Home › Health & Education › Wilks Calculator
Wilks Calculator
Use this free Wilks calculator to compare strength across bodyweights. Enter your bodyweight and your total lifted — or your squat, bench, and deadlift separately — pick male or female, and the calculator works out your official Wilks coefficient and Wilks score using the standard Wilks formula. It accepts kilograms or pounds for both weights.
How the Wilks score works
The Wilks score answers a simple question: who is stronger, a lighter lifter or a heavier lifter? A raw total cannot answer it, because heavier lifters lift more in absolute terms. A 60 kg lifter who totals 300 kg is lifting five times bodyweight, while a 120 kg lifter needs 600 kg to match that ratio — and human strength does not grow in proportion to body mass. The Wilks formula corrects for that by multiplying the total by a coefficient that depends on bodyweight and sex. Lighter lifters get a larger coefficient, heavier lifters a smaller one, so the final scores can be compared fairly across weight classes.
Wilks coefficient = 500 ÷ (a + b·x + c·x² + d·x³ + e·x⁴ + f·x⁵), where x is bodyweight in kg
The formula uses a fifth-degree polynomial with six fixed constants, and there is a separate set for men and women. For men the constants are a = −216.0475144, b = 16.2606339, c = −0.002388645, d = −0.00113732, e = 0.00000701863, and f = −0.00000001291. For women they are a = 594.3174775, b = −27.23842536, c = 0.8211222687, d = −0.00930733913, e = 0.00004731582, and f = −0.00000009054. You do not need to remember these — the calculator uses the official values exactly — but knowing they are fixed matters: every Wilks calculator that uses the standard formula should give the same coefficient for the same bodyweight, so your score is comparable with anyone else's.
Bodyweight goes into the formula in kilograms, which is why the calculator converts pounds for you. A male lifter at 100 kg has a coefficient of about 0.6086, so a 600 kg total gives a Wilks score of 365.15. The same 600 kg total at 120 kg bodyweight has a coefficient of about 0.5749 and a score of 344.95, while at 80 kg the coefficient is about 0.6827 and the score is 409.62. The same total is worth far more at a lighter bodyweight, which is exactly the point of the formula. For women the coefficients are larger at the same bodyweight — a female lifter at 60 kg has a coefficient of about 1.1149 — because the formula is calibrated separately for each sex.
The usual reading of a score is roughly: below 250 is a beginner, 250 to 300 is a developing lifter, 300 to 350 is a solid club-level total, 350 to 400 is strong, 400 to 450 is advanced and competitive at most local meets, 450 to 500 is elite, and above 500 is world class. These are rough bands, not official categories, and they shift a little between federations and eras. What matters most is your own trend: if your Wilks score climbs while your bodyweight stays the same, you are genuinely getting stronger, not just heavier.
Wilks is the older of the two formulas lifters use today. The newer DOTS formula, adopted by several federations since 2020, does the same job with a different curve and usually gives similar rankings but different numbers — a Wilks 400 is not a DOTS 400. Use Wilks when your federation, meet, or gym leaderboard uses Wilks, and compare Wilks scores only with other Wilks scores. This calculator also works for a single lift: enter your best bench press as the total and you get a bench-only Wilks, which is handy for comparing bench specialists.
Worked example
A male lifter weighs 100 kg and totals 600 kg across squat, bench, and deadlift. What is his Wilks score?
Step 1: Take the bodyweight, x = 100 kg, and put it into the men's polynomial — a + b·x + c·x² + d·x³ + e·x⁴ + f·x⁵ = −216.0475144 + 16.2606339 × 100 − 0.002388645 × 100² − 0.00113732 × 100³ + 0.00000701863 × 100⁴ − 0.00000001291 × 100⁵ = 821.57.
Step 2: The coefficient is 500 ÷ 821.57 = 0.6086.
Step 3: Multiply by the total — 600 × 0.6086 = 365.15.
So the answer is a Wilks score of 365.15, a strong club-level score. If the same lifter cut to 90 kg and kept the same 600 kg total, his coefficient would rise to about 0.6384 and his score to 383.04 — the same strength, fairly rewarded at the lighter bodyweight. Enter your own numbers above to see where you stand.
FAQ
What is a good Wilks score?
A Wilks score around 300 is a solid club-level total, 350 to 400 is strong, 400 to 450 is advanced and competitive at most local meets, and 450 to 500 is elite. Scores above 500 are world-class. Beginners often start near 200 and climb quickly in their first year of serious training, because early strength gains come fast.
What is the difference between Wilks and DOTS?
Wilks and DOTS are both formulas that adjust a powerlifting total for bodyweight so lifters of different sizes can be compared. Wilks is the older formula, used for decades in powerlifting, and it has separate coefficients for men and women. DOTS is the newer formula adopted by several federations since 2020. They usually give similar rankings but different numbers, so a Wilks score and a DOTS score cannot be compared directly.
Does the Wilks calculator work for bench press only?
Yes, you can use it for a single lift or for a full powerlifting total. The Wilks formula itself does not care what the weight is — it multiplies any total by your bodyweight coefficient. Enter your best bench press as the total to get a bench-only Wilks, or enter your squat, bench, and deadlift and the calculator will add them into a full powerlifting total first.
Why does the Wilks coefficient fall as bodyweight rises?
Because strength does not grow in proportion to bodyweight. A 60 kg lifter who totals 300 kg is lifting five times bodyweight, while a 120 kg lifter needs 600 kg to match that ratio — and strength grows more slowly than body mass. The Wilks coefficient shrinks as bodyweight rises to correct for that, so a lighter lifter's total is scaled up more than a heavier lifter's.
Should I enter bodyweight in kg or lb?
Either — the calculator converts pounds to kilograms for you, because the official Wilks formula is defined in kilograms. Just pick the unit next to each field. Make sure your bodyweight and your total use the units you selected for each one, and weigh yourself on the day of the lift if you want the score to match a competition result.