versus vigorous weight training. Choose the option that best matches how hard you actually worked.How do I turn calories burned into a calorie deficit for weight loss?
Calories burned through exercise are just one part of total calories out; compare your total daily intake to your total daily expenditure (TDEE, which includes exercise) to see your overall deficit or surplus, rather than looking at exercise calories alone.Related Calculators
For more ways to look at activity-based calorie burn, see the calories burned walking calculator for a walking-specific estimate, the daily steps calorie burn calculator to convert a step count into energy used, or the calorie burning by weight calculator to compare burn rates across different body weights.