Kg plate calculator
Enter your target weight and pick your bar (20 kg, 15 kg, or a custom bar from 5 to 30 kg / 10 to 65 lb). The Plate Calculator (kg & lb) shows what goes on each side. It's free and needs no account.
- Collars: off by default. Turn on 2.5 kg collars and the per-side maths includes them.
- Your plates: set the plates you actually have in your plate inventory in settings.
- Light targets: if your target is lighter than the bar plus collars, it loads the empty bar with no collars. The label includes your target, for example "bar only (target 23 kg)". It does this even when plates alone could make the weight, because it never drops your collars without telling you. With collars on and no plates, the label is "bar + collars".
- Unloadable targets: if your plates can't make the exact weight, it loads the nearest weight they can and shows both, for example "Target 101.2 kg · Loaded 101 kg". Exact halfway cases go to the heavier weight. If you need more plates than you have, it loads the most it can and says so.
The one formula you need
Per side = (target − bar − collars) ÷ 2
On a 20 kg bar with a pair of 2.5 kg competition collars, the bar plus collars weigh 25 kg. To hit 100 kg, you need 75 kg in plates, so 37.5 kg goes on each side.
How to load kg plates
- Heaviest first, from the inside out. Big plates go nearest the centre and smaller plates follow in descending order. That's the IPF rule ("heavier discs innermost with the smaller discs in descending weight"), and it keeps the load stable and easy to read.
- Load one side, then copy it on the other. Count each side out loud. Mismatched sides are the most common loading error.
- Collars last. Push them right up against the outermost plate.
- Check the total: bar + collars + (per side × 2).
In competition, the first and heaviest discs are also loaded face in and the rest face out, so the referees can read them.
IPF plate colours and weights
| Plate | Colour (IPF) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 25 kg | Red | |
| 20 kg | Blue | |
| 15 kg | Yellow | |
| 10 kg | Any colour under IPF rules | Usually green (the IWF colour) |
| 5 kg | Any colour under IPF rules | Usually white (IWF) |
| 2.5 kg | Any colour under IPF rules | Varies by gym (red under IWF rules) |
| 1.25 kg | Any colour under IPF rules | Standard IPF disc |
| 0.5 kg, 0.25 kg | Any colour | IPF allows these for record attempts |
The IPF sets colours only for 15, 20 and 25 kg. Anything 10 kg and under "may be any colour". The green/white/red pattern for small plates comes from the IWF weightlifting rules (10 kg green, 5 kg white, 2.5 kg red, 2 kg blue, 1.5 kg yellow, 1 kg green, 0.5 kg white). Most gyms follow it, but always read the number on the plate.
Competition discs have to be within 0.25% or 10 g of their marked weight. Gym plates can be further off, so if exact numbers matter to you, weigh them.
Bars
- 20 kg is the standard men's bar (IWF) and the powerlifting bar (IPF bar + collars = 25 kg).
- 15 kg is the standard women's weightlifting bar (IWF).
- Gym "technique" bars, EZ bars and some specialty bars weigh something else. Check the bar or ask, and never assume.
Collars: competition vs spring
- Competition collars weigh 2.5 kg each (IPF and IWF). With them on, a 20 kg bar is really 25 kg before you add any plates.
- Spring clips and most lightweight clamp collars have no standard weight. Most lifters treat them as zero. If you want to be precise, weigh yours.
- The IPF says collars "shall always be used" in competition. In the gym, use them anyway on anything you might tip or drop.
Change plates
Change plates are the small ones: 0.25, 0.5 and 1.25 kg. Remember they go on in pairs, so the smallest jump you can make is twice your smallest plate:
| Smallest plate pair | Smallest jump on the bar |
|---|---|
| 2 × 1.25 kg | 2.5 kg |
| 2 × 0.5 kg | 1 kg |
| 2 × 0.25 kg | 0.5 kg |
If your gym only has 1.25 kg plates, any programme weight that isn't a multiple of 2.5 kg has to be rounded. Our training max rounding guide explains how to choose.
Worked examples (20 kg bar, full kg set incl. 25 kg plates)
| Target | Per side, no collars (bar = 20 kg) | Per side, with 2.5 kg collars (bar + collars = 25 kg) |
|---|---|---|
| 60 kg | 20 kg → 20 | 17.5 kg → 15 + 2.5 |
| 100 kg | 40 kg → 25 + 15 | 37.5 kg → 25 + 10 + 2.5 |
| 142.5 kg | 61.25 kg → 25 + 25 + 10 + 1.25 | 58.75 kg → 25 + 25 + 5 + 2.5 + 1.25 |
| 182.5 kg | 81.25 kg → 25 + 25 + 25 + 5 + 1.25 | 78.75 kg → 25 + 25 + 25 + 2.5 + 1.25 |
| 250 kg | 115 kg → 25 + 25 + 25 + 25 + 15 | 112.5 kg → 25 + 25 + 25 + 25 + 10 + 2.5 |
No 25s at your gym? Use the same maths with 20s. For example, 100 kg without collars is 40 kg per side, which is 20 + 20.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the collars. Leaving the 2.5 kg comp collars out of the maths puts you 5 kg over.
- Doubling wrong. "37.5 kg on" means per side, not in total.
- Loading small plates first. It makes the bar harder to read, and in competition it's against the rules.
- Trusting the colour, not the number. Under IPF rules, plates of 10 kg and under can be any colour.
- Assuming the bar is 20 kg. Women's bars (15 kg), technique bars and specialty bars differ.
- Lb plates in a kg gym. A 45 lb plate is about 20.4 kg, not 20 kg. Don't mix them.
More free calculators
Check your numbers and train safely
A calculator is only as good as the numbers you give it. Check the bar, the collars and the plates you actually have, use safeties or spotters on heavy sets, and stop if something feels wrong.
Sources (checked 19 October 2026): IPF Technical Rulebook, effective 1 March 2026, sections 2.3–2.4 (powerlifting.sport); IWF Equipment and Loading pages (iwf.sport, worldlift.org).