The pulse energies of a free electron laser have accurately been measured in the hard x-ray spectral range. In the photon energy regime from 4.4 keV to 16.8 keV, pulse energies up to 100 μJ were obtained at the hard x-ray laser facility SACLA (SPring-8 Ångstrom Compact free-electron LAser). Two independent methods, using a cryogenic radiometer and a gas monitor detector, were applied and agreement within 3.3% was achieved. Based on our validated pulse energy measurement, a SACLA online monitor detector could be calibrated for all future experiments.