Volume calculator
Choose the shape, enter the measurements and see the volume and the total surface area. The result is in cubic units of the measurement you chose, and under the answer you also see how many litres that is. Handy for an aquarium, planter, silo, sandpit or package.
Only have the diameter? Halve it.
The radius of the base.
The perpendicular distance from the apex to the base.
Fill in the fields; the answer appears here straight away.
How it's worked out
How it works
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Enter the values
Type the numbers or the formula. Decimals may use a point or a comma. No idea? Click Fill in an example.
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Instant answer
The answer appears as you type, with the most important intermediate values.
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See the working
Under "How it's worked out" you see the steps, handy for checking your own calculation.
Formulas
| Shape | Volume | Surface area (all sides) |
|---|---|---|
| Box | length × width × height | 2 × (l×w + l×h + w×h) |
| Cube | edge³ | 6 × edge² |
| Cylinder | π × radius² × height | 2 × π × radius × (radius + height) |
| Sphere | 4/3 × π × radius³ | 4 × π × radius² |
| Cone | ⅓ × π × radius² × height | π × radius × (radius + slant height) |
| Pyramid | ⅓ × base area × height | base + four sides |
The pyramid here has a rectangular base with the apex directly above the centre. For other shapes, split the solid into parts and add up their volumes.
Examples
- A box of 2 × 1.5 × 0.8 metres has a volume of 2.4 m³, which is 2,400 litres.
- A water butt (cylinder) with radius 0.5 m and height 1.2 m holds π × 0.25 × 1.2 ≈ 0.942 m³, about 942 litres.
- A sphere with a radius of 10 cm has a volume of about 4,188.8 cm³, or 4.19 litres.
- A cone with radius 4 and height 9 has a volume of about 150.8.
Watch the units
Work in one unit throughout. A box of 200 cm × 150 cm × 80 cm has a volume of 2,400,000 cm³, and that is 2.4 m³. If you mix units, the answer will be wrong. The radius is half the diameter; if you only have the width across, halve it first. For US measures, litres to gallons helps. If you only need the base or a wall, go to the area calculator. To find the radius of a sphere from a given volume, use a cube root in the square root calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How many litres is a cubic metre?
1 m³ is 1,000 litres. A cubic decimetre (dm³) is exactly 1 litre and a cubic centimetre (cm³) is 1 millilitre. The tool converts the volume to litres automatically, so you can see at once how much water a fish tank or pond holds.
How do I work out the volume of a pool or aquarium?
A rectangular tank is a box: length × width × depth. A pool of 8 by 4 metres and an average depth of 1.5 metres holds 48 m³, so 48,000 litres. A round pool is a cylinder: π × radius² × depth. For an aquarium use the inside measurements, not the outside ones.
Why is the volume of a cone a third of a cylinder?
A cone with the same circular base and height as a cylinder fits exactly three times into that cylinder. The same holds for a pyramid compared with a box of the same base and height. That is why both formulas contain a factor of ⅓.
What is the difference between volume and surface area?
Volume is how much space a solid fills, in cubic units such as m³. Surface area is the total outside, in square units such as m². To paint or line a crate you need the surface area; to know what fits inside, the volume.