MME Calculator
MME calculator works out Total MME per day and Per-drug working from Conversion factor set, First opioid and First opioid: strength per dose. The default figures on this page give total MME per day of 60.00 MME/day; change any entry and the result, the working and the sources update together.
Your figures
Updates as you typeHow this is worked out
3 steps
- Oxycodone: 40 mg/day x 1.5 = 60 MME/day
- Total = 60 MME/day
- 60 MME/day is at or above 50 - CDC advises carefully evaluating the benefits and risks of increasing further
Per-drug workingtable
Figures from CDC opioid MME conversion factors, checked 31 August 2026. Its 5 worked examples are re-run on every release, last on 15 September 2026. What changed · how reference data is kept current
Sources and references
4 sources
What the mme calculator calculates
Totals the daily morphine milligram equivalents of an opioid regimen using the CDC conversion factors, flags the 50 and 90 MME/day review thresholds, and converts the total into an equivalent dose of another opioid with a cross-tolerance reduction.
How to use this mme calculator
Enter Conversion factor set, First opioid, First opioid: strength per dose and First opioid: doses per day. Total MME per day updates as you type, and “Use a worked example” loads checked figures you can adjust. Change one figure at a time to see what drives the result.
How the result is worked out
Open “How this is worked out” beside the result for the step-by-step calculation behind Total MME per day, Per-drug working and CDC review threshold.
The method follows CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain - United States, 2022 (MMWR Recomm Rep 2022;71(RR-3)), CDC, Calculating Total Daily Dose of Opioids for Safer Dosage, CDC compilation of opioid analgesics with oral MME conversion factors and Missouri Department of Social Services / MO HealthNet, MME factor update for hydromorphone, methadone and tramadol.
CDC worked example: hydrocodone 5 mg six times a day plus oxycodone 10 mg three times a day example
With First opioid: hydrocodone, First opioid: strength per dose: 5, First opioid: doses per day: 6, Second opioid: oxycodone, the calculator returns Total MME per day: 75. This example is checked against an independent source in the test suite.
What you can compare
Change one input at a time to see how it affects Total MME per day, Per-drug working and CDC review threshold. The inputs you can vary are Conversion factor set, First opioid, First opioid: strength per dose, First opioid: doses per day, Second opioid and Second opioid: strength per dose.
Understanding Total MME per day, Per-drug working and CDC review threshold
For clinical use by a qualified prescriber only, and subject to specialist review before release. CDC states these factors are for analysing prescription data, not for converting a patient from one opioid to another; they do not account for incomplete cross-tolerance, individual pharmacogenetics, renal or hepatic impairment. Methadone and transdermal fentanyl are especially hazardous to convert and buprenorphine factors were withdrawn by CDC in 2017. Never start a new opioid at the calculated equivalent dose without an independent reduction and close monitoring.
Results are general information, not financial, tax, legal, medical or engineering advice. Check any decision that matters with a qualified professional.
See something wrong? Report a problem with this calculator
Frequently asked questions
What information do I need for the mme calculator?
You need Conversion factor set, First opioid, First opioid: strength per dose, First opioid: doses per day, Second opioid, Second opioid: strength per dose, Second opioid: doses per day and Third opioid. The page opens with default figures that give total MME per day of 60.00 MME/day, so you can see the scale before entering your own.
What does this mme calculator show?
It shows Total MME per day, Per-drug working, CDC review threshold, MME after cross-tolerance reduction, Equivalent daily dose of the target opioid, Target dose unit, Equivalent amount per dose and Factor set used, with the working and any warnings for your entries.
Can I check how the mme calculator result was calculated?
Yes. The “How this is worked out” section shows the calculation steps, and the sources section identifies the references used for the method.