Calories Burned Calculator
Select an activity, enter your weight and how long you exercised, and get an estimate of the calories you burned. Covers 40+ activities across running, cycling, swimming, sports, gym, and everyday movement.
Built and reviewed by Jesse · Last reviewed
Select an activity and duration to see calories burned.
- Enter your body weight. In kilograms or pounds — calorie burn scales directly with body weight.
- Choose an activity category. Pick from running, cycling, swimming, sports, gym, or everyday activities.
- Select the specific activity. Each activity has a MET value from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities.
- Enter the duration. How many minutes you performed the activity.
- Read your calorie burn. You get the total calories burned, plus estimates at other common durations for comparison.
MET stands for Metabolic Equivalent of Task. A MET of 1 represents the energy cost of sitting at rest — approximately 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour. Every other activity has a MET value that is a multiple of that baseline: walking briskly is about 4 METs (four times the cost of rest), running at 10 km/h is about 10 METs, and so on.
The values used here come from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities, published by Ainsworth et al. in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. It is the standard reference used by researchers and exercise practitioners, covering hundreds of activities with MET values derived from published measurements. They are useful population estimates for planning and comparison, but they do not measure one person's energy expenditure in a particular session (Jetté et al., 1990).
The table below shows estimated calories burned per hour at three body weights, calculated from MET values in the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities. To get a figure for your exact weight and duration, use the calculator above.
| Activity | 60 kg (132 lb) | 75 kg (165 lb) | 90 kg (198 lb) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walking (moderate, 5 km/h) | 210 | 263 | 315 |
| Hiking | 318 | 398 | 477 |
| Running (9 min/km) | 450 | 563 | 675 |
| Running (6 min/km) | 600 | 750 | 900 |
| Cycling (moderate) | 390 | 488 | 585 |
| Cycling (vigorous) | 540 | 675 | 810 |
| Swimming (freestyle, moderate) | 420 | 525 | 630 |
| Rowing machine (moderate) | 420 | 525 | 630 |
| Elliptical (moderate) | 390 | 488 | 585 |
| Stair climbing | 480 | 600 | 720 |
| Jumping rope | 600 | 750 | 900 |
| HIIT (general) | 480 | 600 | 720 |
| Weightlifting (general) | 180 | 225 | 270 |
| Basketball (game) | 420 | 525 | 630 |
| Dancing (general) | 270 | 338 | 405 |
| Yoga | 180 | 225 | 270 |
Values rounded to nearest 5 kcal. Heavier bodies burn more per hour for the same activity at the same pace.
The calculator reports estimated total, or gross, energy during a session. That includes the 1-MET resting energy you would use over the same time. To approximate the additional exercise energy, subtract the 1-MET contribution; the result remains an estimate.
Important: avoid double-counting exercise calories.
If you selected a high activity level in your TDEE calculator, those workouts are already included in your maintenance figure. Only add exercise calories on top of TDEE if the activity is extra — beyond your normal routine. To turn today's burn into a weekly fat-loss projection, calculate your calorie deficit using your TDEE as the baseline. You can also read more about why TDEE calculators are estimates to understand the full picture.
For the activity assumptions behind this tool, see the MET values chart and the calories burned chart by activity.
Calories burned, EPOC, and strength training
Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) can raise energy use after demanding exercise, including resistance training. Its size and duration depend on the session and the person, so this calculator does not add an afterburn bonus. Use the same gross MET-based convention for all activities and assess a plan from longer-term trends.
After a hard session, many people expect the scale to drop and are disappointed when it does not — or when it goes up. Two things explain this. First, intense exercise causes temporary water retention as muscles repair micro-tears and replenish glycogen. This is normal and reverses within a day or two. Second, a single workout rarely burns enough calories to move fat stores by a measurable amount: losing 100 grams of fat requires a deficit of roughly 770 kcal, more than most single sessions.
The right frame is weekly energy balance, not daily. Consistent exercise across a week — combined with a moderate calorie deficit — produces the deficit needed for meaningful fat loss. The body weight planner models this timeline, and the guide on how long it takes to lose weight explains what realistic weekly progress looks like.
MET-based calorie burn
calories = MET x weight(kg) x duration(hours)- MET
- = Metabolic Equivalent of Task — energy cost relative to rest (1 MET = sitting still)
- weight
- = body weight in kilograms
- duration
- = time spent on the activity, in hours
MET values are from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth et al.). This formula gives gross calorie burn — the total including resting metabolism during the activity.
How does this calculator work?
It uses MET values — Metabolic Equivalents of Task — from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities, the standard reference for exercise energy expenditure. The formula is: calories burned = MET × body weight (kg) × duration (hours). A MET of 1 equals sitting at rest; running at 10 km/h has a MET of 10, meaning it burns 10 times as many calories per kilogram per hour as sitting still.
Why does body weight affect calories burned?
Moving a heavier body requires more energy. The MET formula scales linearly with body weight — a 90 kg person burns 50% more calories doing the same activity for the same time as a 60 kg person. This is why weight-normalized estimates are more useful than generic per-activity tables.
How accurate is the MET method?
MET values are population averages, so an individual result can vary with the actual intensity, fitness, technique, and body composition. Use the estimate to compare activities or track a consistent routine, then compare it with longer-term weight or performance trends rather than treating one session total as precise.
What is the difference between net and gross calorie burn?
Gross calorie burn includes estimated resting energy during the session. Net calorie burn is the additional amount above rest. This calculator reports gross expenditure; a simple net approximation subtracts the 1-MET resting contribution for the same duration. If your activity-adjusted TDEE already represents your usual exercise, do not automatically add either number on top because that can double-count the activity.
Why does running burn more calories than cycling at the same speed?
Running requires you to repeatedly lift your full body weight off the ground and absorb the impact of landing — a fundamentally more energy-intensive movement than the seated, supported motion of cycling. At similar intensities (heart rate, perceived effort) the calorie burn per minute is actually similar, but a given speed on foot corresponds to a much higher effort than the same speed on a bike.
Can I use this to estimate my calorie deficit?
Yes, with one caveat. Most people already account for their regular exercise in their TDEE activity level. If you chose 'moderately active' in the TDEE calculator because you run three times a week, those runs are already baked into your maintenance calories — counting them again would double-count the burn. Use this calculator to estimate the extra burn from additional or occasional exercise that is not captured in your baseline activity level.
Why does weight training show a lower MET than cardio?
A general weight-training MET value averages active sets and rest periods, so it can look lower than continuous cardio. Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption can occur after demanding exercise, but its size and duration vary with the protocol and person. This calculator does not add an afterburn estimate; treat the session value as a gross MET-based estimate rather than a full account of every later energy change.
Does fitness level affect how many calories I burn?
Yes. As you get fitter, your body becomes more efficient at a given activity — it burns slightly fewer calories doing the same work. This is an adaptation, not a problem. A fitter person can sustain a higher absolute workload for the same effort, so the total calorie burn over a session is often similar or higher even as efficiency improves. The MET values used here represent averages across fitness levels.
How many calories do I burn per hour?
It depends on your body weight and the activity. Light activities like walking (3.5 mph) burn roughly 250 to 400 calories per hour depending on weight. Moderate activities like cycling or swimming burn 400 to 600. Vigorous activities like running or HIIT burn 600 to 900 or more. The quick-reference table in the article above shows estimates for 15 common activities at three different body weights. For a personalised figure, enter your weight and 60 minutes into the calculator above.
How many calories do I burn doing nothing?
The calories your body burns at rest is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). As a rough estimate, BMR is about 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour, so a 75 kg person burns around 75 kcal per hour just staying alive — roughly 1,800 kcal per day. For a precise figure based on your age, height, weight, and sex, use the BMR calculator at fitcalcs.app/bmr-calculator.
What burns more calories: running, cycling, or swimming?
At the same duration and body weight, running typically burns the most calories. A 75 kg person running at a moderate pace (9 min/km) burns roughly 560 kcal per hour. Moderate cycling burns around 490 kcal per hour, and freestyle swimming around 530 kcal per hour. The gap narrows when comparing by perceived effort rather than by clock time — at similar heart rates, all three are within 10 to 15 percent of each other. Running edges ahead largely because it is weight-bearing and requires more total muscle engagement.
References
- Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, et al. 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities: a second update of codes and MET values. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011;43(8):1575-1581.
- Jetté M, Sidney K, Blümchen G. Metabolic equivalents (METS) in exercise testing, exercise prescription, and evaluation of functional capacity. Clin Cardiol. 1990;13(8):555-565.
- American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 10th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer; 2018.
FitCalcs calculators provide general estimates for healthy adults and are not medical advice.
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