BYTETOOLS

TDEE Calculator

Estimate your total daily energy expenditure from BMR and activity level, with Mifflin-St Jeor and Katch-McArdle options and a full activity comparison table.

1,780 kcal
BMR (at rest)
2,759 kcal
TDEE (× 1.55)
979 kcal
Burned above rest

Your TDEE at every activity level

Activity levelFactorTDEE
Sedentary — desk job, little or no exercise1.22,136 kcal
Lightly active — light exercise 1–3 days/week1.3752,448 kcal
Moderately active — moderate exercise 3–5 days/week1.552,759 kcal
Very active — hard exercise 6–7 days/week1.7253,071 kcal
Extra active — physical job plus daily training1.93,382 kcal

The activity multiplier is the least precise part of this calculation — the gap between the top and bottom rows above is over 50% of your BMR. Most people overestimate their bucket. Treat your TDEE as a starting point and correct it against how your weight actually moves over two to three weeks. Estimates only, not medical advice.

What is the TDEE Calculator?

TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is the total number of calories you burn in a day. It is estimated by calculating your basal metabolic rate and multiplying it by an activity factor between 1.2 for sedentary and 1.9 for very heavy training.

  • Mifflin-St Jeor and Katch-McArdle BMR equations
  • Six activity multipliers from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (athlete)
  • Side-by-side TDEE table for every activity level
  • Metric and imperial units on one toggle
  • Shows BMR, TDEE and calories burned above rest
  • 100% client-side — your data never leaves the browser

How to use the TDEE Calculator

  1. 1

    Choose metric or imperial units.

  2. 2

    Enter your sex, age, height and weight.

  3. 3

    Optionally switch the formula to Katch-McArdle and enter your body-fat percentage.

  4. 4

    Select the activity level that matches your typical week.

  5. 5

    Read your TDEE, and compare it against every other activity level in the table.

About the TDEE Calculator

The ByteTools TDEE Calculator estimates your total daily energy expenditure — the calories you burn across a whole day, including rest, movement, exercise and digesting food. It calculates your basal metabolic rate first, using Mifflin-St Jeor, then multiplies it by the activity factor that matches your week.

If you know your body-fat percentage you can switch to the Katch-McArdle equation instead, which works from lean body mass and is usually the better predictor for lean or heavily muscled people. A comparison table shows your TDEE at every activity level so you can see how much the multiplier changes the answer.

Metric and imperial inputs are both supported, and everything is calculated locally in your browser — no measurements are uploaded or stored. The result is an estimate for planning only, not medical or nutritional advice; consult a qualified professional before changing your diet or training.

Frequently asked questions

What is TDEE?

TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure — the total calories your body burns in 24 hours. It combines your basal metabolic rate, the energy used to digest food, everyday non-exercise movement and any deliberate training you do.

How accurate are TDEE activity multipliers?

They are the weakest part of the calculation. The multipliers from 1.2 to 1.9 are broad buckets that lump together very different lifestyles, and people routinely overestimate which bucket they are in. Two people with identical BMR can differ by 500 calories or more in real expenditure. Use the number as a starting estimate and correct it against how your weight actually moves over a few weeks.

Which activity level should I choose?

Pick based on your whole week, not your best week. Desk job with little exercise is sedentary (1.2); one to three light sessions is lightly active (1.375); three to five moderate sessions is moderately active (1.55); six or seven hard sessions is very active (1.725). Manual labour plus daily training is the only case that justifies 1.9.

Should I use Mifflin-St Jeor or Katch-McArdle?

Mifflin-St Jeor is the safe default because it only needs height, weight, age and sex. Katch-McArdle is usually more accurate if you have a reliable body-fat measurement, since it predicts from lean mass — but a bad body-fat number makes it worse, not better.

Does TDEE change over time?

Yes. It falls as you lose weight, because a smaller body costs less to move and maintain, and it can drift with training load, illness, sleep and age. Recalculate every few kilograms of change rather than sticking with one number for months.

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