Free strength calculator
Wilks Calculator
The score that let a 60 kg and a 120 kg lifter share one leaderboard. Enter your total and bodyweight to get your Wilks — original or 2020 formula, kg or lb.
Squat + bench + deadlift combined.
Enter your bodyweight and total above to see your Wilks score — the pound-for-pound number that lets lifters of any size compare.
Free. No signup. The tool's own usage events never include your exact numbers; a share link encodes them into its URL.
Wilks is a strength-comparison estimate, not medical or coaching advice. Federations round and version their coefficients differently, so a meet result may not match to the decimal.
How Wilks works
Wilks normalises your total against your bodyweight. Bigger lifters move more absolute weight, so raw totals can't fairly rank a lightweight against a heavyweight. Wilks fixes that by multiplying your total by a coefficient that depends on your bodyweight — heavier lifters get a smaller multiplier, lighter lifters a larger one — landing everyone on one pound-for-pound scale.
The coefficient comes from a fifth-order polynomial in your bodyweight, with separate curves fit for men and women. Your score is your total (in kg) times a constant, divided by that polynomial: a lighter lifter's smaller denominator lifts their score, a heavier lifter's larger denominator lowers it. The constant is 500 on the original scale and 600 on the 2020 revision, which is why 2020 scores read roughly 20% higher.
Because the coefficients were only fit within a defined bodyweight range, scoring a bodyweight outside that range falls back to the nearest edge coefficient — the calculator tells you when that happens. Everything runs in your browser; nothing about your numbers is sent anywhere.
Original vs 2020
The original Wilks coefficients served powerlifting for decades, but analysis over time suggested they weren't perfectly fair across the whole bodyweight spectrum — lifters at the very light and very heavy ends were arguably advantaged or disadvantaged relative to the middle. In 2020, Powerlifting Australia published a revised set of coefficients to flatten that bias.
The 2020 revision also changed the normalisation constant from 500 to 600, so a 2020 score is not on the same numeric scale as a classic Wilks — it runs about 20% higher for the same lifter. That's purely a scaling difference, not extra strength. When you use the 2020 formula here, the result card also shows the approximate classic equivalent so you can still read it against the familiar 300 / 400 / 500 landmarks.
What's a good Wilks score
Rough “territory” bands on the original (K=500) scale. Wilks has no official rank ladder, so treat these as directional, not as classifications.
| Score (classic) | Territory |
|---|---|
| 300+ | Solid amateur territory — A strong, well-rounded total for a dedicated lifter. |
| 400+ | Strong territory — Comfortably above most gym lifters — real strength. |
| 450+ | Competitive territory — The range of competitive meet lifters. |
| 500+ | Elite territory — Elite pound-for-pound strength. |
A Wilks 2020 score runs about 20% higher than the classic scale because its constant is 600 instead of 500 — so add roughly a fifth to each landmark if you're reading a 2020 number, or use the classic-scale equivalent the calculator shows.
Wilks vs DOTS vs IPF GL
Wilks is one of several bodyweight-adjustment systems, and the sport has been moving between them. The IPF adopted its own IPF GL points for its meets. DOTS emerged as a popular open-source successor, built from a similar idea with re-fit coefficients. Wilks 2020 was Powerlifting Australia's own update to keep Wilks current.
They all answer the same question — who is stronger pound for pound — but with different coefficient sets, so the same lifter gets slightly different numbers under each. Like Wilks, they treat men and women with separate coefficients and don't adjust for equipment (raw vs equipped is a separate consideration) or age. If you compete, use whatever your federation scores you on; if you just want a durable, widely-recognised comparison number, Wilks still does the job.
Common mistakes with Wilks
- Entering pounds as kilos (or vice versa). Wilks math runs in kilograms. Enter your numbers in whichever unit you like — the tool converts — but double-check the unit toggle, because a lb total read as kg roughly doubles the score.
- Comparing a single-lift score to a total score. Wilks is built for the full squat-bench-deadlift total. A Wilks computed from one lift isn't comparable to a full-total Wilks.
- Treating it as an official ranking. The territory bands here are rough context. Wilks has no official rank ladder, and different systems (DOTS, IPF GL) give different numbers.
- Mixing formula versions. A classic Wilks and a Wilks 2020 aren't on the same scale. Comparing two lifters means putting them on the same version first.
Methodology
The score is your total in kilograms times a normalisation constant, divided by a fifth-order polynomial in your bodyweight in kilograms: score = total × K / (a + b·x + c·x² + d·x³ + e·x⁴ + f·x⁵), where x is bodyweight in kg. The original formula uses K = 500 with Robert Wilks' classic coefficients; the 2020 formula uses K = 600 with Powerlifting Australia's revised coefficients. Men and women have separate coefficient sets.
The coefficients are only defined within an official bodyweight range. A bodyweight inside the tool's accepted range but outside the coefficient domain is scored at the nearest domain edge, and the result card discloses that clamp explicitly — it's the same behaviour the official implementations use, rather than extrapolating the polynomial into a range it was never fit for.
The whole calculation runs in your browser. The tool's own usage events only ever send coarse buckets — a bucketed score and a bucketed bodyweight range — never your exact total, bodyweight, or score. If you use the share button, your entered numbers are encoded into that link so the page can rebuild your result; that link then sits in your address bar like any other URL. This is a strength-comparison utility, not medical or coaching advice.
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What is a Wilks score?
A Wilks score compares powerlifting totals across bodyweights. It multiplies your total by a coefficient derived from your bodyweight, so a lighter and a heavier lifter can be ranked pound-for-pound on one scale. It was the long-standing standard for deciding “best lifter” across weight classes and is still the most recognised strength-comparison number in the sport.
What's a good Wilks score?
On the original (K=500) scale, roughly 300 is a solid amateur total, 400 is strong, 450 is competitive-meet territory, and 500-plus is elite. These are rough guides, not official ranks — Wilks never had an official ladder. The 2020 formula runs about 20% higher for the same lifter (constant 600 vs 500), so a “360” on 2020 is roughly a “300” classic.
Why are there two Wilks formulas?
The original coefficients (Robert Wilks, Powerlifting Australia) were shown to carry some bias at the extremes — very light and very heavy lifters were arguably advantaged or disadvantaged relative to the middle. In 2020 Powerlifting Australia published revised coefficients to correct that, with a higher normalisation constant. Both are still used, so the calculator offers both and defaults to 2020.
Which formula do federations use now?
Increasingly, neither. Many federations — including the IPF — moved away from Wilks to newer systems: the IPF adopted its own IPF GL points, and DOTS became the popular open-source successor. So a modern meet may score you on IPF GL or DOTS rather than Wilks. Wilks remains a historically comparable, widely-understood pound-for-pound number, which is why it's kept here.
Do I enter a single lift or my whole total?
Wilks is designed for your competition total — squat plus bench plus deadlift, which is what the coefficients were fit against. You can enter a single lift for a rough pound-for-pound number, but that score isn't comparable to a full-total Wilks. If you're missing a lift, estimate it first (there's a link to a 1RM estimator) rather than scoring an incomplete total as complete.
Can men and women compare Wilks scores?
Yes — that's part of the point. Wilks uses separate coefficients for men and women, each fit to that population, so the two land on a comparable scale. Comparing a man's Wilks to a woman's is a fair, intended comparison in a way raw totals are not. Just make sure each person picks the correct sex, because the coefficients differ substantially.
Why doesn't my number match a meet result?
A few reasons. Meets may use a different version (original vs 2020) or an entirely different system (IPF GL, DOTS). Coefficients are sometimes rounded differently between implementations. And a meet total reflects your best successful attempts on the day. Small differences are normal; a large gap usually means a different formula or system was used.
Does age factor into Wilks?
No. Wilks adjusts for bodyweight and sex only — not age. Age is a separate layer: the McCulloch (or Foster) age coefficients are applied on top of a bodyweight-adjusted score to compare masters lifters across ages. This tool gives you the raw bodyweight-adjusted Wilks; an age-adjusted number means multiplying by the relevant McCulloch factor separately.
Build the total behind the score
The calculator scores what you enter. Stronger logs every squat, bench, and deadlift and tracks your total as it climbs — so your Wilks keeps moving.
