Standard spring constant calibration methods are compared when applied to higher eigenmodes of cantilevers used in dynamic atomic force microscopy (dAFM). Analysis shows that Sader's original method (Sader et al 1999 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 70 3967-9), which relies on a priori knowledge of the eigenmode shape, is poorly suited for the calibration of higher eigenmodes. On the other hand, the thermal noise method (Hutter and Bechhoefer 1993 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 64 1868-73) does not require knowledge of the eigenmode and remains valid for higher eigenmodes of the dAFM probe. Experimental measurements of thermal vibrations in air for three representative cantilevers are provided to support the theoretical results.