Free · No signup · Updated October 2026
Sodium calculator: how much sodium is in your meal?
The American Heart Association’s ideal is 1,500 mg of sodium per day; the US limit is 2,300 mg. Type what you ate or snap a photo, and see the sodium in each food, in milligrams.
- Best for checking one meal’s sodium
- Free, no account, no email
- Results in a few seconds
- Estimated from USDA values
Get Cloche on your iPhone, free on TestFlight
How much sodium per day should you have?
The American Heart Association sets an ideal of 1,500 mg for most adults, and especially for people with high blood pressure. The FDA’s Daily Value is 2,300 mg, about one teaspoon of salt. Americans average more than 3,400 mg.
The calculator compares your meal with 1,500 mg. More than 70% of the sodium people eat comes from packaged and restaurant food, not the salt shaker, which is why bread, cheese, soup and deli meat add up so fast.
Which everyday plates carry the most sodium?
These six plates carry the most sodium in Cloche’s food data, next to the 1,500 mg day. Restaurant versions often run higher.
| Plate | Portion | Estimated sodium | Of 1,500 mg reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pasta with Tomato Sauce | 1 plate | 2,576 mg | 172% |
| Pad Thai | 1 plate | 2,320 mg | 155% |
| Chicken Burrito | 1 burrito | 2,267 mg | 151% |
| Ramen | 1 bowl | 1,848 mg | 123% |
| Burrito Bowl | 1 bowl | 1,710 mg | 114% |
| Pepperoni Pizza | 2 slices | 1,670 mg | 111% |
How does the sodium calculator work?
Describe the meal the way you’d say it. Cloche splits it into foods, sizes each one and estimates the sodium from USDA values and typical restaurant recipes. Pickles, soy sauce, cured meat and broth are where most surprises come from.
For the whole day, not one meal, see Cloche for high blood pressure. More free tools: the fiber calculator and the a1c calculator. Every number is an estimate; we publish how far off the estimates run against USDA reference foods.
Questions people ask
How much sodium should I have a day?
The American Heart Association’s ideal is 1,500 mg a day for most adults. The US Daily Value, the number on food labels, is 2,300 mg.
How much sodium is in a teaspoon of salt?
About 2,300 mg. Salt is about 40% sodium by weight, so a quarter teaspoon carries about 575 mg.
What foods are highest in sodium?
Cured and deli meats, pickles, soy sauce, canned soup, pizza, cheese and bread. Restaurant dishes often carry 1,000 mg or more per plate.
Is sodium the same as salt?
No. Salt is sodium chloride. Labels list sodium in milligrams, and the calculator shows sodium too, so the numbers match the label.
See your sodium for the whole day, not one meal
Cloche is a food journal for iPhone. Say what you ate or take a photo, and it keeps a running sodium total for the day and names the meals that carried the most.
Cloche is on TestFlight, Apple’s app for trying an app before its release. It’s free while it is. Leave your email and the invite comes from [email protected].