ONI Food Calculator
Master Your Colony’s Sustenance and Plan for Survival
Calorie & Plant Calculator
Enter the total number of Duplicants in your colony.
Number of Dupes with Bottomless Stomach (+500 kcal) or Binge Eater traits.
Select the main food your Duplicants will eat.
What is an ONI Food Calculator?
An ONI Food Calculator is an essential planning tool for the space-colony simulation game Oxygen Not Included. Its primary purpose is to determine the exact number of plants or critters required to sustainably feed a colony of Duplicants. A standard Duplicant requires 1000 kcal per cycle to survive, and this calculator helps translate that need into tangible agricultural or ranching goals. By inputting the number of Duplicants and the chosen food source, players can avoid starvation crises by ensuring their food production rate meets or exceeds their colony’s consumption rate. This is critical for long-term survival, as a food shortage can quickly lead to Duplicant death and colony failure.
ONI Food Calculator Formula and Explanation
The core of any oni food calculator is balancing caloric demand with caloric supply. The fundamental formula to determine the number of plants needed is:
Plants Needed = Total Daily Calorie Demand / Calories Produced Per Plant Per Cycle
This is broken down further into several components:
| Variable | Meaning | Unit / Typical Value |
|---|---|---|
| Calorie Demand per Dupe | The base amount of energy a Duplicant consumes each cycle. | 1000 kcal/cycle (can be higher with traits). |
| Total Calorie Demand | The combined calorie need for the entire colony per cycle. | (Number of Dupes * 1000) + (Bonus Calorie Dupes * 500) |
| Harvest Yield | The amount of calories produced each time a plant is harvested. | Varies by plant (e.g., Mealwood yields 600 kcal). |
| Growth Time | The number of cycles it takes for a domestic plant to become ready for harvest. | Varies by plant (e.g., Mealwood takes 3 cycles). |
| Calories Per Plant Per Cycle | The average daily caloric output of a single plant. | Harvest Yield / Growth Time |
Understanding these variables is key to managing a successful farm. For more complex setups, check out our ONI Power Calculator to manage your farm’s energy needs.
Practical Examples
Example 1: Early Game Mealwood Farm
A new colony has 6 Duplicants and wants to survive on Mealwood. One Duplicant has the “Bottomless Stomach” trait.
- Inputs: 6 Duplicants, 1 with bonus calories, Food Source: Mealwood.
- Calculation:
- Total Demand: (5 * 1000 kcal) + (1 * 1500 kcal) = 6500 kcal/cycle.
- Mealwood Supply: 600 kcal per harvest / 3 cycles to grow = 200 kcal/cycle per plant.
- Plants Needed: 6500 / 200 = 32.5.
- Result: The colony needs to maintain 33 domestic Mealwood plants and supply them with 330 kg of Dirt per cycle.
Example 2: Mid-Game Bristle Blossom Farm
An established colony of 10 Duplicants is upgrading to Bristle Blossoms for better morale.
- Inputs: 10 Duplicants, 0 with bonus calories, Food Source: Bristle Blossom.
- Calculation:
- Total Demand: 10 * 1000 kcal = 10,000 kcal/cycle.
- Bristle Blossom Supply: 1600 kcal per harvest / 6 cycles to grow = ~266.7 kcal/cycle per plant.
- Plants Needed: 10,000 / 266.7 = 37.5.
- Result: The colony must plant 38 Bristle Blossoms and supply them with a constant light source and 760 kg of Water per cycle. This is a significant water investment, which can be analyzed with an Oxygen Calculator to balance water usage.
How to Use This ONI Food Calculator
- Enter Duplicant Count: Input the total number of Duplicants in your colony. This sets the baseline caloric demand.
- Add Trait-Affected Dupes: Specify how many Duplicants have traits like Bottomless Stomach that increase their food consumption. This adjusts the total demand for higher accuracy.
- Select Food Source: Choose the primary plant or critter you are farming from the dropdown menu. The calculator automatically loads the correct values for growth time, yield, and resource needs for that source.
- Click Calculate: The tool will instantly compute the required number of plants, total resources needed per cycle, and give you a breakdown of the calorie math.
- Interpret Results: The primary result shows the number of plants to build. The intermediate values help you understand your colony’s metabolism and the resource cost of your farm. Use the chart to visually confirm that your production (green bar) will meet or exceed demand (blue bar).
Key Factors That Affect Food Production
- Fertilization: Most plants require a specific resource, like Dirt or Slime, to grow. Running out of this resource will halt your entire food production pipeline.
- Irrigation: Many higher-tier plants need a steady supply of Water or Polluted Water. This can strain your colony’s water supply, a critical resource for survival.
- Atmosphere & Temperature: Every plant has ideal temperature and atmospheric pressure ranges. A farm that is too hot, too cold, or in a vacuum will not produce any food.
- Light: Some plants, like Bristle Blossoms, require a light source to grow, adding a small power cost to your farm. Others, like Dusk Caps, require darkness.
- Harvesting Labor: Plants don’t harvest themselves. You need Duplicants with the Farming skill assigned to harvest mature plants promptly to reset their growth cycle. Delays in harvesting lower your average kcal/cycle output. A good base layout, perhaps designed with our Base Layout Planner, can minimize travel time.
- Cooking & Food Quality: Cooking raw ingredients at an Electric Grill or Gas Range can significantly increase their caloric value and morale bonus. An oni food calculator should ideally account for this to provide a more accurate plant count. Our Morale Guide explains this in more detail.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How many plants does one Duplicant need?
It depends entirely on the plant. For basic Mealwood, a Duplicant needs 5 domestic plants. For Bristle Blossoms, it’s approximately 3.75 plants. Use the oni food calculator for precise numbers.
Is it better to eat raw food or cook it?
Cooking is almost always better. It increases the calories of the food, meaning you need fewer plants to feed the same number of Dupes. It also improves food quality, which provides a valuable morale bonus.
What does “kcal/cycle per plant” mean?
This is the plant’s average daily calorie production. We calculate it by taking the total calories from a single harvest and dividing it by the number of cycles the plant takes to grow.
Why does my food spoil?
Food spoils if it’s not stored in a proper environment. To prevent spoilage, store food in a refrigerator or in a container submerged in a sterile atmosphere like carbon dioxide or chlorine.
What are the best early-game foods?
Mealwood is the go-to early-game food because it requires only Dirt and grows quickly. Dusk Caps are also excellent if you have a CO2 pit at the bottom of your base, as they require no irrigation.
How do I handle the “Bottomless Stomach” trait?
A Duplicant with this trait requires an extra 500 kcal per cycle (1500 total). Our calculator accounts for this in the “Dupes with Calorie Traits” input field.
Should I ranch critters for food?
Yes, ranching is a very powerful and resource-efficient way to generate high-quality food. A single groomed Hatch can produce enough meat for Barbeque to sustain over half a Duplicant, and they eat common materials like Sandstone. See our Guide to Ranching for more.
Why isn’t my farm producing enough food?
Check for common issues: are the plants at their ideal temperature? Is the air pressure correct? Do they have enough fertilizer and irrigation? Are your farmers harvesting them on time? Any of these can stifle growth and ruin your calculations.