Barbell Plate Calculator

Load per side = (target − bar) ÷ 2. Plates are filled greedily, largest first, from the standard plate set until the per-side load is met or can't be built exactly.

Plate-loading arithmetic. Standard bars: 20 kg / 45 lb.

A non-zero remainder means the exact target can't be assembled from the selected plates — the tool then shows the closest achievable load.

Machines, dumbbells, or specialty bars whose base weight differs from the value you enter.

It subtracts the bar weight from your target, halves the rest for one side, then greedily loads the largest plates that fit. The result is the exact stack to put on each end of the bar.

A standard Olympic barbell is 20 kg (45 lb). Women's Olympic bars are 15 kg, and many technique or fixed bars differ. Set your bar once and the calculator remembers it on this device for next time.

Because a plate set only has certain denominations. If the remainder can't be built — say you need 0.5 kg per side but your smallest plate is 1.25 kg — the calculator shows the closest achievable load and how much is left over.

Yes. Switch the site's units and it uses the matching plate set — kilogram plates (25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25) or pound plates (45, 35, 25, 10, 5, 2.5) — and labels everything accordingly.

Fewer, larger plates are quicker to load, sit more securely, and keep the bar balanced. The greedy approach mirrors how experienced lifters actually load a bar.