Does MCT oil burn fat?

Short answer

A little. Across 13 studies where MCT oil replaced regular fat, body weight dropped 0.51 kg more. The extra calories burned were small, about 58 kcal a day, and every result came from studies that swapped other oils for MCT.

Does MCT oil burn fat?
'MCT = instant fuel = less body fat' — does this formula hold?
MCT oil is a fat with shorter chains than regular oils, and a common claim is that the body burns it right away, so you lose weight. We checked extra calories burned, the next meal, and actual body weight, in that order.
It does burn a bit more
About 58 kcal a day
24 people ate an MCT-rich diet and an olive oil diet for 4 weeks each. On day two, the MCT diet burned 0.04 kcal more per minute. That is about 58 kcal a day, and by week 4 the gap shrank to 0.03 kcal per minute with no difference.
People ate less at the next meal
Same hunger, smaller portions
An analysis of 17 studies with 291 people found that after MCT, people ate less at the next meal than after regular fat (11 studies). Feelings of hunger and appetite hormones barely changed.
So how much weight came off?
13 studies pooled: 0.51 kg
An analysis of 13 studies with 749 people found that eating MCT instead of regular fat cut body weight by 0.51 kg more and waist size by 1.46 cm more. Another analysis of 11 studies found gaps of 0.69 kg in weight and 0.89 kg in body fat.
Combined with a diet
A 1.67 kg gap over 16 weeks
49 people on a 16-week diet took 18-24 g a day of MCT oil or olive oil (31 finished). The MCT group lost 1.67 kg more. A 2024 analysis also found MCT diets cut body weight 1.53% more than diets with regular fats.
Coconut oil is not MCT oil
It did not cut how much people ate
When people had the same 205 kcal at breakfast as MCT oil, coconut oil or regular vegetable oil, only MCT oil cut how much they ate at lunch. Only MCT oil raised feelings of fullness too.
Bottom line: MCT burns 'a little' fat
The effect came from swapping oils
MCT burned about 58 kcal more a day and cut the next meal, leading to 0.51-1.67 kg more weight loss. All of these results came from studies where MCT replaced regular fat. Swapping it in for the oil you already use works; adding it on top is a different thing.