Plate calculator
This plate calculator tells you exactly which plates to load on a barbell to hit a target weight. Enter the load you want, your bar weight and unit, and it works out the plates for one side, greedy from the largest down, plus how close you land if your target isn't loadable exactly. Swap in your own plate set if your gym doesn't stock the usual sizes.
Achieved load
100.00kg
How it works
The calculator subtracts the bar weight from your target and splits what's left evenly between both sides. It then works down a sorted list of available plate sizes, taking as many of the largest plate as fit before moving to the next size, which mirrors how lifters actually load a bar rather than searching for a mathematically perfect combination.
The default plate set is the common set found in most gyms: 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25 kg, or 45, 35, 25, 10, 5 and 2.5 lb. If your gym only has some of these, list what you have in the plates field and the calculator will only use those sizes.
When the target can't be reached exactly with the available plates, the calculator shows the closest achievable load below your target and the shortfall, rather than rounding up past what you asked for.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate plates for a barbell?
Subtract the bar's own weight from your target load, then divide by two to get the weight needed per side. Load the largest plates first and work down to the smallest, which is exactly what this calculator automates for any target and bar weight.
What if my gym doesn't have 1.25 kg plates?
Type the plates you actually have into the optional plates field, separated by commas, for example 20,15,10,5. The calculator drops the default set and works only with the sizes you listed, showing the closest load it can reach and the resulting shortfall if any.
Why does the calculator show a shortfall?
Not every target weight can be built exactly from a fixed set of plates. Rather than silently rounding up past your target, the calculator loads as close as it can get from below and reports the gap so you know precisely what you're lifting.
Related tools
- 1RM calculatorEstimate your one-rep max from any set of reps and weight, with a percentage table and the same banded formula the Overload app uses.
- Warm-up sets calculatorBuild a free warm-up ladder of sets leading into your working weight, so every jump between the bar and your top set is planned.
- RPE calculatorConvert any set to a percentage of your 1RM or a target load from RPE, free, with a full table of reps against RPE 6 to 10.
- Strength standardsFind your strength level on the squat, bench, deadlift, press or row, free, with the weight needed to reach the next level shown.
Log the exact load in Overload
Record the weight you actually loaded and Overload tracks your tonnage per session and per exercise automatically. Free on iOS and Android.