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Ideal weight calculator — four formulas.
Your "ideal weight" is a rough target for your height and sex. This calculator shows all four classic clinical formulas — Devine, Robinson, Miller, and Hamwi — side by side, plus the healthy weight range from BMI, so you get an honest band instead of one false-precision number. Metric or imperial, live, no signup.
These formulas use only height and sex — read the limitations below before you treat any figure as a target.
All four estimates.
Each formula and the healthy-BMI band for your height. They disagree by a few kilograms — the spread is the honest answer.
| Formula | Ideal weight | Origin & note |
|---|---|---|
| Devine (1974) | — | The clinical standard, built for drug dosing |
| Robinson (1983) | — | A refinement of Devine; usually the lowest |
| Miller (1983) | — | Gentler slope per inch; usually the highest |
| Hamwi (1964) | — | The original bedside rule of thumb |
| Healthy BMI 18.5–24.9 | — | A range, not a point — the honest healthy band |
These are height-only clinical estimates. They can't see muscle, so a trained lifter will read 10–15 kg above "ideal" while lean and healthy. Use the range as a rough reference, not a target — and lean on body fat or FFMI if you train.
The ideal-weight formulas, explained.
Each is a base weight at 5 ft plus a fixed amount per inch above it. Male form shown; the female form uses a lower base.
50 kg + 2.3 kg × (inches over 5 ft) Female: 45.5 kg + 2.3 × inches. Devine, 1974 — the most cited, originally for medication dosing.
52 + 1.9×in · 56.2 + 1.41×in Robinson (male 52 + 1.9, female 49 + 1.7) and Miller (male 56.2 + 1.41, female 53.1 + 1.36), both 1983.
48 kg + 2.7 kg × (inches over 5 ft) Female: 45.5 kg + 2.2 × inches. Hamwi, 1964 — the original clinical rule of thumb.
Worked example (Devine, male, 178 cm ≈ 5 ft 10 in, so 10 inches over 5 ft): 50 + 2.3 × 10 = 73 kg. Robinson gives 71, Miller 70.3, Hamwi 75 — a ~5 kg spread. The healthy-BMI band for 178 cm runs about 58.6 to 78.9 kg, comfortably containing all four. Sources: Devine 1974; Robinson & Miller 1983; Hamwi 1964.
Related body calculators.
Height alone isn't enough. Add composition, then track your weight in the browser.
BMI calculator
Screen your current weight against the healthy range.
Open toolBody-fat calculator
The composition read these height formulas can't give.
Open toolLean body mass calculator
How much of your weight is muscle, bone, and water.
Open toolNutrition tracker
Log food against your numbers, right in the browser.
Open toolIdeal weight questions.
What is the most accurate ideal weight formula?
No formula is definitively "most accurate" — they were built for different purposes. The Devine formula from 1974 is the most widely used, originally created for medication dosing rather than aesthetics. Robinson and Miller refined it with different coefficients, and Hamwi is a quick clinical rule of thumb. Because they disagree by a few kilograms, seeing all four as a range is more honest than trusting a single number.
Why do the ideal weight formulas only use height?
These equations were designed as fast clinical estimates from height and sex alone, before body composition tools were common. That simplicity is also their biggest weakness: they can't tell muscle from fat. A muscular lifter will almost always weigh above their "ideal" figure while being perfectly lean and healthy — so treat the result as a rough reference, not a target to diet toward.
Is ideal body weight the same as a healthy weight?
Not exactly. Ideal-body-weight formulas give a single point estimate for a given height, while a healthy weight is a range — most cleanly defined by a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9. This calculator shows both, so you can see the formula points sitting inside your personal healthy-BMI band rather than fixating on one figure.
How much should I weigh for my height?
For a given height there is a healthy range, not one right answer. As a starting point, a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 defines the healthy weight band for your height, and the Devine, Robinson, Miller, and Hamwi formulas each land a point inside or near it. Where you sit in that range depends on your muscle mass, frame, and goals — a lifter belongs at the higher end.
Should athletes use ideal body weight formulas?
With heavy caveats. Because these formulas ignore muscle entirely, they systematically underestimate the healthy weight of trained athletes. A strength athlete carrying significant lean mass can be 10 to 15 kg above the formula figure at low body fat. Athletes are far better served by tracking body-fat percentage, lean body mass, and FFMI than by chasing a height-only ideal weight.
Is this ideal weight calculator free?
Yes. It computes in your browser, updates as you type, and needs no signup. Save your result to Nishaana to track your weight against a target and healthy range over time.
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