How many calories are in a 6 inch sub?
A 6 inch roast beef sub weighs 190 g and carries 296 calories, or 156 calories per 100 g. Of the eight sub records compared on this page, only turkey breast and ham are lighter per gram. What goes between the bread moves the number far more than the roll ever does.
You'd need to walk about 59 minutes to burn the 296 calories in one 6 inch sub (190 g).
How long does it take to burn off a 6 inch sub?
One 6 inch sub (190 g) is 296 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 296 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 59 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 37 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 42 min |
| Jogging | 35 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 6 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (190 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- 6 inch sub quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to a footlong
- Ham, turkey, BLT and steak and cheese
- Sodium is the row that bites
- How does a 6 inch sub compare?
- Most popular 6 inch sub brands
- FAQ
6 inch sub quick facts
The record behind the numbers here is SR Legacy 170298, "Fast foods, submarine sandwich, roast beef on white bread with lettuce and tomato". It is the sandwich most people picture when they type this question: lean sliced meat, lettuce, tomato, a white sub roll, no cheese and no mayo listed. USDA already publishes a 6 inch serving for it at 190 g, so the main number below is a real listed portion rather than something scaled up from 100 g.
Other fillings get their own records further down. They sit on the same bread; the difference between them is what the deli counter puts on it, not a different data source.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 6 inch sub (190 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 156 | 296 | — |
| Total fat | 2.73 g | 5.2 g | 7% |
| Saturated fat | 0.97 g | 1.8 g | 9% |
| Carbohydrate | 20.34 g | 38.6 g | 14% |
| Dietary fiber | 0.7 g | 1.3 g | 5% |
| Total sugars | 3 g | 5.7 g | — |
| Protein | 12.17 g | 23.1 g | 46% |
| Sodium | 329 mg | 625 mg | 27% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
There is no added sugars row above because USDA does not publish an added sugars value for this SR Legacy record, and the same goes for trans fat. Cholesterol comes in at 34 mg per sub (11% DV) and potassium at 357 mg (8% DV), both modest for a sandwich this size. The Daily Values used here are the FDA's.
US servings, from one ounce to a footlong
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 44 kcal |
| Half of a 6 inch sub | 95 g | 148 kcal |
| One 6 inch sub | 190 g | 296 kcal |
| One 12 inch sub | 381 g | 594 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 156 kcal |
The 6 inch sub at 190 g and the 12 inch at 381 g are USDA's own listed portions. The half sub and the ounce are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings, which matters if you cut a sandwich down the middle and log only what you ate.
Two things worth noticing. First, the footlong is not a rounding difference: 594 calories against 296 is a whole second lunch, and the sodium goes with it, about 1,253 mg or 54% of a day's limit in one sandwich. Second, a 6 inch sub is heavy for its calorie count. At 190 g it is a genuinely filling object for 296 calories, which is why it holds up better than a wrap or a slice of pizza at the same number.
Store-made subs run higher than the USDA generic, because they are bigger and usually carry cheese and dressing. A Giant Eagle Turkey Sub Sandwich is 530 calories for a 296 g sandwich, a Market District Half Italian Sub 450 for 183 g, while a Corner Store Market 6" Turkey Pepper Jack Sub comes in at just 206 calories for 156 g. Weigh the sandwich or read its label before assuming any of them matches the 190 g figure.
Ham, turkey, BLT and steak and cheese
| Sub, 6 inch | Per 100 g | USDA sandwich | Calories | Protein | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ham | 151 kcal | 184 g | 278 kcal | 16.8 g | 729 mg |
| Turkey breast | 147 kcal | 190 g | 279 kcal | 17.3 g | 602 mg |
| Roast beef | 156 kcal | 190 g | 296 kcal | 23.1 g | 625 mg |
| BLT | 205 kcal | 148 g | 303 kcal | 14.9 g | 524 mg |
| Steak and cheese | 183 kcal | 190 g | 348 kcal | 23.4 g | 844 mg |
The ham and turkey rows land within a calorie of each other by accident, not by design. Turkey breast is the leanest bread-and-filling combination on this page at 147 calories per 100 g, but USDA's ham sandwich simply weighs less (184 g against 190 g), so the two totals almost meet. Per gram, turkey wins.
The BLT is the trap. It reads like a light sandwich and is the smallest one in the table at 148 g, yet it is the most calorie-dense in this table at 205 calories per 100 g, because bacon and dressing replace lean meat. It also delivers the least protein of the five: 14.9 g against 23.1 g for roast beef in a heavier sandwich.
Steak and cheese is the honest splurge. At 348 calories it costs 52 more than roast beef and brings 3.9 g of saturated fat instead of 1.8 g, but it keeps the protein at 23.4 g. The turkey breast sub, for comparison, gives 279 calories with 4.4 g of total fat, the lightest fat load of the group. The turkey and steak and cheese sandwiches are both scaled to 190 g using our own arithmetic from their USDA 100 g figures.
Sodium is the row that bites
Calories are not the number that gets away from you in a sub. Sodium is. The roast beef version sits at 625 mg, 27% of the FDA's 2,300 mg Daily Value, which is roughly a quarter teaspoon of table salt across the whole sandwich. That is reasonable for a lunch.
Move to a cold cut sub and the same 6 inches of bread carries 1,127 mg, 49% of a day, before you add chips or a pickle. A meatball marinara sub is 913 mg. Since the Dietary Guidelines for Americans put most adults well above the recommended intake already, the filling you choose at the counter decides half your sodium budget in about four minutes of eating.
Protein is the flattering row. Roast beef gives 23.1 g for 296 calories, 46% of the Daily Value and 7.8 g of protein per 100 calories, the best ratio of the eight subs on this page and a solid contribution toward the protein foods group MyPlate describes. Fiber is the row nobody advertises: 1.3 g, 5% of the Daily Value, because a white sub roll contributes close to nothing. No amount of meat fixes fiber. Whole grain bread and a fuller load of vegetables do.
How does a 6 inch sub compare?
| Sub, 6 inch | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories | Total fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roast beef | 156 kcal | one sub, 190 g | 296 kcal | 5.2 g |
| Cold cut | 213 kcal | one sub, 196 g | 417 kcal | 19.7 g |
| Meatball marinara | 219 kcal | one sub, 209 g | 458 kcal | 17.7 g |
| Tuna | 218 kcal | one sub, 237 g | 517 kcal | 28.5 g |
Our take: the length of the sandwich tells you almost nothing, and the filling tells you almost everything. Between roast beef and meatball marinara there is a 162 calorie gap on the same 6 inch roll, and between roast beef and tuna the gap is 221 calories with fat going from 5.2 g to 28.5 g, because tuna salad is mayonnaise-bound. If you are counting, order roast beef or turkey breast and take the cheese as a deliberate decision rather than a default. If you want the sandwich to hold you until dinner, roast beef is still the pick: it carries the most protein per calorie of anything in these tables.
Most popular 6 inch sub brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Giant Eagle Turkey Sub Sandwich | 179 cal |
| Giant Eagle Italian Sub Sandwich | 220 cal |
| Market District Half Italian Sub Sandwich | 246 cal |
| FreshTake Turkey & Cheese Sub Sandwich | 197 cal |
| Brown Bag Sandwich Co. Turkey & Bacon on French Sub | 235 cal |
| Corner Store Market 6" Turkey Pepper Jack Sub | 132 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
6 inch sub FAQs
How many calories are in a 6 inch sub?
A 6 inch sub is 296 calories in USDA's roast beef version, which weighs 190 g. That works out to 156 calories per 100 g. Swap the filling and the number moves: a cold cut sub of the same length is 417 calories, and a meatball marinara sub is 458.
How many calories are in a 12 inch sub?
A 12 inch roast beef sub is 594 calories, a little more than double the 6 inch, because USDA weighs the footlong at 381 g. It also carries about 1,253 mg of sodium, 54% of a day's limit, so the extra length costs you more in salt than it does in calories.
Which 6 inch sub has the fewest calories?
Turkey breast is the lightest per gram at 147 calories per 100 g, giving 279 calories for a 190 g sub. USDA's ham sandwich is smaller at 184 g, so its total lands a shade lower at 278 calories. Roast beef follows at 296, and tuna is heaviest at 517.
How much protein is in a 6 inch sub?
A 6 inch roast beef sub carries 23.1 g of protein, 46% of the Daily Value, for 296 calories. That is 7.8 g of protein per 100 calories, the best ratio of the eight subs on this page. A turkey breast sub gives 17.3 g and a ham sub 16.8 g.
How much sodium is in a 6 inch sub?
A 6 inch roast beef sub has 625 mg of sodium, 27% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, or about a quarter teaspoon of table salt. Cold cut is the problem case at 1,127 mg, close to half a day in one small sandwich. A ham sub sits at 729 mg.
Is a 6 inch sub a healthy lunch?
At 296 calories, 23.1 g of protein and 625 mg of sodium, a roast beef 6 inch sub fits a normal lunch comfortably. The weak spot is fiber: 1.3 g, only 5% of the Daily Value, because a white roll contributes almost none. Whole grain bread and more vegetables close that gap.
How many calories are in half a 6 inch sub?
Half a 6 inch sub is 148 calories: 95 g of sandwich with 11.6 g of protein and 313 mg of sodium. That figure is our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g value, not a listed serving. Half a cold cut sub would be 209 calories instead of 148.
How many calories in a 6 inch turkey sub vs roast beef sub?
A 6 inch turkey sub is 279 calories and a roast beef sub 296, a 17 calorie gap that vanishes the moment cheese or mayo appears. Roast beef wins clearly on protein, 23.1 g against 17.3 g, while turkey wins narrowly on sodium, 602 mg against 625 mg.
Similar foods
- Eye of round steak — 135 cal for 3 oz cooked
- Shrimp Pad Thai — 294 cal per cup
- Roast Beef — 142 cal per 3 oz
- Toor Dal — 348 cal per cup
- Steelhead trout — 143 cal for 3 oz cooked
- Spaghetti And Meatballs — 961 cal per plate
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the sandwich and BodyPal counts it for you, filling and all.
