Free calorie calculators for working out how much to eat

How to use a calorie calculator, step by step

The tools work best in order. Here's the route most people take, from finding your number to checking it against real life.

1. Find your maintenance calories. The TDEE calculator estimates what you burn in a day, including activity. The BMR calculator shows the resting part on its own.
2. Pick a target. Eating about 500 calories a day under maintenance is a common starting point. Using the usual estimate of 3,500 calories per pound of body fat, that's about a pound a week at first. The CDC suggests 1 to 2 pounds a week for weight loss that lasts. The weight loss simulator shows how the pace slows as you get lighter.
3. Split it into protein, carbs and fat. The macro calculator turns your calories into grams. The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines set protein at 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg of body weight.
4. Plan and log your meals. Start from one of the meal plans above, or build your own day in the calorie counter. For home cooking, the recipe nutrition calculator gives calories per serving.
5. Check after three or four weeks. Compare your weekly average weight, not single days. If it isn't moving the way you planned, adjust your target by 100 to 200 calories a day.

Want to add exercise? The calories burned calculator covers 28 activities, and our guide to net calories explains how much of that to eat back.

How our calorie calculators work

The TDEE calculator starts with your resting needs, worked out with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. It was published in 1990 from measurements of 498 adults, and a 2005 review for the American Dietetic Association found it the most accurate of the common formulas. Your activity level is then added on top. For a 30-year-old woman who is 5 feet 6 inches, weighs 150 pounds and walks most days, that comes to about 1,950 calories a day.

A few things we do on every calculator:

• We show the parts of the total, so you can see how much comes from resting, moving and digesting food.
• We tell you how far off the estimate can be. For resting needs it's usually within about 10%, so we explain how to check it against your own weight over a few weeks.
• We don't suggest eating under 1,200 calories a day for women or 1,500 for men. Read our medical disclaimer for who should check with a doctor first.

Where our numbers come from

• Food: calories, protein, carbs, fat and fiber come from USDA FoodData Central, per 100 g and per common portion.
• Exercise: calories burned use MET values from the Compendium of Physical Activities, multiplied by your body weight and time.
• Labels: the FDA's Nutrition Facts rules, including the 2,000-calorie reference used for %DV.
• Healthy eating advice: the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030, the National Academies' nutrient reference values, and the CDC and NIH for weight and activity.

Each calculator and article lists its own sources at the bottom of the page.

Everything here is written and built by Mohamed Skhiri. You can read more about the site, or see which sources we use in our editorial policy.