Calories burned during volleyball

The short answer

A half-hour of volleyball burns roughly 125–170 kcal for a 70 kg person — a range, because casual play with waits between rallies sits low while competitive, jump-heavy games run higher. Beach volleyball on sand costs more again. Enter your own weight and time below for a closer estimate.

Your range

Enter your weight and how long you moved — the estimate comes back as a range, the same way our diary does it.

kg
min
Calories burned during volleyball, by weight and time
Weight 15 min30 min45 min60 min
50 kg 45–6089–121134–181179–241
60 kg 54–72107–145161–217214–290
70 kg 62–85125–169187–254250–338
80 kg 71–97143–193214–290286–386
90 kg 80–109161–217241–326321–435
100 kg 89–121179–241268–362357–483
110 kg 98–133196–266295–398393–531

Each cell is a range (±15%). Read down for your weight, across for your time. These are population estimates, not a measurement of you.

Energy cost from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Herrmann, Willis, Ainsworth et al.). kcal = MET × 3.5 × weight(kg) ÷ 200 × minutes; we show it as a band because a MET is a population average. Why a range, not one number →

Common questions
How many calories does volleyball burn?

It depends on your weight, how long you keep it up and — a lot — your pace and fitness, so there is no single true number. The table and the calculator give a range for your weight and time. Two people of the same weight can differ by 15–25% at the same activity.

Why show a range instead of one number?

Because a MET value is a population average. Your real burn shifts with fitness, technique, terrain and how hard you actually went. A single "347 kcal" reads as precise when it isn't — the honest answer is a band, and that is what we show.

Do calories burned mean I can eat that much back?

No. This is an estimate of energy spent, not calories you have to "earn" or a licence to eat more. Movement is worth doing for its own sake. If you track a day's balance, use the range — never treat the top of it as exact.

Where do the numbers come from?

MET values from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, a public reference cited by researchers. We apply the standard MET formula and widen it into a ±15% band (±25% for strength work, which a MET barely captures).

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