Calories Burned Calculator (Free) — Estimate Energy Burned Per Workout

Free calories burned calculator. Enter the type of exercise, your weight, and duration to estimate the calories burned in that session, based on MET values. Also supports reverse mode: find the exercise time needed to hit a target calorie burn.

What Is a Calories Burned Calculator?

The calories you burn during exercise can be estimated using an index called MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task), based on your resting metabolic rate. MET expresses exercise intensity as a multiple of your resting rate — for example, running at about 8 km/h has a MET of 8.3, meaning it uses about 8.3 times the energy you burn at rest. This tool calculates calories burned from the type of exercise, your weight, and the duration, using the corresponding MET value.

This tool estimates the calories burned during a specific exercise session — a separate measure from your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), which covers your entire day. If you want to know your total daily calorie burn, including basal metabolism and everyday activity, use our calories burned / TDEE calculator alongside this one.

How to Calculate Calories Burned

Choose a calculation mode Decide whether to calculate calories burned from a duration, or work backward from a target calorie burn to find the required duration.
Select the type of exercise Choose the option closest to the exercise you did or plan to do — walking, running, cycling, and more.
Enter your weight Enter your current weight. The more you weigh, the more calories the same exercise burns.
Enter duration or target calories Depending on the mode you chose, enter either the exercise duration (in minutes) or the calorie burn you are aiming for (in kcal).

Tips for getting more out of it

MET can vary a lot even for the same activity, depending on intensity. Just "walking" can burn nearly twice as many calories at a brisk pace versus a slow one, so pick the option closest to your actual pace.
The reverse mode, working back from a target calorie burn, is handy when you want to set a goal first, such as "I want to burn 300 more kcal."
To find your total daily calorie burn (TDEE), use our calories burned / TDEE calculator, which factors in basal metabolism and activity level. It measures something different from this tool.
MET values are only an average estimate for a person of typical fitness. Actual calories burned will vary depending on your fitness level and exercise form.

Ways to Use This Calculator

Compare calories burned across workouts

Switch between exercises, such as walking and running, to compare how much the calorie burn differs for the same amount of time.

Offset a snack with exercise

If you know how many calories you ate, use the reverse mode to get a rough idea of how much exercise it would take to offset it.

Estimate exercise volume for a diet plan

Decide how many calories you want to burn in a week, then use this as a starting point for planning how to distribute your exercise time.

Recalculate after a change in weight

Calories burned for the same exercise shifts as your weight changes, so re-entering your current weight periodically keeps the estimate accurate.

Glossary

MET: A multiple of exercise intensity relative to resting metabolism, set at 1 MET. A higher value means the activity burns more energy per unit of time.
TDEE: Total Daily Energy Expenditure — your basal metabolic rate plus your everyday activity level. This is a different measure from the single-session calorie burn this tool calculates.
Basal metabolic rate (BMR): The minimum amount of energy your body needs to sustain life, even while lying down completely at rest.
kcal (kilocalorie): A unit of energy. It is the standard unit used on food labels and in calorie-burn calculations for exercise.

FAQ

MET stands for Metabolic Equivalent of Task. It expresses how many times more energy an activity burns compared to sitting quietly at rest, which is set at 1 MET. A higher number means a more intense activity.

We use the widely adopted exercise physiology formula: calories (kcal) = MET × weight (kg) × time (h) × 1.05.

This tool calculates the calories burned during a single exercise session. The calories burned / TDEE calculator instead estimates your total daily calorie burn, by multiplying your basal metabolic rate by your daily activity level — the two tools cover different time spans.

Use your weight from before you start exercising. The weight change during a workout is minimal and has a negligible effect on the result.

Side Note — Where the Idea of MET Came From

The MET unit was devised in the 1960s by American physiologists who wanted a way to quantify exercise intensity based on oxygen consumption. 1 MET, the resting metabolic rate, corresponds to roughly 3.5 mL of oxygen consumed per kilogram of body weight per minute. Using that baseline, researchers began measuring and classifying the intensity of a wide range of activities.

The MET value tables widely referenced today trace back to a publication called the "Compendium of Physical Activities," compiled by researchers in the United States. Since its first edition was published in 1993, it has cataloged the MET values of hundreds of physical activities, and it is now used worldwide as the foundation for exercise prescriptions, epidemiological research, and calorie-burn calculators like this one.

Keep in mind that MET values are estimates for an adult of average fitness — actual energy expenditure varies with age, sex, fitness level, temperature, terrain, and other conditions. Even so, because MET makes it possible to estimate exercise intensity without complex measuring equipment, it remains a go-to metric in fitness coaching today.

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