BMR Calculator

How to use this calculator

1. Enter units — The calculator loads with a worked example already filled in, so you can see what a realistic set of figures looks like before replacing them with your own.
2. Fill in the remaining fields — Every field has a sensible default. Change the ones that apply to you and leave the rest.
3. Read the result — The answer updates as you type — there is nothing to submit. The rows beneath the headline show how it breaks down.
4. Expand the schedule — Where a year-by-year table is offered, open it. The breakdown over time usually shows something the single headline figure does not.
5. Share or print — Use the share button to copy a link with your figures already filled in, or print the result — the print stylesheet strips the navigation and adverts.

What this calculator works out

To use the BMR Calculator, enter your units, weight and height. The result — basal metabolic rate — updates as you type, with no button to press and nothing to submit. The calculation runs entirely in your browser, so the figures you enter are never sent anywhere.

How this is calculated

Energy figures use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation for resting metabolic rate, which predicts more accurately than the older Harris-Benedict formula for most modern populations, then apply an activity multiplier. Every one of these is a population-level estimate fitted to averages; none of them measures you.

A worked example

Take the values this page loads with:

• Units: Metric (kg, cm)
• Weight: 70
• Height: 175
• Age: 30
• Sex at birth: Male

On those figures the basal metabolic rate is 1,649 kcal/day. Broken down:

• Sedentary — desk job, little exercise: 1,979 kcal
• Lightly active — exercise 1-3 days a week: 2,267 kcal
• Moderately active — exercise 3-5 days a week: 2,556 kcal
• Very active — exercise 6-7 days a week: 2,844 kcal
• Extremely active — physical job or twice-daily training: 3,133 kcal

Change any field above and every figure here recalculates — these numbers are produced by the same formula the calculator runs, so they cannot drift apart from it.

What the figures mean

The headline figure is the answer most people come for. The rows beneath it break that down so you can see which component is driving it — which is usually the more useful information when you are trying to change the outcome rather than just measure it.

What this calculator assumes

Mifflin-St Jeor equation. BMR is what the body uses at complete rest — it is not a calorie target. The rows show total daily expenditure at each activity level.

Why it runs in your browser

Every calculation on this page is arithmetic, and arithmetic does not need a server. Running it locally means the result is instant, it keeps working if your connection drops, and — the part that matters — your salary, your debts and your medical measurements are never transmitted to us. There is no figure on our side to store, log or lose.

Where this calculator stops

Every figure here is an estimate derived from population averages. None of these equations measures an individual, and several of them were built for a purpose other than the one they are now used for — the ideal-weight formulae, for instance, were developed for drug dosing rather than for setting personal goals.

Use them to notice a trend over time, not to make a decision about your health. If a result concerns you, or if you have a condition that changes how these figures should be read, speak to a qualified healthcare professional rather than acting on a web page.

Keeping the figures current

The formula behind this page does not change, but the assumptions you should bring to it do — interest rates, inflation and market returns all move. Revisit the inputs rather than trusting a figure you calculated a year ago.