One formula governs every skill
Old School RuneScape has no per-skill experience table in the data files. All twenty-three skills share a single curve, and the total XP required for any level comes from one formula:
XP(L) = floor( (1/4) × Σ for n = 1 to L−1 of floor( n + 300 × 2^(n/7) ) )
That formula has been unchanged since 2001, and this calculator derives its whole level table from it at load time rather than reading a hand-typed list. That matters for one practical reason: a typed table can contain a transcription error, and an error of one digit is invisible unless you happen to know the correct figure. A computed table cannot drift.
The doubling term is what makes the curve feel so brutal. Because the requirement is multiplied by 2^(n/7), total XP roughly doubles every seven levels. Level 85 takes about twice the total XP of level 78; level 92 takes twice level 85; level 99 takes twice level 92.
The numbers that matter in practice
Level 99 costs 13,034,431 XP, and that figure is identical for every skill in the game. Level 92 costs 6,517,253, which is why players treat it as the halfway mark — it is within 75 XP of exactly half the level 99 total, a rounding difference of about six thousandths of one percent.
Two more landmarks are worth knowing. Level 70 costs 737,627 XP and is the requirement line for a large number of quests and mid-game content. Level 85 costs 3,258,594 XP, roughly a quarter of the way to 99 in XP but a long way short of it in practice, because the last levels dominate.
The step from 98 to 99 alone is 2,101,178 XP. That single level is worth more XP than the entire climb from level 1 to level 62, which is the clearest way to explain why the last levels take as long as everything before them.
Worked examples
Level 1 to 99 at 60,000 XP per hour
The gap is 13,034,431 XP. Divided by 60,000 that is about 217 hours — roughly 109 days at two hours a day. The same goal at 200,000 XP per hour drops to about 65 hours, which is why method choice matters more than anything else for a 99.
Level 70 to 92 for a quest cape push
XP at level 92 is 6,517,253 and at level 70 it is 737,627, so the gap is 5,779,626 XP. That is 89% of the entire distance from level 1 to 92 — a reminder that the levels below 70 are, in XP terms, almost free.
Already at 90, going for 99
Level 90 sits at 5,346,332 XP, so you still need 7,688,099 — more than the total XP it took to reach level 90 in the first place. At 100,000 XP per hour that is about 77 hours.
Why the curve is shaped this way
The exponent divides by seven, so the multiplier doubles every seven levels rather than every level. That produces a curve that looks almost linear over the first thirty levels and then bends sharply upward. Below level 30 each level costs between a few hundred and a few thousand XP. Above level 90 each level costs between half a million and over two million.
It also means the difference between skills is not the curve, it is the rate. Every skill needs the same 13,034,431 XP for 99; what varies is how many XP per hour a realistic method produces. A fast skill at 500,000 XP per hour reaches 99 in about 26 hours of play. A slow skill at 20,000 XP per hour needs about 652 hours for the same level.
Level and XP table
| Level | Total XP required | XP for that level alone |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | — |
| 2 | 83 | 83 |
| 3 | 174 | 91 |
| 4 | 276 | 102 |
| 5 | 388 | 112 |
| 6 | 512 | 124 |
| 7 | 650 | 138 |
| 8 | 801 | 151 |
| 9 | 969 | 168 |
| 10 | 1,154 | 185 |
| 15 | 2,411 | 304 |
| 20 | 4,470 | 497 |
| 25 | 7,842 | 814 |
| 30 | 13,363 | 1,332 |
| 35 | 22,406 | 2,182 |
| 40 | 37,224 | 3,576 |
| 45 | 61,512 | 5,863 |
| 50 | 101,333 | 9,612 |
| 55 | 166,636 | 15,764 |
| 60 | 273,742 | 25,856 |
| 65 | 449,428 | 42,413 |
| 70 | 737,627 | 69,576 |
| 75 | 1,210,421 | 114,143 |
| 80 | 1,986,068 | 187,260 |
| 85 | 3,258,594 | 307,221 |
| 90 | 5,346,332 | 504,037 |
| 92 | 6,517,253 | 614,422 |
| 95 | 8,771,558 | 826,944 |
| 99 | 13,034,431 | 1,228,825 |
Every figure in this table was computed from the formula above at page load and cross-checked against eight published milestones — levels 2, 10, 30, 50, 60, 70, 92 and 99 — all of which match exactly.
Virtual levels past 99
XP keeps accumulating past 99 and third-party clients display "virtual levels" for it, but nothing above 99 changes your character: no extra stats, no new unlocks. The cap in any single skill is 200,000,000 XP, which is more than fifteen times the level 99 requirement. Virtual level 126, the highest shown, is around 188 million XP in a single skill.
Using this with a training plan
- Enter your actual XP, not just your level. At level 90 you could be anywhere from 5,346,332 to 7,688,098 XP. That gap is two and a half million XP, or about 25 hours at 100,000 XP per hour — the single largest source of bad time estimates.
- Use an honest XP per hour. Rates published for methods assume no banking, no distractions and full attention. Halve the headline number for a realistic session average.
- Track the percentage, not the level. The progress percentages this calculator prints show how much of the current goal is done, which stays meaningful even when levels take hours each.
- Plan the last ten levels separately. They are more than half the total XP; treating them as just more of the same is how grinds stall.
Where the formula comes from
The experience formula is published on the Old School RuneScape Wiki and has not changed since 2001. This calculator implements it directly and was verified against eight canonical milestones — 83 XP at level 2, 1,154 at level 10, 13,363 at 30, 101,333 at 50, 273,742 at 60, 737,627 at 70, 6,517,253 at 92 and 13,034,431 at 99. All eight match to the digit.
Sources and standards
Where these figures come from
Every figure on this page is implemented from the published reference material below, and re-checked against it before publishing rather than copied from another calculator.
- Old School RuneScape Wiki — the experience formula, the level table, the 92-as-halfway note and the 200 million XP cap.
- OSRS Wiki — the closed-form approximation published alongside the exact summation.
- OSRS Wiki — the list of skills sharing this single experience curve.
