Protein calculator: how much protein do you need a day?

Enter your body weight and pick a goal — the calculator shows how many grams of protein a day nutrition scientists recommend and how that splits across your meals.

Body weightkg

GoalLittle exerciseEveryday healthRegular trainingFitness and enduranceBuilding muscleStrength trainingLosing fat while trainingCalorie deficit

Meals a day90–120 g of protein a dayabout 23–30 g per meal over 4 mealsOne scoop of protein powder (about 30 g) usually gives 20–25 g of protein.

Protein in the shop

Protein Whey protein Whey isolate Plant protein Casein Protein bars

How it is calculated

The ranges are grams of protein per kilogram of body weight a day: 0.8–1.0 g with little exercise (EFSA's reference intake for adults is 0.83 g), 1.2–1.6 g with regular training, 1.6–2.2 g when building muscle and 1.8–2.4 g when losing fat while training (the International Society of Sports Nutrition's 2017 position stand and a 2018 meta-analysis by Morton and colleagues). Food comes first; protein powder simply makes the daily amount easier to reach.

Who it is not for

The calculator is meant for healthy adults. If you have kidney disease, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or follow a diet prescribed by a doctor, ask your doctor what is right for you.