DOTS calculator, with Wilks side by side.
Your DOTS score is your powerlifting total adjusted for bodyweight and sex, so a higher number means more strength for your size. Enter bodyweight, sex and the total (or a single lift) to get your DOTS score and the classic Wilks score for the same lift. Works in kilograms or pounds.
score a total
3-lift total or a single lift - the maths is the same.
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The current standard - use this one first.
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The classic formula, kept for older records.
the short answer
A DOTS score is your powerlifting total adjusted for bodyweight and sex: DOTS = total (kg) x 500 / P(bodyweight in kg), where P is a 4th-degree polynomial fitted separately for men and women. Read it as relative strength. As a rough guide, not an official standard, around 300 is solid intermediate, 400 is strong and meet-competitive, and 500 and up is elite. An 82.5 kg man with a 500 kg total scores 338.70 DOTS; the original Wilks formula, same shape with an older 5th-degree polynomial, gives him 334.95. DOTS vs Wilks: use DOTS unless you are matching an older record. For men the two agree within 1.5 percent between 60 and 125 kg, and the USPA and the OpenPowerlifting rankings use DOTS.
What are the DOTS and Wilks formulas this calculator uses?
Both scores share the same shape: score = total x 500 / P(x), where x is bodyweight in kilograms and P is the polynomial below. Pounds are converted internally at 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg before the formula runs. The DOTS and Wilks coefficients and bodyweight limits below are the same values the OpenPowerlifting results database uses in its open-source code. The Wilks set is the original formula with a 500 multiplier, not Wilks 2020. Only need one score? The dedicated Wilks calculator and DOTS calculator go deeper on each formula on its own.
DOTS (4th-degree)
P(x) = a + bx + cx² + dx³ + ex⁴
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| a | -307.75076 | -57.96288 |
| b | 24.0900756 | 13.6175032 |
| c | -0.1918759221 | -0.1126655495 |
| d | 0.0007391293 | 0.0005158568 |
| e | -0.000001093 | -0.0000010706 |
Wilks (5th-degree, classic)
P(x) = a + bx + cx² + dx³ + ex⁴ + fx⁵
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| a | -216.0475144 | 594.31747775582 |
| b | 16.2606339 | -27.23842536447 |
| c | -0.002388645 | 0.82112226871 |
| d | -0.00113732 | -0.00930733913 |
| e | 0.00000701863 | 0.00004731582 |
| f | -0.00000001291 | -0.00000009054 |
DOTS vs Wilks: which one counts?
Use DOTS unless you are matching an older record. Both scores have the same shape and land close together for mid-weight lifters: for men they agree within 1.5 percent between 60 and 125 kg bodyweight. They split at the ends, where Wilks reads about 4 percent higher than DOTS at 45 kg and about 6 percent higher at 200 kg. Federations pick their own formula. The USPA rulebook places Best Lifter by DOTS, USA Powerlifting's 2026 rulebook (which spells DOTS out as Dynamic Objective Team Rating System) says DOTS stays its formula until a replacement is approved, and the OpenPowerlifting rankings sort by DOTS by default. The IPF uses neither: its Best Lifter award runs on IPF GL points, which you can work out with the IPF GL points calculator. Wilks is still worth showing because years of records, gym leaderboards and old meet results are stated in it.
Each formula has bodyweight limits: DOTS runs from 40 to 210 kg for men and 40 to 150 kg for women, Wilks from 40 to 201.9 kg for men and 26.51 to 154.53 kg for women. Outside those limits this calculator clamps bodyweight to the nearest bound and tells you, rather than extrapolating a polynomial past where it holds.
One number that makes a whole squad comparable.
Raw totals lie to a coach. A 100 kg client adding 10 kg to their deadlift and a 60 kg client adding 10 kg are not the same event, and a leaderboard of raw totals just ranks bodyweight. DOTS fixes both problems at once: score every client on the same scale, and the squad leaderboard suddenly rewards relative progress - which is what keeps the lighter lifters engaged instead of parked at the bottom.
The second job is tracking one client across a weight change. During a cut, a falling total can hide the fact that relative strength is holding or even climbing - a stable DOTS score is the evidence a coach shows the client to keep them from panicking. Same in reverse on a bulk: if bodyweight climbs and DOTS falls, the extra mass is not buying strength and the program needs a look. Pair the score with an estimated max from the one rep max calculator and you can score clients from ordinary training sets, no max-out day required.
Where this stops scaling is the admin. Running one client through a calculator is fine; re-scoring twenty clients every time bodyweights and top sets update is an evening lost. Inside Coachway, clients log every set against the program you built in the workout builder, and bodyweight comes in through check-ins - both sit on the client's Power Panel, so benchmarking the squad starts from data you already have, not a spreadsheet session. Handle everything around one client from one tab, not six.
Benchmark every client without rebuilding the spreadsheet each week.
No charge today - cancel anytime under Billing.Frequently asked questions.
What is a DOTS score and how do I read it?
A DOTS score is a powerlifting total adjusted for bodyweight and sex: total in kg x 500 / P(bodyweight), where P is a 4th-degree polynomial. A higher score means more strength for your size, so lifters of different bodyweights sit on one scale. An 82.5 kg man with a 500 kg total scores 338.70 DOTS.
What is a Wilks score and what is it for?
The Wilks score multiplies the weight you lifted by a coefficient based on your bodyweight and sex, so lifters of different sizes can be compared fairly. On the original Wilks formula this page uses, a 60 kg man totalling 400 kg scores 341.15 and a 120 kg man totalling 595 kg scores 342.08: almost 200 kg apart on the bar, almost level on relative strength.
DOTS vs Wilks: what is the difference?
Both convert a lifted total into a bodyweight-adjusted score with the same shape, total x 500 / P(bodyweight). Wilks uses an older 5th-degree polynomial; DOTS uses a newer 4th-degree one. For men the two agree within 1.5 percent between 60 and 125 kg bodyweight, but Wilks reads about 4 percent higher at 45 kg and about 6 percent higher at 200 kg. In the 2025 and 2026 rulebooks, the USPA places Best Lifter by DOTS, USA Powerlifting uses DOTS to break team ties and keeps it as its formula until it approves a replacement, and the IPF ranks Best Lifter by its own IPF GL points, not DOTS or Wilks.
Which Wilks formula does this calculator use?
The original Wilks coefficients with a 500 numerator, the classic version that older records and gym leaderboards were stated in. Wilks 2020 is a different, later formula with a 600 numerator and new coefficients, and it reads higher for the same lift. For a Wilks 2020 score, use the separate Wilks calculator on this site.
Is a Wilks or DOTS score calculated in kg or lb?
The formulas are defined in kilograms - bodyweight and total both go in as kg. This calculator accepts pounds too and converts internally (1 lb = 0.45359237 kg), so the score comes out the same whichever unit you type in. The score itself has no unit.
What is a good DOTS score?
As a rough guide for the squat, bench and deadlift total: around 300 is a solid intermediate lifter, 400 is strong and competitive at local meets, and 500+ is elite territory. Because DOTS normalises for bodyweight, those bands mean the same thing for a 55 kg lifter and a 110 kg lifter.
Can I use Wilks or DOTS for a single lift instead of a total?
Yes. The formula simply multiplies whatever weight you enter by the bodyweight coefficient, so you can score a full 3-lift total or a single squat, bench or deadlift. Just compare like with like - a single-lift score is only meaningful against other single-lift scores for the same movement.
Why do coaches track DOTS instead of raw totals?
A raw total cannot tell a coach whether a client who gained 5 kg of bodyweight and 10 kg on their total actually got relatively stronger. DOTS answers that in one number, so it works for benchmarking a squad of different-sized lifters against each other and for tracking a single client through a bulk, a cut or a weight-class change.
Wilks and DOTS are comparison tools, not measures of health or ability, and the polynomials are fitted on adult competitive lifters. This tool is general fitness information, not medical advice.
Keep building the plan: estimate lifts with the one rep max calculator, then cover the nutrition side with the macro calculator and TDEE calculator, and read our guide to software for strength and conditioning coaches.
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