Ideal Weight Calculator
A healthy weight range for your height.
Enter your details to see your result.
What ideal weight really means
Ideal weight is an estimate, not a target you must hit. It answers a common question, how much should I weigh for my height, by giving you a sensible weight based on how tall you are. The honest version of that answer is a range, not one magic number.
This calculator estimates a healthy weight for your height using classic formulas, then shows the spread between them. A range is more useful than a single figure, because real bodies vary.
The classic formulas
Three formulas are still widely used: Devine, Robinson, and Miller. They were each built from different data, so they disagree by a few kilograms at the same height. That disagreement is a feature, not a flaw. It is why we show a range rather than pretend one number is the truth.
The Devine formula is the most common:
Men: 50 kg + 2.3 kg per inch over 5 feet. Women: 45.5 kg + 2.3 kg per inch over 5 feet.
So a man of five feet ten inches lands near 73 kg, and a woman of the same height near 68 kg.
Ideal weight for women and men
The formulas start women a little lower than men at the same height. That reflects average differences in build, not a strict rule. The ideal weight for women and the ideal weight for men differ mostly because women carry more essential fat by nature.
Either way, the formula only knows your height. It cannot see your frame, your build, or how much muscle you carry. Two healthy people at the same height can sit several kilograms apart.
Healthy weight range by height
A more grounded way to ask what is a healthy weight for my height is to read the range straight from the normal BMI band, 18.5 to 24.9. These ranges are wide on purpose.
| Height | Healthy weight range |
|---|---|
| 163 cm | 49 to 66 kg |
| 170 cm | 53 to 72 kg |
| 178 cm | 59 to 79 kg |
| 185 cm | 63 to 85 kg |
If you prefer, you can check your own number against the BMI calculator to see which band you fall in.
The honest caveat
Here is the limit of every ideal weight calculator: these formulas use only height. They ignore muscle and frame entirely. A muscular person can sit above their ideal weight and still be perfectly healthy, because muscle weighs more than the formula expects.
That blind spot is real, and it matters. A strong, lean person reading their ideal weight for height may worry over a number that means very little for them. To see past it, check your fat-free mass index, which accounts for how much muscle you carry.
Focus on composition, not a target
The most useful question is not how much should I weigh, but what is my weight made of. Two people at the same weight can have very different bodies. Where you land inside a healthy range matters less than your ratio of muscle to fat.
So use your ideal weight as a rough anchor, then look closer. Estimate your body fat percentage to see the fuller picture, not just a number on the scale.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I weigh for my height?
There is no single right answer, only a healthy range. For most adults, the normal BMI band of 18.5 to 24.9 maps to a sensible weight range for a given height. Classic ideal weight formulas like Devine narrow that range further, but they still ignore muscle and frame. Use the range as a guide, not a target to hit exactly.
What is the ideal weight for women?
Ideal weight formulas give women a slightly lower starting point than men at the same height. The Devine formula uses 45.5 kg for a woman at five feet, adding 2.3 kg per inch above that. This reflects average differences in build, not a rule. Women naturally carry more essential fat, so a healthy weight range matters more than any single ideal weight number.
What is the ideal weight for men?
The Devine formula starts a man at 50 kg for five feet of height and adds 2.3 kg for each inch above that. So a man of five feet ten inches lands near 73 kg. This is an estimate based on height alone. A muscular man can sit well above his ideal weight for men and still be lean and healthy.
Why do ideal weight calculators give different numbers?
Because they use different formulas. Devine, Robinson, and Miller were each built from different data, so they disagree by a few kilograms at the same height. None is more correct than the others. That is exactly why this ideal weight calculator shows a range across the formulas instead of one number, since the spread is more honest than false precision.
Is ideal weight the same as a healthy weight?
Not quite. Ideal weight is a single estimate from a formula that only knows your height. A healthy weight is a wider range that allows for muscle, frame, and body composition. Two people at the same height can both be healthy several kilograms apart. Treat your ideal weight for height as the middle of a band, not a fixed goal.
Can I be above my ideal weight and still be healthy?
Yes, often. Ideal weight formulas use only height, so they cannot see muscle. A strong, well-trained person frequently weighs more than their calculated ideal weight while carrying low body fat. The scale number alone cannot tell muscle from fat. Body fat percentage and waist-to-height ratio give you a far more honest read on health than weight by itself.
Keep reading
The BMI formula and categories are the same for everyone, but body composition is not. Here is what that means for reading your number.
BMI cannot tell muscle from fat and ignores age, sex and fat distribution. Here is what it gets wrong, and how to use it well anyway.