What this calculator does
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total number of calories you burn in a day — resting metabolism, daily movement, digestion and exercise combined. It's the anchor number for any goal: eat below it to lose weight, above it to gain, at it to maintain.
This calculator runs three peer-reviewed BMR equations side by side: Mifflin-St Jeor (the modern standard), the revised Harris-Benedict, and Katch-McArdle if you supply a body-fat percentage. Your BMR is then scaled by an activity multiplier to estimate TDEE, along with ready-made cutting and lean-bulk targets.
One thing we do differently: instead of asking you to guess whether you're “moderately active” — the question most people get wrong, and worth up to 600 kcal/day of error — we split activity into its two scientific components. NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) captures what your day demands of your body; EAT (exercise activity thermogenesis) is your actual weekly minutes of elevated-heart-rate training, anchored to the WHO 150/300-minute guideline scale. You watch your multiplier compute live as you adjust each one — a construction worker who lifts three times a week and an office worker who lifts three times a week get different answers, because they should.
How to use your TDEE number
- Weight loss: subtract 250–500 kcal/day. Our deficit calculator turns that into a rate of loss.
- Maintenance: eat at TDEE and confirm with 2–3 weeks of scale data.
- Muscle gain: add 200–300 kcal/day and pair it with the protein calculator.
Every formula is an estimate with roughly ±10% error. Treat the result as a starting point, watch your weight trend for a couple of weeks, and adjust by 100–200 kcal — that real-world feedback beats any equation. Once you have it, the actual TDEE calculator turns those weeks of data into your measured number.
Calorie needs by profile
Reference tables for common situations — each with a personalized calculator:
- TDEE for Women
- TDEE for Men
- Calorie Needs for Women Over 40
- Calorie Needs for Women Over 50
- Calorie Needs for Men Over 40
- Calorie Needs for Men Over 50
- Calorie Needs for Sedentary Women
- Calorie Needs for Sedentary Men
- Calorie Needs for Active Women
- Calorie Needs for Active Men
- Calorie Needs for Teenage Athletes
- Maintenance Calories by Body Weight
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
Within about ±10% for most people. Equations estimate the population average for your stats; your true burn depends on muscle mass, NEAT and genetics. Use the result as a starting point, then calibrate against 2–3 weeks of actual weight change.
Which BMR formula should I trust?
Mifflin-St Jeor is the best default — the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found it the most reliable for the general population. If you know your body-fat percentage reasonably well, Katch-McArdle is often better because it works from lean mass.
Should I eat back exercise calories?
If you selected an activity multiplier that already reflects your training, no — they're baked into your TDEE. Only add calories for activity genuinely beyond what your multiplier assumes.
Why is my TDEE different on other calculators?
Usually different default formulas or differently-tuned activity multipliers. The spread between sites is normally under ~150 kcal — well within the error of any estimate.
More calculators
Calorie Calculator
Get a daily calorie target matched to your goal
BMR Calculator
Estimate the calories your body burns at complete rest, compared across the three standard equations
Calorie Deficit Calculator
Choose a weekly weight-loss rate and see the exact daily calories that achieve it
Macro Calculator
Split your daily calories into protein, carbs and fat
Maintenance Calorie Calculator
Find the daily calories that keep your weight stable
Weight Loss Calculator
See your realistic goal date
Sources
- Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, Scott BJ, Daugherty SA, Koh YO. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990. [link]
- Roza AM, Shizgal HM. The Harris Benedict equation reevaluated: resting energy requirements and the body cell mass. Am J Clin Nutr. 1984. [link]
- McArdle WD, Katch FI, Katch VL. Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance. Wolters Kluwer.
- World Health Organization. WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. 2020. [link]
- Pontzer H, Yamada Y, Sagayama H, et al. Daily energy expenditure through the human life course. Science. 2021. [link]