TDEE calculator: your maintenance calories
This free TDEE calculator estimates your total daily energy expenditure, the calories you burn in a full day including exercise, with the Mifflin-St Jeor formula by default, or revised Harris-Benedict and Katch-McArdle when you know your body-fat percentage. You get your BMR, your maintenance calories at all five activity levels, and cut and bulk targets, in kg or lb. Nothing you type is stored.
Daily calorie targets
Your cut target has been held at the generally recommended minimum intake (1,200 kcal for women, 1,500 for men); when even your estimated maintenance is below that minimum, no cut target is shown. Going below it, or eating at a level this close to your estimated expenditure, should be supervised by a healthcare professional.
Maintenance calories by activity level
| Activity level | Multiplier | Calories per day |
|---|---|---|
| SedentaryLittle or no exercise, desk job | BMR × 1.2 | — |
| LightExercise 1-3 days a week | BMR × 1.375 | — |
| ModerateExercise 3-5 days a week | BMR × 1.55 | — |
| ActiveHard exercise 6-7 days a week | BMR × 1.725 | — |
| Very activeHard daily training or a physical job | BMR × 1.9 | — |
Values recalculate instantly as you type. Nothing is sent or stored — the math runs in your browser.
How the calculation works
The calculator first estimates your basal metabolic rate (BMR), the calories your body burns at complete rest, from your sex, age, height and weight. It then multiplies that number by a factor for your activity level to get your total daily energy expenditure, which is the same thing as your maintenance calories. The cut and bulk targets are percentages of that maintenance figure.
Step 1: basal metabolic rate
Mifflin-St Jeor (1990, the most accurate for the general population; derived from 498 healthy adults aged 19 to 78 measured by indirect calorimetry — Mifflin et al., Am J Clin Nutr 51:241-247):
Men: (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) + 5
Women: (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) − 161
Revised Harris-Benedict (the 1919 equations re-fitted by Roza & Shizgal, 1984, Am J Clin Nutr 40:168-182):
Men: 88.362 + (13.397 × weight kg) + (4.799 × height cm) − (5.677 × age)
Women: 447.593 + (9.247 × weight kg) + (3.098 × height cm) − (4.330 × age)
Katch-McArdle (one equation for both sexes, from lean body mass; as printed in Frontiers in Nutrition, 2025):
BMR = 370 + (21.6 × lean body mass kg), where lean body mass = weight kg × (1 − body fat % ÷ 100)
Step 2: activity multipliers
The five factors (1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725 and 1.9) are the conventional multipliers used by most TDEE calculators. They are rules of thumb, not measurements: nobody has calibrated "exercise 3-5 days a week" for you, and the multiplier is the largest source of error in the whole estimate. People also tend to overrate how active they are, so if you sit most of the day and train a few times a week, "Light" is usually the honest pick.
Step 3: maintenance, cut and bulk
Maintenance is BMR × your multiplier; the table shows the same BMR at all five levels so you can see what a change of routine would do. The cut target is 80% of maintenance (a 20% deficit) and is never taken below 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 kcal for men; the bulk target is 110% of maintenance, a surplus small enough to limit fat gain. The estimated weekly pace converts the daily deficit or surplus using the site's convention of 7,700 kcal per kilogram of body fat (3,500 kcal per pound), which holds for weeks rather than years.
Limits of the estimate
Every formula is a statistical estimate: your real number varies with body composition, genetics and metabolic adaptation, and the activity multiplier is a guess you make about yourself. The estimate is not valid during pregnancy or breastfeeding, for people under 18, for elite athletes or with metabolic conditions — in those cases the reference should come from a healthcare professional. The way to refine the number is to log what you eat for two or three weeks and compare it with how your weight actually moves; PlateLens goes a step further by adjusting your daily target to the activity it records instead of leaving the multiplier fixed.
Frequently asked questions
What is TDEE?
TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure: every calorie you burn in 24 hours, including resting metabolism, digestion, daily movement and exercise. It is also called your maintenance calories, because eating that amount keeps your weight stable. The calculator estimates it as basal metabolic rate multiplied by an activity factor.
What is the most accurate TDEE calculator?
No calculator measures anything: all of them apply a formula to the same inputs, so the differences between sites are small. Mifflin-St Jeor is the equation with the best track record in healthy adults, which is why it is the default here. The weak point is the activity multiplier, which you choose yourself. Track your intake and weight for two or three weeks and adjust it.
How do I calculate my TDEE to lose weight?
Calculate your maintenance calories first, then eat below them. The cut target on this page is 20 percent under your TDEE, which for most people is a 300 to 600 kcal daily deficit, and it is held at 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 kcal for men when the arithmetic would go lower. Hold that intake for a few weeks and compare it with how your weight actually moves.
How much below my TDEE should I eat to lose weight?
A deficit of 10 to 20 percent of your TDEE is the range most people can sustain. The classic figure is 500 kcal per day, worth roughly 0.45 kg (1 lb) of fat per week by the 3,500 kcal per pound convention. Larger deficits cost more muscle and are harder to keep. Never plan below the intake floors without professional supervision.
How many calories do I naturally burn every day?
Your TDEE is that number. For most adults the largest share is the basal metabolic rate, the energy your organs use at complete rest; digesting food adds a smaller portion, and the rest is movement, from walking to workouts. By the usual convention a sedentary adult lands near BMR × 1.2. Enter your details above for the estimate in your case.
How many calories do 10,000 steps actually burn?
About 413 kcal gross for a 70 kg adult at a moderate pace, or 304 kcal net once you subtract what you would have burned sitting still, using Compendium of Physical Activities MET values. Heavier or faster walkers burn more. If walking is part of your routine it is already inside your activity multiplier, so do not add it on top of your TDEE.
Is there a separate TDEE calculator for women?
Not a separate one: the same equations carry a sex term (−161 for women and +5 for men in Mifflin-St Jeor) because women have, on average, less lean mass at the same weight. Choose Female above and the correct constant is used. The estimate is not valid during pregnancy or breastfeeding, when energy needs change and a healthcare professional should set them.
Keep reading
BMR calculator · Daily calorie calculator with macros · How many calories should I eat per day? · How many calories are in a pound of fat? · How many calories do 10,000 steps burn?
Now track what you eat
The calculator gives you the target; PlateLens counts what you actually eat each day from a photo, text, voice or barcode, and compares it with your goal.
Try PlateLens free