Calorie Calculator
Calculate your daily calorie needs (BMR & TDEE)
📋 Your Information
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Calories your body burns at rest
📊 Daily Calorie Needs (TDEE)
About Calorie Calculator
This calculator estimates two numbers: your basal metabolic rate — the energy your body uses at complete rest — and your total daily energy expenditure, which is that baseline adjusted for how active you are.
Which formula is used
It applies the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the one most commonly recommended for population estimates. For men it is 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5; for women the final term is − 161 instead. The result is your BMR, which is then multiplied by an activity factor: 1.2 for sedentary, 1.375 for lightly active, 1.55 for moderately active, 1.725 for very active and 1.9 for extremely active.
How accurate is this for one person?
It is a population estimate, not a measurement. Mifflin-St Jeor typically lands within about 10% of measured resting metabolism for most people, which on a 2,400 kcal TDEE is a range of roughly ±240 kcal. It does not know your body composition — muscle burns more at rest than fat, so the equation tends to underestimate very muscular people and overestimate those with high body fat. Choosing the activity multiplier honestly is the largest source of error; most people overestimate it.
Medical note
These numbers are a general guide, not medical or dietary advice, and they are not a diagnosis. Energy needs are affected by thyroid function, medication, pregnancy, breastfeeding and many medical conditions that this equation cannot account for. Before starting a significant calorie deficit — and particularly if you are pregnant, under 18, managing a health condition or have a history of disordered eating — speak to a doctor or a registered dietitian.
Try our other free tools: BMI calculator, age calculator, and unit converter.