Health Calculator
Biological Age Test & Calculator.
A free bioage test that runs the published PhenoAge equation on your own blood panel, or estimates from lifestyle if you do not have one. Your chronological age is a number. Your biological age reflects how well your body is actually ageing.
The science
Chronological age is a calendar. Biological age is a mirror.
Two people born on the same day can have very different bodies at 50. One runs marathons, sleeps eight hours, eats mostly plants, and has no chronic conditions. The other smokes, barely moves, and runs on four hours of sleep. Their biological ages, the actual functional state of their cells, organs, and telomeres, can differ by a decade or more.
This calculator implements the Phenotypic Age model, developed by Dr. Morgan Levine and colleagues. If you enter all nine blood biomarkers, it runs the published Levine PhenoAge equation directly. If you don't have a blood panel to hand, it estimates your result from lifestyle inputs instead. That is less precise, but useful as a directional signal.
The model was built and validated on NHANES IV, a cohort of 11,432 US adults followed for 12.6 years. In that data, each additional year of Phenotypic Age above your calendar age was associated with a 9% higher risk of death from any cause (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.08–1.10), after adjusting for chronological age.
5–10 years
the biological age gap that consistent exercise, quality sleep, and a whole-food diet can create, compared to a sedentary peer the same calendar age.
The most impactful levers in this model are smoking (heavy smoking can add 5+ years to biological age) and vigorous exercise (5+ times per week subtracts 3 years). Sleep, diet quality, chronic stress, and BMI each contribute 1–3 years in either direction.
Unlike your chronological age, your biological age can actually go down. The calculator will show you which specific factors are adding years, giving you a clear, evidence-based action list.
Highest-impact factors
Your profile
Your result
Chronological age
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Biological age
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Factor breakdown
Methodology
Two ways to calculate, and why they differ.
Most biological age tools ask for a full blood panel and refuse to work without one. This calculator runs either way, and it is worth understanding which result you are looking at.
With blood values
Enter all nine biomarkers and the tool runs the published Levine PhenoAge equation exactly as specified in the source paper. This is the real measure, the same calculation used in the research literature.
Lifestyle only
Without blood work, the tool applies adjustments for smoking, exercise, sleep, diet, stress, alcohol and BMI. These weights are directional estimates informed by published effect sizes, not the PhenoAge equation itself.
The distinction matters. The blood-based result is a validated clinical measure. The lifestyle-based result is a reasonable approximation that tells you which habits are pulling your number in which direction. It is useful for deciding what to change, but not a substitute for the real thing.
If you have a recent blood panel, you can upload the PDF and the values are extracted in your browser. Nothing is transmitted to any server, and no account is required.
The nine biomarkers
What each blood marker tells you.
PhenoAge uses nine routine blood values, all of which appear on a standard metabolic panel and complete blood count. None require specialist testing. Here is what each one measures and why it predicts ageing.
Albumin (ALB)
3.5–5.0 g/dL
A protein made by the liver. Low albumin reflects poor nutritional status, inflammation, or reduced liver and kidney function, and is consistently associated with frailty and mortality in older adults.
Creatinine (CREA)
0.6–1.2 mg/dL
A waste product filtered by the kidneys. Elevated levels indicate reduced kidney filtration, which tends to decline steadily with age and accelerates under metabolic strain.
Fasting glucose (GLU)
70–99 mg/dL
Blood sugar after fasting. Sustained elevation signals insulin resistance, the metabolic process underlying type 2 diabetes and a major driver of vascular ageing.
hsCRP
Low risk: < 1.0 mg/L
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, a marker of systemic inflammation. Chronic low-grade inflammation is one of the most consistent biological signatures of accelerated ageing.
Lymphocyte % (LYM%)
20–40%
The share of white blood cells that are lymphocytes. A declining proportion reflects immune ageing, the gradual loss of adaptive immune capacity seen in older adults.
MCV
80–100 fL
Mean corpuscular volume, the average size of your red blood cells. Enlarged cells can indicate nutritional deficiency or impaired blood cell production.
RDW
11.5–14.5%
Red cell distribution width, the variation in red blood cell size. It carries the heaviest weight in the PhenoAge equation and is a strong independent predictor of mortality.
Alkaline phosphatase (ALP)
44–147 U/L
An enzyme associated with liver and bone activity. Elevated levels can reflect liver stress or bone turnover, both of which track with biological ageing.
White blood cells (WBC)
4.0–11.0 ×10³/µL
Total immune cell count. Both unusually high and unusually low counts are associated with worse outcomes, reflecting inflammation or impaired immune production.
Reference ranges vary between laboratories. Use the ranges printed on your own lab report where they differ from those shown here.
Limitations
What this calculator cannot tell you.
Biological age is a population-level statistic applied to an individual. It describes how a group of people with your biomarker profile tended to fare, not what will happen to you specifically.
It is not a diagnosis. A high result does not mean you have a disease, and a low result does not rule one out. PhenoAge was designed to study ageing across populations, not to screen individuals for illness.
It captures a single moment. Blood markers fluctuate with acute illness, recent exercise, hydration, infection, and time of day. A raised hsCRP during a cold will inflate your result. One panel taken while unwell is not representative.
It omits much of what matters. The nine markers exclude blood pressure, cholesterol, genetics, cancer history, mental health, and social connection, all of which affect how long and how well people live.
The original cohort was US-based. PhenoAge was developed on NHANES data from the United States. Its calibration may differ for populations with different baseline health profiles.
If your result concerns you, or if individual markers fall outside your laboratory's reference range, discuss the actual blood panel with a doctor. This tool is for information and is not medical advice.
Which test
Biological age tests, compared.
"Biological age test" covers several different things that are often sold as if they were the same. A biological age test, a metabolic age calculator, a fitness age calculator and a health age calculator measure different biology, cost different amounts, and disagree with each other more than the marketing suggests.
Blood-based (PhenoAge, what this tool runs)
Nine markers from a standard panel, fed into an equation validated on 11,432 adults. Costs whatever a routine blood test costs, often nothing beyond a check-up you were having anyway. It predicts mortality risk at population level, which is the thing most people actually want to know.
Epigenetic (DNA methylation, often sold as a bioage test)
A cheek swab or blood sample read for methylation patterns, typically $200 to $500. More fashionable and genuinely interesting, but results vary between providers and between samples from the same person, so a single number carries less precision than the price implies.
Metabolic age (the number on a smart scale)
Despite the name, a metabolic age calculator is not measuring ageing. It compares your basal metabolic rate against the average BMR for each age group, which mostly reflects muscle mass. Useful as a fitness signal, not a measure of biological ageing, and not comparable to the blood-based or epigenetic results above.
Fitness age (cardiorespiratory estimate)
A fitness age calculator works backwards from your estimated VO2 max, the volume of oxygen your body can use at peak effort, and reports the age group whose average VO2 max matches yours. It measures one system rather than whole-body ageing, but it has an unusual strength: cardiorespiratory fitness is among the single strongest predictors of all-cause mortality in long-running cohorts, and unlike most markers here it responds to training within months.
Health age (composite risk estimate)
A health age calculator rolls behaviour and clinical risk factors, such as smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol and activity, into one age-equivalent figure. It is the same family as the heart age calculators used in clinical screening, and the number is best read as a communication device rather than a measurement: its purpose is to make a cluster of risk factors legible as a single number you can act on.
If you have a recent blood panel, use the blood mode on this page: it runs the actual published equation rather than an approximation. If you do not, the lifestyle mode gives a directional estimate from the factors with the strongest evidence behind them.
References
Sources.
- Liu Z, Kuo P-L, Horvath S, Crimmins E, Ferrucci L, Levine M (2018). A new aging measure captures morbidity and mortality risk across diverse subpopulations from NHANES IV: A cohort study. PLOS Medicine 15(12): e1002718.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002718The Phenotypic Age equation used by this calculator, and the mortality validation cited above.
- Levine ME, Lu AT, Quach A, et al. (2018). An epigenetic biomarker of aging for lifespan and healthspan. Aging 10(4): 573–591.doi.org/10.18632/aging.101414DNAm PhenoAge, the epigenetic clock trained on the phenotypic age measure.
- Levine ME (2013). Modeling the rate of senescence: can estimated biological age predict mortality more accurately than chronological age? Journals of Gerontology Series A 68(6): 667–674.doi.org/10.1093/gerona/gls233Earlier work establishing that biomarker-based age estimates outperform chronological age.
- Correction (2019). A new aging measure captures morbidity and mortality risk across diverse subpopulations from NHANES IV. PLOS Medicine 16(2): e1002760.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002760Published correction clarifying the Phenotypic Age calculation. This calculator uses the corrected equation.
The lifestyle-only mode applies directional adjustments informed by published effect sizes for smoking, physical activity, sleep, diet, stress, alcohol and BMI. Those weights are our own approximation and are not drawn from the PhenoAge equation. Only the blood-based result implements the published model.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
What is biological age?
Biological age measures how well your body is functioning compared to population norms for your chronological age. Two people who are both 45 can have very different biological ages based on their lifestyle, health habits, and genetics. A biological age lower than your chronological age means your body is ageing more slowly than average.
Can you reduce your biological age?
Yes. Unlike chronological age, biological age can be improved. Studies show that consistent exercise, quality sleep (7 to 9 hours), a whole-food diet, quitting smoking, and reducing chronic stress can lower biological age by 5 to 10 years relative to a sedentary peer.
How is biological age calculated?
This calculator uses a simplified version of the Phenotypic Age model developed by Morgan Levine and colleagues. It estimates biological age from lifestyle inputs including smoking, exercise, sleep, diet, stress, alcohol consumption, and BMI range.
What is the difference between biological age and chronological age?
Chronological age is simply how many years you have been alive. Biological age reflects the actual state of your cells, tissues, and organs. Someone with excellent lifestyle habits may have a biological age 10 years younger than their chronological age, while poor lifestyle choices can make your body age faster than the calendar.
What lifestyle factors affect biological age the most?
Smoking and exercise have the largest individual impact. Heavy smoking can add 5 or more years to biological age, while regular vigorous exercise (5 or more times per week) can subtract 3 years. Sleep, diet quality, chronic stress, and BMI each contribute 1 to 3 years in either direction.
What is a body age calculator?
A body age calculator estimates how old your body is functioning relative to your calendar age. It is another name for a biological age calculator. This tool uses the Phenotypic Age model to calculate your body age from lifestyle inputs like smoking, exercise, sleep, diet, stress, alcohol, and BMI.
What is my real age based on lifestyle?
Your real age accounts for how your habits are accelerating or slowing biological ageing compared to your chronological age. Someone who exercises daily, sleeps well, and eats a whole-food diet may have a real age 5 to 10 years younger than their calendar age. This calculator estimates that gap.
What is a fitness age calculator?
A fitness age calculator estimates your cardiorespiratory age by comparing your VO2 max, the amount of oxygen your body can use at peak effort, against average values for each age group. If your VO2 max matches the average 35-year-old and you are 50, your fitness age is around 35. It measures one system rather than whole-body ageing, but cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the strongest predictors of all-cause mortality, and it improves with training faster than most other markers.
What is a health age calculator?
A health age calculator combines behaviour and clinical risk factors, such as smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, activity and BMI, into a single age-equivalent number. It is closely related to the heart age calculators used in clinical screening. The figure is best treated as a way of making several risk factors legible at once rather than as a precise measurement of ageing.
What is a biological age test?
A biological age test estimates how old your body is functioning compared with population norms, rather than how many years you have been alive. Common kinds include blood-based tests like PhenoAge, epigenetic tests that read DNA methylation from a cheek swab or blood sample, metabolic age readings from smart scales, fitness age from VO2 max, and composite health age scores. They measure different biology and often disagree, so a number from one is not comparable with a number from another.
What is a bioage test and how much does it cost?
Bioage is shorthand for biological age, and the term is usually used for epigenetic tests that read DNA methylation. Those typically cost $200 to $500. A blood-based test using the PhenoAge equation is far cheaper, because it uses nine values that already appear on a routine blood panel. This page runs that equation free.
Is a metabolic age calculator the same as a biological age calculator?
No, despite the similar name. A metabolic age calculator compares your basal metabolic rate against the average for each age group, which largely reflects muscle mass. It is a fitness signal, not a measure of biological ageing, and it is not comparable to a blood-based or epigenetic result.
Can I test my biological age at home?
Partly. Epigenetic kits take a cheek swab or finger-prick sample at home and post it to a lab. A blood-based PhenoAge calculation needs a standard blood panel, which means a draw at a clinic, though most people already have the nine required values on a recent routine test. The lifestyle mode on this page needs nothing but answers.
How accurate are epigenetic age tests?
They measure something real, but the precision is often overstated. Results vary between providers using different algorithms, and repeat samples from the same person on the same day can return different ages. Treat a single epigenetic result as a rough signal rather than a precise measurement, and track the direction over repeated tests rather than fixating on one number.
What is PhenoAge?
PhenoAge, or Phenotypic Age, is a measure of biological age calculated from nine routine blood biomarkers. It was developed by Morgan Levine and colleagues and validated on NHANES IV, a cohort of 11,432 US adults followed for 12.6 years. In that data, each additional year of Phenotypic Age above chronological age was associated with a 9 percent higher risk of death from any cause.
Which blood tests do I need for a biological age calculation?
PhenoAge requires nine values, all of which appear on a standard metabolic panel and complete blood count: albumin, creatinine, fasting glucose, high-sensitivity CRP, lymphocyte percentage, MCV, RDW, alkaline phosphatase, and white blood cell count. No specialist or epigenetic testing is needed. If you do not have a blood panel, this calculator can estimate a result from lifestyle inputs instead.
How accurate is a biological age calculator?
When all nine blood biomarkers are provided, this calculator runs the published Levine PhenoAge equation, which is a validated research measure of mortality risk at population level. The lifestyle-only mode is an approximation using directional weights and is less precise. Neither mode is a diagnosis.
Is biological age a medical diagnosis?
No. PhenoAge was designed to study ageing across populations, not to screen individuals for disease. A high result does not mean you have a condition, and a low result does not rule one out. Blood markers fluctuate with acute illness, hydration, recent exercise, and time of day, so a single panel taken while unwell is not representative. If individual markers fall outside your laboratory reference range, discuss the panel with a doctor.