Calories burned standing vs sitting
At 175 pounds, one hour of standing quietly comes to about 103 calories, against about 79 for an hour of sitting quietly, using 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities entries 07040 at 1.3 MET and 07021 at 1.0 MET. Typing at a standing workstation, entry 11583, and sitting computer work, entry 11582, are both listed at 1.3 MET, so the formula gives them the same number.
Standing desk calorie calculator
The standing entry gives 24 more calories than the sitting entry for 1 hour.
07040 Standing quietly (standing in a line), 1.3 MET against 07021 Sitting quietly, general, 1.0 MET.
Both lists draw from the Compendium's inactivity and occupation pages, so choose the description that matches the time being entered. The formula produces estimates for those entries.
Standing quietly against sitting quietly
The inactivity page, checked October 17, 2026, lists 07040, Standing quietly (standing in a line), at 1.3 MET and 07021, Sitting quietly, general, at 1.0 MET.
The body weights of 125, 150, 175, 200 and 225 pounds correspond to 56.7, 68.0, 79.4, 90.7 and 102.1 kilograms.
| Body weight | 1 hour standing | 1 hour sitting | 4 hours standing | 4 hours sitting | 8 hours standing | 8 hours sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125 lb | 74 | 57 | 295 | 227 | 590 | 454 |
| 150 lb | 88 | 68 | 354 | 272 | 708 | 544 |
| 175 lb | 103 | 79 | 413 | 318 | 826 | 635 |
| 200 lb | 118 | 91 | 472 | 363 | 943 | 726 |
| 225 lb | 133 | 102 | 531 | 408 | 1061 | 816 |
Over one hour, the gap ranges from 17 calories at 125 pounds to 31 at 225 pounds. At 175 pounds over eight hours, the gap is 191 calories.
Rounding happens separately for each cell. Entry 07040 at 225 pounds gives 133 calories for one hour and 1061 for eight hours, although eight times 133 is 1064.
Light standing tasks against light sitting tasks
The occupation page, checked October 17, 2026, lists 11600, Standing tasks, light effort (e.g., bartending, store clerk, assembling, filing, duplicating, librarian, putting up a Christmas tree, standing and talking at work, changing clothes when teaching physical education), at 1.8 MET and 11580, Sitting tasks, light effort (e.g., office work, chemistry lab work, light assembly repair, watch repair, reading, desk work), at 1.5 MET.
| Body weight | 1 hour standing | 1 hour sitting | 4 hours standing | 4 hours sitting | 8 hours standing | 8 hours sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125 lb | 102 | 85 | 408 | 340 | 816 | 680 |
| 150 lb | 122 | 102 | 490 | 408 | 980 | 816 |
| 175 lb | 143 | 119 | 572 | 476 | 1143 | 953 |
| 200 lb | 163 | 136 | 653 | 544 | 1306 | 1089 |
| 225 lb | 184 | 153 | 735 | 612 | 1470 | 1225 |
At 175 pounds, the light task entries give 143 calories standing and 119 sitting for one hour. Over eight hours, those figures are 1143 and 953. Across these first two tables, 57 is the lowest cell and 1470 is the highest.
Standing desk against sitting at a computer
The occupation page lists 11583, Standing workstation, typing, computer work, and 11582, Sitting, computer work, at 1.3 MET each. With equal MET values, the formula returns equal calories at any weight and time.
At 175 pounds, both entries give 103 calories for one hour and 826 for eight hours. These match the standing column in the first table, since entry 07040 also has a value of 1.3 MET.
On the same page, 11003, Active workstation, treadmill desk, walking slowly 1.0 mph or less, is 2.0 MET and gives 159 calories for one hour at 175 pounds. For other treadmill entries, compare treadmill walking, running and incline calories.
How the standing numbers are worked out
The calculation is calories equals MET times body weight in kilograms times hours. Its units come from the Compendium conversion page, checked October 17, 2026, where 1 MET is 1 kilocalorie per kilogram per hour.
Divide pounds by 2.2046 to get kilograms. For the default comparison, 175 pounds is 79.38 kilograms. Standing gives 1.3 times 79.38 times 1 hour, or 103.19, rounded to 103. Sitting gives 1.0 times 79.38, or 79.38, rounded to 79.
The Compendium treats 1 MET as a fixed resting rate. Both results therefore include resting energy, and sitting quietly is listed at 1.0 MET, equal to that rate. The split between active and resting calories shows those parts of a day's calories.
Jobs the occupation page lists as standing
These other occupation entries name standing, with four marked in red on the Compendium page as estimated MET values.
| Code | Description | MET | 1 hour at 175 lb | Estimated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11035 | Building road, directing traffic, standing | 2.0 | 159 | Yes |
| 11485 | Massage therapist, standing | 5.5 | 437 | No |
| 11520 | Printing, paper industry worker, standing | 2.0 | 159 | No |
| 11525 | Police, directing traffic, standing | 2.5 | 198 | Yes |
| 11528 | Police, making an arrest, standing | 4.0 | 318 | Yes |
| 11620 | Standing, moderate effort, intermittent lifting 50 lbs, hitch or twisting ropes | 3.8 | 302 | No |
| 11630 | Standing, moderate/heavy tasks (e.g., lifting more than 50 lbs, masonry, painting, paper hanging) | 4.5 | 357 | No |
| 11766 | Truck driving, loading and unloading truck, tying down load, standing, walking and carrying heavy loads | 6.5 | 516 | Yes |
| 11820 | Walking or walk downstairs or standing, carrying objects about 25 to 49 lbs | 4.0 | 318 | No |
| 11830 | Walking or walk downstairs or standing, carrying objects about 50 to 74 lbs | 5.5 | 437 | No |
| 11840 | Walking or walk downstairs or standing, carrying objects about 75 to 99 lbs | 7.0 | 556 | No |
| 11850 | Walking or walk downstairs or standing, carrying objects about 100 lbs or more | 7.3 | 579 | No |
The calculator also includes the light or moderate entry 11610, which gives 262 calories for one hour at 175 pounds.
What the Compendium says about its values
Under the inactivity and occupation tables, the Compendium prints this footnote.
Specific Activity Codes in red are estimated MET values. All other values are supported with published literature.
No entry in this calculator or the first two tables is marked red.
On the corrected METs page, checked October 17, 2026, the Compendium states the following.
The Compendium was not developed to determine the precise energy cost of activities within an individual.
It does not correct the MET levels for age, body mass, and sex.
Walking, treadmill and full-day numbers
Distance on foot can be compared through calories for walking a mile by speed and body weight. To calculate beyond a single activity, the full-day calorie total calculator estimates a day's total.
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Standing and sitting calorie questions
How many calories does standing burn in an hour?
For one hour, standing quietly entry 07040 at 1.3 MET gives 74 calories at 125 pounds, 103 at 175 pounds and 133 at 225 pounds. Standing with fidgeting uses entry 07041 at 1.5 MET, giving 119 calories at 175 pounds.
Does a standing desk burn more calories than sitting?
The Compendium assigns 1.3 MET to both 11583, Standing workstation, typing, computer work, and 11582, Sitting, computer work. Each gives 103 calories for one hour at 175 pounds. For light tasks at that hour and weight, standing entry 11600 at 1.8 MET gives 143 calories, while sitting entry 11580 at 1.5 MET gives 119.
How many calories does standing for 8 hours burn?
An eight-hour calculation at 175 pounds gives 826 calories for standing entry 07040 against 635 for sitting entry 07021. The light task comparison gives 1143 for standing entry 11600 against 953 for sitting entry 11580.
Which standing entries are estimated MET values?
The occupation page marks 11035, 11525, 11528 and 11766 in red as estimated MET values. No standing entry in the calculator or on the inactivity page has a red marking.