Free body shape calculator
Find your body shape in two seconds. Enter your bust, waist, and hip measurements in inches or centimetres and the calculator returns your figure type — Hourglass, Pear, Apple, or Rectangle — plus your waist-to-hip, waist-to-bust, and bust-to-hip ratios, updated live, as you type.
On this page16 sections
| Shape | Bust vs. hips | Waist |
|---|---|---|
| Hourglass | Bust ≈ hips (within ~5%) | Clearly defined (≤ ~75% of bust/hips) |
| Rectangle (Banana) | Bust ≈ hips (within ~5%) | Not clearly defined (straight up and down) |
| Pear (Triangle) | Hips larger than bust by > 5% | Defined, narrower than the hips |
| Apple (Inverted triangle) | Bust larger than hips by > 5% | Subtle, upper body carries the width |
Body shape is a proportion guide, not a health measure. What about health?
Results are estimates. Consult a professional.
What is your body shape?
Your body shape is the overall outline your proportions create — the relationship between how wide you are at the bust, the waist, and the hips. It is a description of geometry, not size: two people who wear very different clothing sizes can share the same body shape, and two people of the same weight can have completely different shapes. This body shape calculator takes your three core measurements and sorts them into one of the five common female figure types — Hourglass, Pear, Apple, or Rectangle — so you know which silhouette you are working with.
The classification comes from a real research method. A 2005 study at North Carolina State University scanned more than 6,000 women and built the Female Figure Identification Technique (FFIT), the rule set most online body shape calculators — including this one — are based on. Enter your bust, waist, and hip measurements above and the calculator returns your shape instantly, along with the three ratios that decided it.
Bust, waist, and hips — the three measurements explained
Every body shape calculator works from the same three circumference measurements. Getting them right is what makes the result meaningful, so it helps to know exactly what each one refers to.
Only these three are needed for the five-shape result. A fourth measurement — shoulder width — is sometimes added to separate Apple from a true Inverted-triangle figure, but the bust measurement stands in for the upper body here, which is why a broad-shouldered, fuller-bust figure reads as an Apple.
The five female body shapes explained
Almost every figure sorts into one of five shapes, named for the outline they resemble. Here is what each one means in plain terms.
- Hourglass — bust and hips are roughly balanced and the waist is clearly defined (noticeably narrower than both). The classic 36-24-36 figure. The least common shape, at roughly 8% of women.
- Pear (Triangle) — hips are clearly wider than the bust, with a defined waist. Weight and width sit on the lower half. About one in five women.
- Apple (Inverted triangle) — the bust and upper body are clearly wider than the hips, with a softer, less-defined waist. Width sits on the upper half.
- Rectangle (Banana / Straight) — bust, waist, and hips are all close in size, so the figure runs fairly straight up and down with little waist definition. The most common shape, at nearly half of all women.
How the ratios decide your body shape
The calculator does not eyeball your figure — it applies two simple ratio tests in order. First it checks whether your bust and hips are balanced; then, for balanced figures, it checks how defined your waist is. This is the exact logic the tool above uses.
| Body shape | Bust vs. hips | Waist |
|---|---|---|
| Hourglass | Bust ≈ hips (within ~5%) | Clearly defined (≤ ~75% of bust/hips) |
| Rectangle (Banana) | Bust ≈ hips (within ~5%) | Not clearly defined (runs straight) |
| Pear (Triangle) | Hips larger than bust by > 5% | Defined, narrower than the hips |
| Apple (Inverted triangle) | Bust larger than hips by > 5% | Subtle; upper body carries the width |
Simplified five-shape rule set, derived from the FFIT (Female Figure Identification Technique, NC State University, 2005).
- Compare bust and hips. If they are within 5% of each other, the figure is balanced — go to step 2. If the hips are more than 5% bigger, it is a Pear; if the bust is more than 5% bigger, it is an Apple.
- Check the waist (balanced figures only). If the waist is about 75% or less of the larger of bust/hips, the waist is clearly defined — Hourglass. If the waist is wider than that, the figure runs straighter — Rectangle.
A worked example using the body shape calculator
Priya measures herself and gets a 34" bust, 28" waist, and 40" hips. She wants to know her body shape. Here is exactly how the calculator classifies it.
Step 1 — Compare the bust and hips
Her hips (40) are 6 inches bigger than her bust (34). As a share of the larger measurement that is 6 ÷ 40 = 15% — well over the 5% balance band. So her bust and hips are not balanced, and the larger one (hips) sets the shape.
Step 2 — The hips are wider, so it is a Pear
Because the hips are the wider measurement, the figure is a Pear (Triangle). There is no need to test the waist — the waist test only separates the two balanced shapes (Hourglass vs. Rectangle).
Now compare that to an Hourglass. If Priya's bust were instead 40 inches — matching her hips — the bust and hips would be balanced, and her 28-inch waist (70% of 40) would be clearly defined, so the calculator would return Hourglass. The same waist, with balanced bust and hips, is what separates the two.
How to measure your bust, waist, and hips
Your shape is only as accurate as your measurements, and a couple of inches in the wrong place can flip the result. Use a soft cloth tape measure and follow this routine.
- Measure on bare skin or thin underwear. Measuring over clothing adds inches and skews the ratios.
- Keep the tape level. Make sure the tape is parallel to the floor all the way around — letting it ride up or down at the back is the most common mistake.
- Bust. Wrap the tape around the fullest part of your chest and back. Snug, not tight — don't compress.
- Waist. Find the narrowest part of your torso, usually just above the belly button, and measure there. Bend to the side to find the natural crease.
- Hips. Stand with your feet together and measure around the fullest part of your hips and seat, not where a waistband sits.
Dressing for your body shape
The practical reason most people look up their body shape is styling. The general principle across all shapes is balance — drawing the eye toward your narrowest point and adding visual weight where the frame is narrower. These are starting points, not rules; the best outfit is the one you feel good in.
- Hourglass — your waist is the focal point. Fitted and wrap styles, belted pieces, and anything that follows the waistline play to a balanced frame.
- Pear — add interest up top (detailed necklines, structured shoulders, lighter colours) and keep the lower half clean and darker to balance wider hips.
- Apple — draw the eye down and define a waist: A-line and wide-leg bottoms, V-necks, and vertical lines balance a broader upper body.
- Rectangle — create curves and a waist: peplums, belts, and contrast between top and bottom add the definition a straight figure doesn't have naturally.
Does body shape say anything about your health?
Body shape on its own is a proportion and styling label, not a health measure. Being a Pear, Apple, Hourglass, or Rectangle does not, by itself, make you more or less healthy. The one measurement here that does carry a health signal is your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) — the waist divided by the hips — because it reflects where your body stores fat.
Research links a higher WHR (more weight carried around the middle) to higher cardiovascular and metabolic risk, independent of overall weight. For a fuller breakdown of the WHR thresholds and what they mean, use the dedicated waist-to-hip ratio calculator. If you want to look at body composition rather than shape, the body fat percentage calculator and BMI calculator are the right tools — body shape answers a different question.
Can you change your body shape?
Partly. Your underlying bone structure — shoulder width, ribcage, and hip bones — is largely fixed once you finish growing, and it sets the broad outline you start from. What you can change is the fat and muscle layered over that frame, which is what most people are really asking about.
Losing or gaining weight tends to come off or go on in your body's own pattern, so it usually softens or sharpens your existing shape rather than turning a Pear into an Apple. Targeted strength training can build the shoulders or glutes to balance a figure visually. Hormonal milestones — puberty, pregnancy, and menopause — also shift fat distribution over a lifetime, which is why your shape can genuinely change across the decades.
How accurate is this body shape calculator?
The classification itself is exact: for the three measurements you enter, the calculator applies the published ratio cut-offs and returns the same shape every time, with no rounding surprises. It also reports the underlying ratios so you can see how close you were to a neighbouring shape.
Two honest limitations are worth knowing. First, the result is only as good as your measurements — a tape that rides up at the back can move you a whole shape, so re-measure if a result surprises you. Second, this is a five-shape model; some calculators split the hourglass into top- and bottom-hourglass or add a 'spoon' shape, and many people sit genuinely on a border between two shapes. Treat the result as a useful label, not a verdict — your ratios tell you how clear-cut it is.
Data sources and methodology
The shape rules are the simplified five-shape set derived from the Female Figure Identification Technique (FFIT), developed from a 2005 body-scan study of more than 6,000 women at North Carolina State University. The shape-prevalence figures (Rectangle ~46%, Pear ~20%, Apple ~14%, Hourglass ~8%) come from that same study. The health note follows standard waist-to-hip-ratio guidance, which is handled in full by the linked WHR tool.
Simmons, Istook & Devarajan — 'Female Figure Identification Technique (FFIT) for Apparel', Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management (NC State University, 2005).Waist-to-hip ratio health context: see the linked waist-to-hip ratio calculator.Frequently asked questions about the free body shape calculator
About this body shape calculator
This body shape calculator runs entirely in your browser. Your measurements never leave your device — nothing is sent to a server, logged, or shared. It compares your bust and hips, then your waist definition, against the FFIT-derived five-shape rule set, and reports the underlying ratios, updating instantly as you type.
Calculators Cloud offers 400+ free tools with no sign-up. The whole Health calculators shelf includes waist-to-hip ratio, Body fat %, and BMI tools alongside this one. Or browse the full calculator directory.