Calories burned during exercise are estimated as MET × 3.5 × body weight in kg ÷ 200, per minute. A MET is the activity's energy cost relative to sitting still. A 70 kg person cycling at 12 to 14 mph (8.0 MET) for 30 minutes burns about 294 kcal.
Runners logging training, people tracking a calorie deficit and coaches planning sessions all want the same number: roughly how much energy did that workout use. This calculator takes an activity, your body weight in kilograms or pounds and the minutes spent, then applies the MET value published in the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities. It reports total kilocalories, the rate per minute and per hour, and the share burned above your resting rate. Pick Other to enter any MET value from the Compendium yourself. The estimate assumes an average adult; fitness, terrain, age and body composition can move your real figure by 10 to 20 percent or more either way.
Choose from the list, or choose Other and type a MET value you looked up.
Type your weight and set the unit to kg or lb inside the field.
Give the minutes of actual activity, leaving out rest breaks.
Total kcal, the per-minute and per-hour rate and the net figure above resting update as you type.
Result Calories burned: 294
Activity: Cycling, 12-13.9 mph
MET value: 8
kcal per minute: 9.8
kcal per hour at this pace: 588
kcal above resting: 257
At 8.0 MET a 70 kg rider uses 9.8 kcal a minute, so half an hour comes to 294 kcal.
Result Calories burned: 719
Activity: Running, 6 mph
MET value: 9.8
kcal per minute: 12
kcal per hour at this pace: 719
kcal above resting: 645
154 lb is 69.85 kg; at 9.8 MET that is about 12 kcal a minute, or 719 kcal over the hour.
Result Calories burned: 118
Activity: Hatha yoga
MET value: 2.5
kcal per minute: 2.6
kcal per hour at this pace: 158
kcal above resting: 71
A light 2.5 MET session burns 118 kcal in total, of which about 71 kcal is above what the body would use at rest.
kcal = MET × 3.5 × weight (kg) ÷ 200 × minutes
MET3.5200weightEach MET is defined as 3.5 mL of oxygen per kilogram per minute, and one litre of oxygen releases roughly 5 kcal, so MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200 gives kilocalories per minute. Multiplying by the minutes gives the gross total. The net figure uses MET − 1, removing what you would have burned sitting still over the same time.
A MET, or metabolic equivalent, compares an activity's energy cost with sitting quietly. Sitting is 1 MET, brisk walking at 3.5 mph is 4.3, and running at 6 mph is 9.8, so running burns almost ten times the resting rate.
Moving a larger body takes more oxygen, and the formula scales linearly with body mass. At the same 8.0 MET, a 90 kg cyclist burns 12.6 kcal a minute while a 60 kg cyclist burns 8.4.
Total, or gross, calories include the energy you would have used anyway at rest. Net calories subtract one MET for the same time, which is the figure to compare against food if your daily target already covers resting energy.
Both are estimates. Trackers add heart rate, while this method uses average costs from laboratory studies. Differences of 10 to 20 percent are common, and the Compendium authors note individual values can differ further.
The Compendium of Physical Activities lists over 800 coded activities with MET values. Choose Other in the activity list and type the value you find there.
No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. Your last inputs are remembered only on this device.
Using this tool in an assignment, article or report? Copy a citation, or a link for your website.
Tools Directory Editorial Team. (2026, October 15). Calories Burned Calculator. Tools Directory. Retrieved October 25, 2026, from https://tools.milunir.com/health/macros-and-calories/calories-burned-calculator/
Tools Directory Editorial Team. “Calories Burned Calculator.” Tools Directory, 15 Oct. 2026, https://tools.milunir.com/health/macros-and-calories/calories-burned-calculator/. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.
Tools Directory Editorial Team. “Calories Burned Calculator.” Tools Directory. Last modified October 15, 2026. Accessed October 25, 2026. https://tools.milunir.com/health/macros-and-calories/calories-burned-calculator/.
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