Pallet Volume Calculator
Freight quotes run on volume, not just weight. This calculator turns any pallet load into cubic meters and cubic feet, works from custom dimensions or five standard pallet footprints, and adds a chargeable-weight guide so the number you send a forwarder already speaks their language.
Include the pallet deck itself (about 14 cm for a wood pallet) plus wrap and top caps.
Quick Answer
Ten EUR pallets at 120 × 80 × 100 cm hold 9.600 m3 (339.02 ft3) total, 0.960 m3 each. The chargeable-weight guide for that volume is 9,600.0 kg ocean LCL, 1,603.2 kg air, 1,920.0 kg courier, and your carrier bills whichever is higher against the actual scale weight. The tool is pre-filled with this exact case.
Key takeaways
- Volume is length times width times height in meters, times the pallet count; cubic feet is cubic meters times 35.3147.
- Always measure the wrapped load as it will travel: shrink wrap, corner boards and overhang all count toward what the carrier bills.
- The three chargeable divisors differ by a factor of six (1,000 ocean vs 167 air vs 200 courier), so the same pallets price very differently by mode. Once the freight volume is settled, a pallet cost calculator prices the pallets themselves, adding up freight, handling and the landed cost per pallet.
- Carrier divisors are contract-specific; treat the guide as a planning figure and confirm the divisor in your rate agreement.
9.600 m3
Total volume of 10 EUR pallets at 120 × 80 × 100 cm
339.02 ft3
The same load in cubic feet (9.600 × 35.3147)
9,600.0 kg
Ocean LCL chargeable weight for that volume
How to use the pallet volume calculator
Use Custom dimensions for odd sizes and Standard pallets when the footprint is one of the five presets. Results stay hidden until you click Calculate, and switching tabs hides the previous result.
- Custom dimensions: pick your unit, enter one pallet's length, width and stacked height (floor to top of the wrapped load, deck included), enter the pallet count, and calculate.
- Standard pallets: pick the pallet type, enter the stacked height in your unit and the count. The footprint comes from the preset; only the height is yours.
- Read the chargeable guide in the result: ocean LCL at 1,000 kg per m3, air at 167 and courier at 200. If your actual scale weight is higher than the guide figure, the carrier bills the actual weight instead.
- Copy my results produces one freight-ready sentence with the volumes and the guide, ready to paste into a quote request. The same copy text is what a FedEx shipping cost calculator style quote form wants as its starting point.
- Reset restores the pre-filled examples on both tabs.
The formula: meters first, then the divisor
Every pallet volume is one multiplication in meters, and every freight quote is that volume times a divisor the carrier chooses.
Cubic feet = CBM × 35.3147
Ocean LCL chargeable = CBM × 1,000 kg
Air chargeable = CBM × 167 kg
Courier chargeable = CBM × 200 kg
With the pre-filled 120 × 80 × 100 cm and 10 pallets: 1.20 × 0.80 × 1.00 = 0.960 m3 per pallet, × 10 = 9.600 m3, × 35.3147 = 339.02 ft3. The divisors reflect how each mode values space: ocean freight prices the container slot itself (1 m3 = 1,000 kg), air uses the IATA 1:6 density ratio (1,000,000 cm3 ÷ 6,000 = 167 kg per m3) and express couriers use a tighter 5,000 divisor (200 kg per m3). One practical warning from freight forwarders: measuring in centimeters and dividing by 1,000 instead of 1,000,000 inflates the CBM a thousand times, the single most common slip in hand calculations. When the volume spans a container instead of a few pallets, a container volume calculator checks how the load fills a 20 or 40 ft box. When the load is not palletized at all, a cubic footage calculator turns plain length-by-width-by-height measurements into the same CBM and ft3 figures.
Worked examples: EUR in cm, GMA in inches
Three runs of the tool, each on its own tab and unit. Every number below is the calculator's own output for the pre-filled or stated inputs.
- EUR pallets in cm (pre-filled): 120 × 80 × 100 cm × 10 = one pallet 0.960 m3 (33.90 ft3), total 9.600 m3 (339.02 ft3); chargeable 9,600.0 / 1,603.2 / 1,920.0 kg.
- US pallets in inches: 48 × 40 × 60 in × 5 = one pallet 1.888 m3 (66.67 ft3), total 9.439 m3 (333.33 ft3); chargeable 9,438.9 / 1,576.3 / 1,887.8 kg.
- Standard tab, six GMA pallets (pre-filled): 160 cm stack × 6 = one pallet 1.982 m3 (69.99 ft3), total 11.892 m3 (419.95 ft3); chargeable 11,891.6 / 1,985.9 / 2,378.3 kg.
The five standard footprints below come straight from the tool's presets, with the stacked heights from the worked runs. The ISO 6780 family blesses six footprints; the tool covers the five that show up on docks most often.
| Standard pallet | Footprint | Stack height | One pallet |
|---|---|---|---|
| US GMA | 48 × 40 in | 160 cm | 1.982 m3 |
| EUR/EPAL | 1200 × 800 mm | 100 cm | 0.960 m3 |
| ISO 1200 × 1000 | 1200 × 1000 mm | 150 cm | 1.800 m3 |
| Asia 1100 × 1100 | 1100 × 1100 mm | 120 cm | 1.452 m3 |
| Australian | 1165 × 1165 mm | 180 cm | 2.443 m3 |
The bar chart above uses the one-pallet volumes from the table. The Australian square footprint at a 180 cm stack is the largest of the five, while the EUR pallet stays the smallest, which is why the same goods ship in very different volumes depending on the pallet standard.
What competing calculators miss
The top results for this keyword each cover one slice of the job:
- BoxVolumeCalculator CBM calculator: a strong conversion reference (35.31 ft3 per m3, practical vs nominal container CBM) plus dimensional-weight divisors. Gap: no pallet presets, no stacked-height workflow, no chargeable guide inside the result.
- FreightAmigo pallet CBM guide: pallet-focused with case studies and the EU 2.4 m max height note. Gap: the tool itself has no standard pallet presets and no in-result chargeable guide.
- Incodocs sea and air CBM calculators: correct 1,000 and 167 factors, split by mode. Gap: two separate tools, no presets, no per-pallet breakdown or quantity math.
- PrimoNautic CBM measuring guide: the best measuring advice in the set (measure as it travels; the divide-by-1,000,000 slip). Gap: a blog post, no tool at all.
- Kankei Global CBM explainer: clear on CBM vs kilograms. Gap: explainer only, no calculator.
- YourEComAgent pallet CBM guide: contains a formula error (it divides by 1,000 after multiplying in meters, which understates nothing and overstates everything, a thousand-fold mistake). Gap: wrong math, explainer only.
- TruckPacker standard pallet sizes newsletter: the best standards reference (ISO 6780 six footprints, tolerances, real dock notes). Gap: a newsletter, no calculator.
- The gap this page fills: five standard pallet footprints and custom dimensions on one page, the chargeable-weight guide for all three freight modes inside every result, and freight-ready copy text, with the height-always-included rule built into the tool.
Frequently asked questions
Multiply length by width by height in meters, then multiply by the pallet count. Cubic feet is cubic meters times 35.3147. Ten EUR pallets at 120 by 80 by 100 cm are 1.20 times 0.80 times 1.00 times 10, which is 9.600 m3.
The tool's Standard pallets tab covers the five that show up most on docks: US GMA 48 by 40 in, EUR/EPAL 1200 by 800 mm, ISO 1200 by 1000 mm, Asia 1100 by 1100 mm, and Australian 1165 by 1165 mm. ISO 6780 recognises six footprints; manufacturing tolerance on all of them is plus 3, minus 6 mm.
Yes. Measure from the floor to the top of the wrapped load, with the pallet deck, the shrink wrap and any top caps included. A wood pallet deck alone adds about 14 cm, and the carrier bills the wrapped height, not the product height.
Chargeable weight converts your volume into a notional weight so bulky light cargo pays for the space it takes. The tool's guide uses ocean LCL at 1,000 kg per m3, air freight at 167 kg per m3 (the IATA 6,000 divisor) and express couriers at 200 kg per m3 (the 5,000 divisor). The carrier bills whichever is higher: actual scale weight or chargeable weight.
That is a small grammar quirk in the original tool, which always writes the word "pallets" after the count. The numbers are unaffected; the wording is preserved exactly as the live tool has always shown it.
Yes. Pick Inches in the dimension unit and the tool converts with 1 inch = 0.0254 meters before multiplying. Five US pallets at 48 by 40 by 60 inches come out at 9.439 m3 (333.33 ft3), for example.
Because the length and width come from the preset footprint you picked. Only the stacked height is yours to enter, since the same pallet type ships at very different heights, from a low EUR stack to a full 2 meter-plus US load.
It is exactly what the carrier's tape measure should produce for the wrapped pallets, but treat it as a planning figure: overhang past the deck, a sloppy wrap job and a carrier-specific divisor can all move the billed number. Confirm the divisor in your rate agreement before you book, and measure the pallets as they will actually travel.
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References
- TruckPacker. Standard Pallet Sizes: The 48x40 GMA, the Euro Pallet, and the Others That Matter. ISO 6780 six footprints, EPAL, GMA, Asian and Australian standards, manufacturing tolerances. Accessed October 23, 2026.
- RAM Shipping. Euro Pallet EPAL: Dimensions, Weight and Specifications. EPAL 1 at 1,200 by 800 by 144 mm, about 25 kg, 1,500 kg safe working load. Accessed October 23, 2026.
- Prodoer Logistics. Volumetric Weight Calculator. Air freight 6,000 divisor (1 m3 about 167 kg), express courier 5,000 divisor (1 m3 = 200 kg). Accessed October 23, 2026.
- FreightAmigo. Pallet CBM Calc: How to Calculate Cubic Meters for 1 Pallet. Pallet CBM formula, the 1:1,000 ocean LCL ratio, EU 2.4 m max pallet height for road. Accessed October 23, 2026.
- PrimoNautic. CBM Calculation: How to Measure Cargo for Sea Freight. Measure cargo as it will travel; converting cubic centimeters to cubic meters divides by 1,000,000. Accessed October 23, 2026.