Load Average Calculator
Interpret 1, 5 and 15-minute load averages relative to available CPU cores.
About Load Average Calculator
Linux load average approximates the number of processes that are running or waiting for CPU (and, historically, for uninterruptible I/O). It is only meaningful relative to the number of CPU cores: a load of 4 is idle on a 32-core server but is a warning sign of saturation on a 2-core one. Dividing load by core count gives a normalized per-core load, where 1.0 means the system is exactly saturated.
Formula
Per-core load
per_core_load = load_average / cpu_cores
- L
- reported load average
- n
- number of CPU cores
Worked example
With the default values below, Load Average Calculator returns Load per Core of 1.125. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Load Averageminimum 0
- 4.5
- CPU Coresminimum 1
- 4
Results
- Load per Core
- 1.125
- Effective Utilization
- 112.50%
- Status
- Overloaded — processes are queuing for CPU time
- Spare Capacity (cores)
- 0.000
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Per-core load
- 3Load per Core= 1.125
- 4Effective Utilization= 112.50
- 5Status= Overloaded — processes are queuing for CPU time
- 6Spare Capacity (cores)= 0.000
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What load average is considered healthy?
A commonly cited rule of thumb is that load average should stay below the number of CPU cores; many operators target roughly 70% of core count as a comfortable ceiling with headroom for spikes.
Why does load average include processes waiting on I/O?
Linux counts a process in the load average if it is running, runnable and waiting for CPU, or in an uninterruptible sleep state (usually waiting on disk I/O) — this is different from purely CPU-bound load metrics on some other Unix systems.
Which load average number should I watch — 1, 5 or 15 minute?
The 1-minute average reacts fastest to spikes but is noisy; the 15-minute average smooths out transient bursts and is a better signal of a sustained capacity problem. Many alerting setups watch all three together.