How many calories do I burn a day?

Your daily burn is your TDEE. Whether you search “How many calories do you burn in a day?” or “How many kcal do I burn in a day?”, the answer comes out the same way: BMR multiplied by an activity factor. Enter your details above for a personal estimate, usually somewhere between 1,800 and 3,000 kcal.

How many calories do I burn a day doing nothing?

Even at complete rest your body spends energy on breathing, circulation, and cell repair. That is your BMR, and it sets the floor for “How many calories can I burn a day?” — for most adults roughly 1,300–1,800 kcal, with any movement adding on top of it.

How many calories should I burn a day to lose weight?

There is no single number to aim for. “How many calories should I burn each day?” matters far less than the gap between burn and intake, and most people asking “How many calories should I be burning in a day?” really want a 500 kcal daily deficit below TDEE — about 0.5 kg of loss per week.

Is TDEE the same as maintenance calories?

Yes. TDEE is the energy you burn in a day, and maintenance calories are the energy you eat to stay the same weight — by definition they're equal. Eat under your TDEE to lose, over it to gain.

How accurate is a TDEE estimate?

Equation-based TDEE is usually within about 5–10% for most people, but activity level is the biggest source of error. Use the estimate as a starting point and adjust after tracking your weight for two to three weeks.

TDEE Calculator: How Many Calories Do You Burn a Day?

This TDEE calculator estimates your Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the calories your body burns over a full day — from your basal metabolism and activity level.

Sex

Age

yrs

Height

Weight

lbs

Activity level

BMR formula (optional)

Mifflin-St Jeor (default) fits most people. Harris-Benedict is the classic revised equation. Katch-McArdle works from your lean mass, so it asks for body fat % and ignores sex.

Please enter a valid age, height, and weight.

—

kcal / day

Total Daily Energy Expenditure

BMR

Activity

BMR — Activity —

Daily calories by goal

—

Lose weight (−500)

—

Maintain

—

Gain weight (+500)

What is TDEE?

TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure — every calorie your body uses across a full day. It bundles four things: your resting metabolism, the energy spent moving around, the small cost of digesting food, and any deliberate exercise. In plain terms, your TDEE is how many calories you burn a day, and it is the single most useful number for planning nutrition.

It is a tdee calculator free to use, with no signup and no app to install. Use this TDEE calculator online from any device to get an instant estimate, then build a calorie or macro plan around it.

How TDEE is calculated

TDEE is built from two pieces:

TDEE = BMR × activity multiplier

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the energy you would burn lying still all day. This calculator offers three published BMR equations:

Mifflin-St Jeor: 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age + (5 men / −161 women)
Harris-Benedict (revised): sex-specific constants × weight, height, age
Katch-McArdle: 370 + 21.6 × lean body mass (kg)

The result is then multiplied by an activity factor from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (very active). For example, a BMR of 1,750 kcal at a moderate activity level (1.55) gives a TDEE of about 2,713 kcal per day.

TDEE calculator for weight loss

Using a TDEE calculator for weight loss is straightforward: once you know how much you burn, eat below that figure. A deficit of around 500 kcal per day under your TDEE typically produces about half a kilogram (one pound) of fat loss each week. The result block above already shows your loss, maintain, and gain targets so you can pick a lane immediately.

Want a precise daily intake number and weekly pace presets? Continue to the calorie calculator, which builds directly on your TDEE.

TDEE and maintenance calories

Your TDEE and your maintenance calories are the same number: the energy needed to keep your current weight stable. Eat at maintenance and weight holds; eat below it and you lose; eat above it and you gain. So while many people look for a separate maintenance calorie calculator, your TDEE already answers that — it is your weight maintenance calories figure.

If maintenance is your main focus, our calorie tool doubles as a dedicated calculator for maintenance calories with goal presets and a clearer breakdown. The TDEE shown here and your maintenance calories will match. For that intent, start with the calorie calculator.

Which BMR formula should you use?

Mifflin-St Jeor — the modern default and the most accurate for the general population. Use this unless you have a reason not to.
Harris-Benedict (revised) — the classic equation, updated by Roza and Shizgal in 1984. Results are close to Mifflin for most people.
Katch-McArdle — best if you know your body fat percentage, since it calculates from lean mass and ignores sex. Lean, muscular individuals often find it more accurate.

Activity levels explained

Level	Multiplier	What it means
Sedentary	1.20	Desk-based, little or no exercise.
Lightly active	1.375	Light exercise or sport 1–3 days a week.
Moderately active	1.55	Moderate exercise 3–5 days a week.
Active	1.725	Hard exercise 6–7 days a week.
Very active	1.90	Very hard daily training plus a physical job.

These factors cover all daily movement, not just workouts. If two levels seem to fit, choose the lower one — most people overestimate their activity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your daily burn is your TDEE. Whether you search “How many calories do you burn in a day?” or “How many kcal do I burn in a day?”, the answer comes out the same way: BMR multiplied by an activity factor. Enter your details above for a personal estimate, usually somewhere between 1,800 and 3,000 kcal.
Even at complete rest your body spends energy on breathing, circulation, and cell repair. That is your BMR, and it sets the floor for “How many calories can I burn a day?” — for most adults roughly 1,300–1,800 kcal, with any movement adding on top of it.
There is no single number to aim for. “How many calories should I burn each day?” matters far less than the gap between burn and intake, and most people asking “How many calories should I be burning in a day?” really want a 500 kcal daily deficit below TDEE — about 0.5 kg of loss per week.
Yes. TDEE is the energy you burn in a day, and maintenance calories are the energy you eat to stay the same weight — by definition they're equal. Eat under your TDEE to lose, over it to gain.
Equation-based TDEE is usually within about 5–10% for most people, but activity level is the biggest source of error. Use the estimate as a starting point and adjust after tracking your weight for two to three weeks.