Find your TDEE in seconds
Enter your stats and activity level to see your BMR and Total Daily Energy Expenditure, plus a comparison across every activity level.
Activity levels explained
Your activity level sets the multiplier used to turn your BMR into your TDEE.
| Activity level | Multiplier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | × 1.2 | Little or no exercise |
| Lightly active | × 1.375 | Light exercise 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 | × 1.9 | Very hard exercise or a physical job |
Not sure which one fits? Use the TDEE calculator above — it shows your TDEE at every activity level at once.
About this TDEE calculator
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in a typical day, including everything from keeping your heart beating to your workouts. This calculator finds it in two steps: first it estimates your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — the calories burned at complete rest — using the Mifflin–St Jeor equation, then multiplies that by an activity multiplier that reflects your typical weekly exercise and daily movement.
The Mifflin–St Jeor equation, published in 1990, calculates BMR from your weight, height, age, and gender. It's widely regarded by dietitians and researchers as more accurate than older formulas like Harris-Benedict for most adults, which is why it's the standard baseline used here and in most modern nutrition tools.
This is a focused, single-purpose TDEE lookup: enter your stats, pick an activity level, and see your BMR and TDEE, plus a full comparison table showing how TDEE changes across every activity level from sedentary to very active. If you're looking for calorie targets to actually lose or gain weight — not just your maintenance number — our Calorie Calculator builds on the same TDEE math and adds weight-loss and weight-gain calorie targets on top of it.
Activity level is the single biggest factor after body size: moving from "sedentary" to "very active" in the multiplier table can raise your daily calorie burn by several hundred to over a thousand calories, so it's worth being honest about your typical week rather than an idealized one. Most people who aren't intentionally training for a sport fall into the sedentary or lightly active categories, even if they feel generally active in daily life.
TDEE is a population-based estimate, not a direct measurement of your metabolism. Individual factors like muscle mass, genetics, hormone levels, and sleep quality can shift your true energy expenditure up or down from this calculation. Use it as an evidence-based starting point, then adjust based on how your actual weight trends over two to three weeks of consistent tracking.
Sample TDEE calculations
Common stats at the sedentary activity level, already calculated.
TDEE calculator questions
How TDEE and BMR are calculated, and how this differs from our calorie calculator.
What is TDEE?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the total calories your body burns in a day, including your resting metabolism (BMR) plus digestion, daily movement, and exercise. Eating at your TDEE maintains your current weight.
How is TDEE calculated?
This calculator first estimates your BMR using the Mifflin–St Jeor equation from your weight, height, age, and gender, then multiplies it by an activity multiplier (from 1.2 for sedentary up to 1.9 for very active) to get your TDEE.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is the calories your body burns at complete rest, just to keep organs functioning. TDEE adds in everything else — walking, exercise, work, and digestion — so TDEE is always higher than BMR and is the number to use for daily calorie planning.
What is the difference between this TDEE calculator and the calorie calculator?
This TDEE calculator is a focused, single-purpose tool that shows your BMR and TDEE at every activity level for comparison. Our Calorie Calculator uses the same underlying math but goes further, giving you specific daily calorie targets for weight loss, mild weight loss, maintenance, mild weight gain, and weight gain.
How does activity level affect my TDEE?
Activity level is the biggest lever in this calculation after body size. Moving from "sedentary" to "very active" can raise your TDEE by several hundred calories a day or more — this calculator's comparison table shows the exact difference for your stats across every activity level.
Is my TDEE result exact?
No — it's a population-based estimate. Individual metabolism varies with muscle mass, genetics, hormones, and health conditions, so treat the number as a starting point and adjust based on how your weight actually changes over a few weeks of consistent eating.
Sources & references
The formulas and guidelines used on this page are based on publicly available data from: