Jump rope calorie calculator. Moderate skipping burns ~135 cal in 10 min, ~205 in 15 min, ~410 in 30 min (155 lb). MET-based for slow, moderate, fast.
Quick answer
Jumping rope burns about 696–1097 calories per hour, or 174–274 calories in 15 minutes, for adults weighing 130–205 lb (59–93 kg). That estimate uses a MET value of 11.8 (moderate (100–120 skips/min)); see the table below for other intensities. These figures are estimates from population-average MET values, not measurements of your own energy expenditure — actual burn varies with intensity, fitness, body composition and technique.
Example calculation
A 155 lb (70 kg) adult — moderate (100–120 skips/min) — for 15 minutes:
11.8 MET × 70 kg × 0.25 h = 207 calories
That is 826 calories per hour, or about 13.8 calories per minute.
Calories burned jumping rope per hour, by body weight
Calories burned per hour by skipping speed and body weight (MET method).
Skipping speed
MET
130 lb (59 kg)
155 lb (70 kg)
180 lb (82 kg)
205 lb (93 kg)
Slow (under 100 skips/min)
8.8
519 cal
616 cal
722 cal
818 cal
Moderate (100–120 skips/min)
11.8
696 cal
826 cal
968 cal
1097 cal
Fast (over 120 skips/min)
12.3
726 cal
861 cal
1009 cal
1144 cal
Calories burned in 15 minutes
Calories burned in 15 minutes of jumping rope, by body weight.
Skipping speed
130 lb (59 kg)
155 lb (70 kg)
180 lb (82 kg)
205 lb (93 kg)
Slow (under 100 skips/min)
130 cal
154 cal
180 cal
205 cal
Moderate (100–120 skips/min)
174 cal
207 cal
242 cal
274 cal
Fast (over 120 skips/min)
181 cal
215 cal
252 cal
286 cal
Method and formula
Calories = MET × body weight in kilograms × duration in hours. MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) expresses the energy cost of an activity as a multiple of resting metabolism, where 1 MET ≈ 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour. Pounds are converted with lb ÷ 2.20462 = kg. Totals are rounded to the nearest whole calorie and per-minute figures to one decimal; no rounding is applied before the final step.
MET values for jumping rope are taken from the 2011/2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities.
What changes the result
Body weight: Directly proportional — doubling body weight doubles the estimate at the same MET and duration.
Duration: Directly proportional — calories scale linearly with time at a constant intensity.
Intensity: Sets the MET value. Moving one intensity step up typically raises burn 20–40%.
Terrain and incline: Not in the base MET value; uphill or resistance work increases the true cost.
Fitness and efficiency: Trained people use less energy for the same output, so estimates skew high for them.
Age, sex and body composition: Change resting metabolism and therefore the baseline the MET multiplies.
Limitations
Most people cannot skip continuously; rest breaks lower the session average considerably.
Trip-ups and restarts are not captured by a steady-state MET value.
Every figure here is an estimate, not a measurement — treat it as a planning number rather than a result.
MET values are population averages from the Compendium of Physical Activities; individual results commonly differ by 10–20%.
Actual intensity and pace matter more than the label: two people at the same nominal intensity can differ substantially in real effort.
Body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness change the result — more lean mass raises the baseline, while trained people move more efficiently and often burn less than the table shows.
Terrain, incline, surface and movement technique are not captured by a flat-ground MET value.
These are gross calories — they include the resting energy you would have burned anyway during that time.
MET tables are standardised on a 70 kg adult, so estimates are least accurate at very low or very high body weights.
Heart-rate monitors, wearables and laboratory indirect calorimetry can all give different numbers; measured testing is more accurate for an individual than any MET-based estimate.