Does it count the bar?

Yes. Pick your bar and its weight comes out of the target before the plates are worked out, so a hundred kilos on a twenty kilo bar is forty a side.

What if my gym does not have every plate?

Untick the plates you do not have. The calculator then builds the closest weight it can and tells you how far short it lands, instead of quietly rounding.

Why is the loading always the same on both sides?

Because an unevenly loaded bar twists as you lift it. Every answer here is per side and doubled, so the bar stays balanced.

Can I switch between kilos and pounds?

Yes, and the plate set changes with it. Kilo racks and pound racks are genuinely different sets of plates, not the same numbers converted.

Calculator

Barbell plate calculator

Tell it the weight you want and it shows what to hang on each end. Works in kilos and pounds, and only uses the plates you own.

Load the bar

Common weights, standard bar and full rack

Total	Each side
40 kg	10
50 kg	15
60 kg	20
70 kg	25
80 kg	25 + 5
90 kg	25 + 10
100 kg	25 + 15
110 kg	25 + 20
120 kg	2 × 25
130 kg	2 × 25 + 5
140 kg	2 × 25 + 10
150 kg	2 × 25 + 15

Every loading here is one end of the bar. Both ends carry the same plates, because an unevenly loaded bar twists as it leaves the rack.

How it works

Plate math is arithmetic you have to do while tired, standing at a rack, often between sets. This calculator does it: give it the total you want, the bar you are using and the plates available, and it lists what goes on one end.

Enter the target weight, choose a bar, and untick anything your gym does not stock. The answer is the loading for one side, heaviest plate first, which is also the order you slide them on.

One hundred kilos on a standard twenty kilo bar is forty kilos a side, which a full rack makes as one twenty-five and one fifteen. Two hundred and twenty-five pounds on a forty-five pound bar is the familiar two forty-fives a side.

The calculator works from the heaviest plate down, taking as many as fit before moving to the next size. On a standard rack, where every plate is a multiple of the smaller ones, that is also the loading with the fewest plates to handle. On a short home set it can leave a gap, and the tool reports that gap rather than rounding to a weight you did not ask for.

That gap is worth knowing about. A home rack of twenties and fives cannot make 102.5 kilos, and a calculator that answers 100 without saying so is the reason people think they added weight when they did not.

Questions

Does it count the bar?: Yes. Pick your bar and its weight comes out of the target before the plates are worked out, so a hundred kilos on a twenty kilo bar is forty a side.
What if my gym does not have every plate?: Untick the plates you do not have. The calculator then builds the closest weight it can and tells you how far short it lands, instead of quietly rounding.
Why is the loading always the same on both sides?: Because an unevenly loaded bar twists as you lift it. Every answer here is per side and doubled, so the bar stays balanced.
Can I switch between kilos and pounds?: Yes, and the plate set changes with it. Kilo racks and pound racks are genuinely different sets of plates, not the same numbers converted.