Volume of a Box Calculator

The volume of a box formula

A rectangular box, also called a cuboid or rectangular prism, has six rectangular faces and three distinct edge lengths. Its volume is the length of the base multiplied by its width, which gives the floor area, and then by the height, which stacks that area upward.

V = length × width × height

Because all three factors are lengths, the answer is in cubic length units: centimeters give cm³, feet give ft³. The names length, width and height are interchangeable. Multiplication does not care about order, so you will get the same volume however you label the edges.

How to calculate it with this tool

1. Type the box length, width and height. All three must be zero or more.
2. Choose the Metric that those three numbers are measured in.
3. Press Calculate. The volume appears with the same unit cubed, such as 60,000 cm³.

All three measurements share one unit. If your numbers come in different units, convert them first, or use the volume calculator, where each side has its own unit selector. Results are rounded to six decimals at most and large totals use thousands separators.

Example: volume of a rectangular box

A parcel measures 30 cm long, 40 cm wide and 50 cm high. The volume is 30 × 40 × 50 = 60,000 cm³. The same box expressed in other units looks like this.

Dimensions with decimals work the same way. A fish tank 60 cm long, 30 cm wide and 35 cm tall holds 60 × 30 × 35 = 63,000 cm³, which is 63 liters when filled to the brim.

Cubic meters and cubic feet for cargo

Freight is often priced by volume as well as by weight. Shippers quote space in cubic meters (sometimes shortened to CBM) or in cubic feet. To get the volume of one packed unit, multiply its outer dimensions in meters; to get a shipment total, add up the units.

Example: a pallet stack measures 1.2 m × 1.0 m × 1.5 m. Its volume is 1.8 m³, which is 1.8 × 35.3147 ≈ 63.57 ft³. Ten such pallets take 18 m³. A standard 20-foot shipping container has an inside volume of roughly 33 m³, so the pallets use a little over half of it.

Couriers also apply volumetric weight to bulky, light parcels. Many divide the box volume in cm³ by a carrier-specific number such as 5,000 or 6,000 to get a kilogram figure. A 50 × 40 × 30 cm carton is 60,000 cm³, which is 12 kg at a divisor of 5,000 and 10 kg at 6,000. Check your carrier's current rule, as the divisor differs.

Other applications

• Rooms and ventilation: a room 5 m × 4 m × 2.5 m contains 50 m³ of air, used when sizing heaters and fans.
• Concrete and fill: a slab 3 m × 2 m × 0.1 m needs 0.6 m³. For jobs like this the concrete calculator adds waste and bag counts.
• Storage and packing: compare the volume of an item with that of a crate to see whether it can fit before you measure the clearances.
• Fluids: since 1 liter fills 1,000 cm³, a box's cm³ volume divided by 1,000 gives its capacity in liters.

A cube is a box whose three edges are equal; use the cube volume calculator for that. For round shapes see the cylinder and sphere tools.

Common mistakes

• Mixed units. Multiplying 2 m by 150 cm by 30 in without converting gives a meaningless number. Convert first.
• Inside versus outside size. For capacity, measure inside the walls; for shipping space, use the outer size.
• Confusing area and volume. A floor area of 12 m² becomes a volume only after multiplying by the height.