Calories Burned Calculator

How Does the Formula Work?

The calories burned calculator uses the MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) system to estimate energy expenditure during physical activity. MET values from the Compendium of Physical Activities; a widely used research database; quantify the intensity of each activity relative to sitting quietly. Combined with your body weight and exercise duration, MET values provide a reliable estimate of total calorie burn.

Understanding MET Values

MET tells you how many times more energy an activity uses than sitting quietly, which is 1.0 MET. The CDC treats an activity as moderate when it costs 3 to 5.9 METs and as vigorous from 6 METs up. On that scale, walking at 5 km/h (3.8 MET) is moderate, jogging (7.5 MET) and jump rope (11.0 MET) are vigorous, and Hatha yoga (2.3 MET) sits below the moderate band. This calculator includes 38 activities across 9 categories with MET values from the Compendium of Physical Activities.

Using Calorie Burn for Weight Management

Combining this calculator with a BMR/TDEE calculator gives a fuller picture of your daily energy balance: body weight falls when you burn more energy than you take in. The food equivalents make that trade concrete. A 70 kg person jogging (7.5 MET) burns 8.75 kcal a minute, so the 235 kcal of a 44 g milk chocolate bar take about 27 minutes.

Activity Categories

The calculator organizes 38 activities into 9 categories: walking (4 activities from slow to hiking), running (4 from jogging to sprinting), cycling (5 including stationary bike), swimming (3 intensity levels), gym/strength (4 including HIIT and CrossFit), sports (6 popular sports), flexibility (4 from stretching to power yoga), dance/cardio (3 including jump rope), and other (5 including rowing, elliptical, and household chores). Each activity shows its MET value so you can compare intensities at a glance.

Methodology and Sources

MET values come from the Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth et al., 2024), the reference used by the American College of Sports Medicine. The Compendium lists multiple MET values for the same activity depending on pace and effort, so the labels here represent common scenarios rather than a single fixed value. For a more detailed breakdown by swimming stroke or cycling speed, use our dedicated swimming and cycling calculators. Individual calorie burn can differ from these estimates due to fitness level, technique, terrain, and environment. The intensity bands are the CDC's, and the food portions come from USDA FoodData Central.