How to Use the Household Chore Calorie Calculator
Ever wonder how much of a workout your daily chores actually give you? Select a chore type, enter your body weight and the time spent, and this calculator estimates the calories burned during that session plus the calorie rate per hour.
Different chores have different activity intensities (MET values). Lower-intensity tasks like cooking or folding laundry burn fewer calories per minute, cleaning with a vacuum or mop is a step up, and full-body activities like active childcare or yard work burn noticeably more because they engage more muscle groups for longer.
Housework won't match a gym session in intensity, but repeated several times a day it steadily raises your non-exercise activity (NEAT). On days when you can't fit in a dedicated workout, tackling chores a bit more briskly can help make up some of the gap. Active childcare and yard work in particular can surprise you with how much they add up over a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, housework is a classic example of NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). The intensity is low, but repeated throughout the day it meaningfully adds to your total daily activity.
Activities that keep your whole body moving, like active childcare or yard work, generally burn more calories than lower-intensity chores like cooking or cleaning.