Maintenance Calorie Calculator — Find the Calories That Hold Your Weight Steady
Enter your stats once and get your BMR, your daily maintenance calories, and matching cut and bulk targets.
Your stats
Advanced options — BMR formula, body fat % & custom targets
The BMR formula, body fat % and cut / bulk targets already use their standard defaults — open Advanced options to change them.
🔒 All calculations happen in your browser — no data leaves your device.
Your daily targets
- Maintenance calories are your BMR multiplied by an activity factor — this calculator defaults to the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the most accurate widely-used BMR formula — Revised Harris-Benedict and the body-fat-based Katch-McArdle equation are also available in Advanced options.
- Worked example from the guide: a man at 70 kg, 175 cm and 30 years, sedentary (× 1.2), has a BMR of 1,648.75 kcal and maintenance of 1,978.5 kcal.
- Cut and bulk targets sit 500 kcal either side of maintenance — the cut and bulk rule of thumb.
Your calorie ladder
Where your four numbers sit relative to each other — the diagram redraws as you type.
Keep exploring
Three companion tools for calories and body composition.
How it works
Three steps from your stats to your number.
Enter your stats
Type your weight, height, age, and gender. Toggle kg/lb or cm/ft-in to match how you measure.
Pick your activity level
Choose the option that honestly matches your week — this multiplier turns your BMR into maintenance calories.
Read your targets
Maintain at the headline number, cut 500 kcal to lose roughly a pound a week, or add 500 to gain.
The math behind your maintenance calories
Your maintenance calories are your BMR (basal metabolic rate) — the energy your body burns at complete rest — multiplied by an activity factor. By default, this calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the most accurate widely-used BMR formula:
Advanced options in the calculator offer two more equations — Revised Harris-Benedict and Katch-McArdle (370 + 21.6 × lean mass in kg), which uses your body fat % instead of total weight — the same three equations as the TDEE Calculator. There you can also replace the standard ±500 kcal cut and bulk targets with your own amount or a percentage of maintenance. The results card also splits your maintenance figure into macros: protein at 2.0 g per kg of body weight, fat at 25% of calories, and carbs filling the rest.
Worked example: man, 70 kg, 175 cm, 30 years, sedentary (× 1.2)
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| BMR | 10 × 70 + 6.25 × 175 − 5 × 30 + 5 | 1,648.75 kcal |
| Maintenance | 1,648.75 × 1.2 | 1,978.5 kcal |
| Cut target | 1,978.5 − 500 | 1,478.5 kcal |
| Bulk target | 1,978.5 + 500 | 2,478.5 kcal |
Go deeper
The details that separate a rough guess from a trustworthy number.
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation (1990) is the better default for modern adults — validation studies find it accurate within about 10% for most people, outperforming the older Harris-Benedict (1919) formula, which tends to overestimate.
- Men: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5
- Women: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age − 161
- Multiply BMR by your activity factor (1.2–1.9) to get maintenance calories.
- No formula knows your muscle mass — very muscular or very lean people may sit 5–10% above or below the estimate.
- All three equations — Mifflin-St Jeor, Revised Harris-Benedict and Katch-McArdle — can be selected in the calculator’s Advanced options.
One pound of body fat stores roughly 3,500 kcal. Eating 500 kcal below maintenance each day creates a 3,500 kcal weekly deficit — about one pound of fat loss per week, a rate most people can sustain without crashing their energy.
- Cut: maintenance − 300 to −500 kcal for steady fat loss.
- Bulk: maintenance + 250 to +500 kcal, paired with strength training, to gain mostly muscle.
- Recompute your maintenance every 4–6 weeks as your weight changes — a lighter body burns fewer calories.
- The scale lies day to day; compare 7-day averages, not single weigh-ins.
Activity levels, and deficit versus surplus
Two ideas do most of the work on this page: the activity multiplier that turns BMR into maintenance, and the step away from maintenance in either direction. Both are arithmetic, not advice about what you should weigh.
Activity levels: five multipliers, honestly chosen
The calculator offers five activity levels, each one a fixed multiplier on BMR. Sedentary is 1.2, lightly active is 1.375, moderately active is 1.55, very active is 1.725, and extra active is 1.9. The labels describe a whole week, not a single workout: lightly active means 1 to 3 days of exercise a week, moderately active means 3 to 5 days, very active means 6 to 7 days, and extra active means a physical job or training twice a day. Picking a level above your real week is the most common way to overstate maintenance, because every step up the ladder adds roughly 150 to 350 kcal to the result for a typical adult. If you sit at a desk and walk the dog, that is sedentary or lightly active, however hard one gym session feels.
| Activity level | Multiplier | What it means | Maintenance for BMR 1,780 kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.2 | Little or no exercise | 2,136 kcal |
| Lightly active | 1.375 | Exercise 1 to 3 days a week | 2,448 kcal |
| Moderately active | 1.55 | Exercise 3 to 5 days a week | 2,759 kcal |
| Very active | 1.725 | Exercise 6 to 7 days a week | 3,071 kcal |
| Extra active | 1.9 | Physical job or training twice a day | 3,382 kcal |
Worked through: a man of 80 kg, 180 cm, aged 30 has a Mifflin-St Jeor BMR of 10 times 80 plus 6.25 times 180 minus 5 times 30 plus 5, which is 1,780 kcal. At moderately active that is 1,780 times 1.55, or 2,759 kcal of maintenance. The same man at sedentary would be 2,136 kcal, and at extra active 3,382 kcal. The body is the same; only the week changes. That is why the calculator asks about activity before it shows any target, and why a result that looks too high usually traces back to an optimistic activity choice rather than to the formula.
Deficit versus surplus: the same step, opposite directions
Maintenance is the middle of the ladder. A deficit eats below it, a surplus eats above it, and the calculator’s standard step is 500 kcal in either direction: the cut target is maintenance minus 500, the bulk target is maintenance plus 500. A 500 kcal daily deficit is the conventional route to roughly 1 lb of fat loss a week, because a pound of body fat stores about 3,500 kcal and 500 times 7 is 3,500. A smaller deficit of 300 kcal a day is roughly 0.6 lb a week and is easier to sustain; a larger deficit of 750 to 1,000 kcal a day is roughly 1.5 to 2 lb a week and leaves little room for adequate nutrition, which is why this page does not present it as a default. The surplus side mirrors it: 500 kcal above maintenance is the standard bulk step, and a smaller 250 to 300 kcal surplus adds weight more slowly with less of it as fat. Advanced options let you replace the 500 kcal step with your own amount or a percentage of maintenance, in either direction.
| Step from maintenance | Daily target for 2,759 kcal maintenance | Weekly energy gap | Rough weekly weight change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deficit 300 kcal | 2,459 kcal | 2,100 kcal | About 0.6 lb loss |
| Deficit 500 kcal (standard cut) | 2,259 kcal | 3,500 kcal | About 1 lb loss |
| Maintenance | 2,759 kcal | 0 kcal | Weight held |
| Surplus 300 kcal | 3,059 kcal | 2,100 kcal | About 0.6 lb gain |
| Surplus 500 kcal (standard bulk) | 3,259 kcal | 3,500 kcal | About 1 lb gain |
Two cautions keep these numbers honest. First, the weekly-change column is arithmetic on the 3,500 kcal rule, not a promise: water, glycogen, and adaptation move the scale week to week, so compare 7-day averages over 2 to 3 weeks, not single weigh-ins. Second, neither a deficit nor a surplus is a diagnosis or a prescription. These are general-information estimates for adults; anyone with a medical condition, a history of disordered eating, or a calorie target below about 1,200 kcal a day should talk to a clinician or registered dietitian before acting on a number from a calculator. The TDEE Calculator and the Calorie Deficit Calculator on this site cover the same ground from their own angles, and the BMR Calculator isolates the resting figure alone.
Confirming the number: three weeks at maintenance
A formula output is a starting point, not a verdict. Eat to the calculator number for three weeks, weigh weekly at the same time, and compare weekly averages. Flat means the number is right. Rising means trim 100 to 200 calories, falling means add. Most people need one adjustment before the number is truly theirs.
The activity tier people get wrong
The commonest error on this page is choosing one activity tier too high. Three gym sessions plus a desk job is moderately active, 1.55, not very active. Correcting that one choice moves maintenance by 150 to 250 calories, which is the difference between holding steady and slowly gaining.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about this maintenance calorie calculator.
What is a maintenance calorie calculator?
It estimates the number of calories you need each day to keep your current weight — no gain, no loss. It computes your BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation by default — Revised Harris-Benedict and Katch-McArdle are available in Advanced options — and multiplies it by your activity level.
How do I calculate my maintenance calories by hand?
First compute BMR: men use 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5; women subtract 161 instead of adding 5. Then multiply by your activity factor — 1.2 for sedentary up to 1.9 for extra active.
What is the difference between BMR and maintenance calories?
BMR is what you burn at complete rest — breathing, circulation, brain function. Maintenance calories add everything else: walking, working, exercising. Maintenance is always higher than BMR, typically 1.2–1.9×.
How accurate are maintenance calorie calculators?
Within about 10–15% for most people. Treat the result as a starting point: eat at that level for 2–3 weeks, watch your weight trend, then adjust by 100–200 kcal until your weight holds steady.
How do I lose weight from my maintenance calories?
Eat 300–500 kcal below maintenance daily for roughly 0.6–1 lb of fat loss per week. A smaller 200–300 kcal deficit works too — just slower. Keep protein high and keep lifting so the weight you lose is fat, not muscle.
Does muscle mass change my maintenance calories?
Yes — muscle burns more at rest than fat does, so two people at the same weight can have different maintenance levels. The weight-based formulas use total body weight, so very muscular people may burn 5–10% more than estimated; the Katch-McArdle option in Advanced options uses your body fat % instead. Strength training also raises maintenance indirectly by adding muscle.
How does my activity level change my maintenance calories?
Your maintenance calories are your BMR multiplied by an activity factor: 1.2 for sedentary, 1.375 for lightly active, 1.55 for moderately active, 1.725 for very active, and 1.9 for extra active. For a BMR of 1,780 kcal that gives 2,136 kcal at sedentary and 3,382 kcal at extra active, so an optimistic activity choice is the most common reason a result looks too high. Choose the level that matches your whole week, not your hardest workout.
Should I use a deficit or a surplus from my maintenance calories?
It depends on the direction you want to move: a deficit eats below maintenance and a surplus eats above it, and the standard step on this calculator is 500 kcal either way. A 500 kcal daily deficit is roughly 1 lb of fat loss a week and a 500 kcal surplus is roughly 1 lb of gain a week, while a smaller 300 kcal step moves about 0.6 lb a week in either direction and is easier to sustain. These are general-information estimates for adults, not medical advice, so check with a clinician before acting on a very low target.
Why does my maintenance change when I lose weight?
A lighter body burns less, and sustained loss adds a small adaptive effect. After a change of about 5 percent of body weight, re-run the calculator: the old maintenance number may now be a surplus.
Is maintenance the same every day?
No. Training days burn more than rest days, and the calculator figure is a daily average. Eating the same amount daily is simpler and works, because the week, not the day, is what matters.
Should I eat back exercise calories?
Not separately. The activity multiplier already includes your exercise, so adding exercise calories on top double-counts them. Use the maintenance figure as the total, and let the weekly average confirm it.
Related guides
Activity levels and the deficit-versus-surplus choice, worked through.
TDEE and Activity Levels, Explained
What TDEE means, the five activity multipliers, and how to pick yours honestly.
⚖️Calorie Deficit vs Surplus
300 or 500 kcal, cut or bulk, with the weekly arithmetic shown.
📖How Many Maintenance Calories Do I Need?
TDEE from BMR times activity, a worked example, and the three-week test that confirms your number.
Related calculators
More ways to measure, convert, and plan.
Disclaimer
This calculator provides estimates for information only and is not medical advice. BMR formulas are population averages — individual needs vary with body composition, hormones, medication, and health conditions. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or are an athlete with extreme training loads, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian before changing your diet.