What Is a Calories Burned Calculator?
A calories burned calculator estimates the amount of energy your body uses during physical activity. The estimate is based on your body weight, the duration of the activity, and the intensity level of the selected exercise.
This tool can calculate calories burned during walking, running, cycling, swimming, weight training, household work, sports, and several other common activities.
- Supports kilograms and pounds
- Includes multiple exercise intensities
- Shows total and hourly calories
- Uses activity-specific MET values
How Does the Calories Burned Calculator Work?
The calculator uses a metabolic equivalent, commonly called a MET value. One MET represents the approximate amount of energy your body uses while resting. Activities with higher MET values generally burn more calories.
Calories = MET × 3.5 × weight in kilograms ÷ 200 × minutes
For example, a 70 kg person performing an activity with a MET value of 7 for 30 minutes would burn approximately 257 calories.
Step 1: Select your activity
Choose the exercise or physical activity that most closely matches what you performed. Select the appropriate intensity whenever light, moderate, or vigorous options are available.
Step 2: Enter your body weight
Enter your current weight and select either kilograms or pounds. Body weight affects the amount of energy required to complete an activity.
Step 3: Enter the activity duration
Enter the total number of minutes spent actively performing the exercise. Do not include long rest periods unless they were part of a structured interval workout.
Step 4: Calculate your result
Press the calculation button to see your estimated total calories, calories burned per hour, activity duration, and selected MET value.
Estimated Calories Burned in 30 Minutes
The following examples show approximate calorie expenditure for a person weighing 70 kilograms. Individual results can vary.
| Activity | Intensity | MET Value | Estimated Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walking | Moderate | 3.5 | Approximately 129 kcal |
| Running | Moderate | 9.8 | Approximately 360 kcal |
| Cycling | Moderate | 7.5 | Approximately 276 kcal |
| Swimming | Moderate | 6.0 | Approximately 221 kcal |
| Weight Training | General | 5.0 | Approximately 184 kcal |
| Jumping Rope | Vigorous | 11.0 | Approximately 404 kcal |
What Affects the Number of Calories Burned?
Two people can perform the same exercise for the same amount of time and still burn different amounts of energy. Important factors include body weight, exercise intensity, fitness level, age, muscle mass, technique, and environmental conditions.
Body weight
A heavier body normally requires more energy to perform the same movement. Therefore, calorie expenditure often increases as body weight increases.
Exercise intensity
Moving faster, lifting heavier weights, increasing resistance, or reducing rest time can raise the intensity and increase calorie expenditure.
Fitness and body composition
Muscle mass, cardiovascular fitness, movement efficiency, and training experience can affect how your body uses energy during a workout.
How Accurate Is This Calculator?
This calculator provides a useful estimate rather than an exact measurement. MET values represent average energy costs for different activities, but they cannot account for every individual difference.
Fitness trackers and exercise machines also provide estimates. For more accurate monitoring, compare results over time using the same method instead of treating one calculation as an exact measurement.