Quick answer
Calories = MET × weight (kg) × duration (hours). Standing quietly (1.3 MET) for 30 minutes at 70 kg burns 1.3 × 70 × 0.5 = 45.5 kcal, or about 1.52 kcal a minute.
Choose a standing posture, then enter your weight and the duration. The calculator returns calories, the MET value and its compendium code.
Related tools: Calories Burned Hiking Calculator: Calories burned hiking for a given body weight, pace and time. Calories Burned Calculator: Estimate calories burned from activity, body weight and time using MET values. Push-Up Calorie Calculator: Calories burned doing push-ups (calisthenics) for a given effort level and time.
How to use the Calories Burned Standing Calculator
- Choose standing posture: Standing quietly (for example, in a line) (1.3 MET), Standing, fidgeting (1.5 MET) and Standing, watching television (1.3 MET).
- Enter body weight (between 20 and 500).
- Choose weight unit: Kilograms and Pounds.
- Enter duration (minutes) (between 0.1 and 1440).
- Press Calculate to see the result, and use Reset to start again.
| Input | What to enter | Allowed values |
|---|---|---|
| Standing posture | Choose one: Standing quietly (for example, in a line) (1.3 MET); Standing, fidgeting (1.5 MET); Standing, watching television (1.3 MET) | Starts at Standing quietly (for example, in a line) (1.3 MET) |
| Body weight | A number | ≥ 20, ≤ 500 |
| Weight unit | Choose one: Kilograms; Pounds | Starts at Kilograms |
| Duration (minutes) | A number | ≥ 0.1, ≤ 1440 |
Formula and method
Formula
calories = MET × weight (kg) × duration (hours)
IEEE-754 double precision; shown to at most 6 decimal places.
Standing quietly costs about 1.3 times the resting rate. Gross energy use (it includes the resting metabolism you would burn anyway) for an average adult. MET values are population averages: your real burn varies with fitness, body composition, pace, terrain and technique.
Worked examples
These examples are verified: each one is an automated test case that the live calculator must reproduce exactly.
Example 1
Inputs: Standing posture = Standing quietly (for example, in a line) (1.3 MET); Body weight = 70; Weight unit = Kilograms; Duration (minutes) = 30.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Calories burned | 45.5 kcal |
| MET value | 1.3 |
| Compendium code | 07040 |
| Per minute | 1.52 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 190 kJ |
Example 2
Inputs: Standing posture = Standing quietly (for example, in a line) (1.3 MET); Body weight = 180; Weight unit = Pounds; Duration (minutes) = 45.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Calories burned | 79.6 kcal |
| MET value | 1.3 |
| Compendium code | 07040 |
| Per minute | 1.77 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 333 kJ |
Example 3
Inputs: Standing posture = Standing, fidgeting (1.5 MET); Body weight = 70; Weight unit = Kilograms; Duration (minutes) = 30.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Calories burned | 52.5 kcal |
| MET value | 1.5 |
| Compendium code | 07041 |
| Per minute | 1.75 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 220 kJ |
The first line is the headline result (calories burned). Below it the calories Burned Standing Calculator lists mET value, compendium code, per minute and kilojoules, which describe the same case from other angles. IEEE-754 double precision; shown to at most 6 decimal places.
Why standing burns slightly more than sitting
Sitting quietly is about 1.0 MET (resting energy use); standing quietly is 1.3 MET, so standing costs about 30% more energy — roughly an extra 0.3 × 70 × 1 = 21 kcal an hour for a 70 kg person. The difference is real but small.
Estimate, not measurement
MET values come from the Compendium of Physical Activities and are averages. Individual energy use varies with body composition, fidelity of posture and fitness.
How the result changes with body weight
Holding every other input at the first worked example, this table changes only body weight. It shows how sensitive the answer is to that one value; each row was produced by running this calculator.
| Body weight | Calories burned | MET value | Compendium code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 22.8 kcal | 1.3 | 07040 |
| 70 | 45.5 kcal | 1.3 | 07040 |
| 140 | 91 kcal | 1.3 | 07040 |
| 280 | 182 kcal | 1.3 | 07040 |
What happens with invalid input
These messages are produced by the calculator itself, so you know what to fix.
- Body weight: left empty shows "Enter body weight." beside that field and no result.
- Duration (minutes): entering "0" shows "Duration (minutes) must be at least 0.1." beside that field and no result.
Choosing between the Calories Burned Standing Calculator and similar calculators
Each row shows what a related calculator on this site asks for and what it returns, so you can pick the one that matches your question.
| Calculator | You enter | It returns |
|---|---|---|
| [Calories Burned Hiking Calculator](/health/calories-burned-hiking-calculator/) | hiking type, body weight and weight unit | Calories burned |
| [Calories Burned Calculator](/health/calories-burned/) | activity, units and weight | Calories burned |
| [Push-Up Calorie Calculator](/health/push-ups-calorie-calculator/) | effort level, body weight and weight unit | Calories burned |
| [BMI Calculator](/health/bmi-calculator/) | units, weight and height | Your BMI |
| [Calorie Calculator](/health/calorie-calculator/) | units, sex and weight | Maintenance calories |
Assumptions and limitations
- Weights are limited to 20–500 kg-equivalent inputs and durations to 24 hours
- MET values come from the Compendium and are not adjusted for age, sex or fitness
This calculator gives general information based on published formulas. It is not medical advice, and it cannot account for your health history. Talk to a qualified clinician about decisions that affect your health.
If a required value is empty, not a number, or outside its allowed range, the form marks that field with a message and shows no result instead of a misleading number. The automated checks deliberately try invalid entries for body weight and duration (minutes) to confirm this.
Frequently asked questions
Is standing at a desk worth it?
It burns a little more energy, but the main benefit is less sitting time.
What is MET?
Metabolic equivalent: energy use relative to rest.
Can I use pounds?
Yes. Choose pounds as the weight unit and the calculator converts to kilograms.
What does the Calories Burned Standing Calculator calculate?
Calories burned while standing, from Compendium MET values. It returns Calories burned, MET value, Compendium code, Per minute and Kilojoules.
What formula does the Calories Burned Standing Calculator use?
calories = MET × weight (kg) × duration (hours). Standing quietly costs about 1.3 times the resting rate.
What do I need to enter in the calories Burned Standing Calculator?
You enter Standing posture, Body weight, Weight unit and Duration (minutes).
How is the result rounded or limited?
IEEE-754 double precision; shown to at most 6 decimal places. Weights are limited to 20–500 kg-equivalent inputs and durations to 24 hours.
What are the limits of this calculator?
Weights are limited to 20–500 kg-equivalent inputs and durations to 24 hours. MET values come from the Compendium and are not adjusted for age, sex or fitness.
What does the “Standing posture” option change?
It sets how the calories Burned Standing is worked out. The choices are Standing quietly (for example, in a line) (1.3 MET), Standing, fidgeting (1.5 MET) and Standing, watching television (1.3 MET).
What is an example of a calories Burned Standing result?
With standing posture Standing quietly (for example, in a line) (1.3 MET), body weight 70, weight unit Kilograms and duration (minutes) 30, the calories burned is 45.5 kcal.
Where does the method come from?
The method follows: 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, https://pacompendium.com/ (MET values used unchanged; free for educational and commercial use with citation); Energy cost: kcal = MET × body mass (kg) × hours, using 1 MET ≈ 1 kcal per kg per hour (Compendium convention).
Can I rely on this calculator for a decision?
This calculator gives general information based on published formulas. It is not medical advice, and it cannot account for your health history. Talk to a qualified clinician about decisions that affect your health. For this calculator in particular: Weights are limited to 20–500 kg-equivalent inputs and durations to 24 hours.
Related calculators
- Calories Burned Hiking Calculator — Calories burned hiking for a given body weight, pace and time.
- Calories Burned Calculator — Estimate calories burned from activity, body weight and time using MET values.
- Push-Up Calorie Calculator — Calories burned doing push-ups (calisthenics) for a given effort level and time.
- BMI Calculator — Find your Body Mass Index (BMI) and weight status.
- Calorie Calculator — Daily calories to maintain, lose or gain weight.
- BMR Calculator — Estimate basal metabolic rate with the Mifflin–St Jeor and revised Harris–Benedict equations.
Sources
- 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, https://pacompendium.com/ (MET values used unchanged; free for educational and commercial use with citation)
- Energy cost: kcal = MET × body mass (kg) × hours, using 1 MET ≈ 1 kcal per kg per hour (Compendium convention)
Content last reviewed 2026-11-04. Formulas and worked examples are checked by automated tests against independently computed values.