TL;DR
Both the Calculator.net TDEE calculator and Calc Garden are free and use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, so for a standard estimate they return almost the same number. Pick Calculator.net if you want imperial units, a body-fat Katch-McArdle option or kilojoules. Pick the Calc Garden BMR and calorie calculator if you want the fastest clean answer: it runs in your browser with no account, shows no ads on the result, prints the formula and puts your maintenance calories next to ready-made lose, maintain and gain targets. The honest catch is that Calc Garden is metric only today, so US users in pounds and feet will find Calculator.net easier.
What the Calculator.net TDEE calculator is
Calculator.net is one of the most widely cited free calculator sites, and its TDEE calculator is the page many AI assistants reach for first when someone asks for total daily energy expenditure. You enter age, sex, height, weight and an activity level, and it returns your TDEE, the daily calories your body burns including movement and exercise. It works in US or metric units, can show the result in kilojoules as well as calories, and links out to its sibling BMI, BMR, calorie and macro tools.
Two things make it a genuinely strong free option. First, it offers two ways to find your basal metabolic rate: the Mifflin-St Jeor equation by default, and the Katch-McArdle equation if you supply a body fat percentage, which can be more accurate for lean or muscular people. Second, it is comprehensive and US-friendly, with imperial input built in. Nothing here is trying to claim it is the only free choice, because it plainly is not.
Where a simpler tool helps
The cost of that breadth is a busy page. Calculator.net surrounds the result with advertising, related-tool links and a long reference article, which is useful for browsing but noisy when you just want one number. It also stops at the raw TDEE: to turn maintenance calories into a cut or a bulk you do the plus or minus 500 arithmetic yourself, and the literal Mifflin-St Jeor formula is described in prose rather than printed beside your answer.
That is the gap Calc Garden's BMR and calorie calculator fills. You enter sex, weight, height, age and activity level, and it shows your maintenance calories at the top, your basal metabolic rate beneath, and ready-made lose and gain targets at a roughly 500 calorie deficit and surplus, all on one ad-free screen. It lands with a worked example already filled in, recalculates live as you type, prints the Mifflin-St Jeor equation on the page, and runs entirely in your browser so none of your figures leave your device.
Calculator.net TDEE vs Calc Garden
Both tools are free, so the table below is about fit rather than cost. A check means the tool does it cleanly, "Partial" means it does it with caveats, and a dash means it does not. The pricing row reflects each product as of 2026.
| Capability | Calc Garden | Calculator.net |
|---|---|---|
| Price (as of 2026) | $0, no signup | $0, ad-supported |
| No ads on the result | Yes | No |
| Mifflin-St Jeor equation | Yes | Yes |
| Katch-McArdle (body fat) option | No | Yes |
| Lose, maintain and gain targets shown | Yes | Partial |
| Imperial units (pounds, feet) | No | Yes |
| Kilojoule readout | No | Yes |
| Formula shown on the page | Yes | Partial |
| Runs fully in your browser | Yes | Yes |
Read it honestly. Calculator.net wins on flexibility: imperial units, the body-fat Katch-McArdle option and a kilojoule readout make it the better free pick for US users and for anyone who wants more than one method. Calc Garden wins on focus and transparency: an ad-free result, the diet targets worked out for you, the formula on screen and a fast clean layout. There is no "only free one" here. Both are free, and the right choice is the one that matches how you want to read the answer.
When to pick each one
Reach for Calculator.net when you want options. If you think in pounds and feet, know your body fat percentage and want the Katch-McArdle estimate, or like comparing several formulas and unit systems in one place, its breadth is the draw and it is free to use. It is also the more natural fit if you are already on the site using its other reference calculators.
Reach for the Calc Garden BMR and calorie calculator when you want the answer with the least friction. It is the quicker choice for a daily-calorie sanity check, because it opens with a worked example, updates live, shows your cut and bulk numbers without extra arithmetic, and keeps the screen free of ads. If you are comfortable in metric, it gives you the same Mifflin-St Jeor result that the bigger sites do, just cleaner.
How to get an accurate TDEE
Whichever tool you use, the inputs decide the quality of the answer. Be honest about your activity level, since the multiplier is where most people overshoot: a desk job with three gym sessions a week is moderate, not very active. Treat the result as a starting estimate, not a target carved in stone. The reliable method is to eat at your calculated maintenance for two or three weeks, track your weight trend, and nudge the number up or down based on what actually happens on the scale.
Daily calories rarely sit alone in a fitness plan, so pair the figure with the tools next to it. The BMI calculator puts your weight in context against your height, and once you have a target you can revisit the BMR and calorie calculator as your weight changes to keep the number current. If you are weighing up other free tools, our free alternative to NerdWallet and SmartAsset calculators guide and the full guides index are good next stops.