Pick a shape, enter its dimensions in any mix of units, and get the volume with the formula and common unit conversions.
Volume is the amount of three-dimensional space a shape takes up, written in cubic units such as cubic metres (m³) or cubic feet. It is also how much a container can hold, and for liquids that capacity is usually quoted in litres or gallons: one cubic metre is 1,000 litres, or about 264 US gallons. Choose a shape above, type the dimensions, and the calculator shows the volume together with the same value in other common units, so you can move between a technical drawing in cubic metres and a shop that sells by the litre.
Suppose a cylindrical tank has a radius of 3 m and a height of 5 m. The volume of a cylinder is π × r² × h, so V = π × 3² × 5 = 141.37 m³. Since 1 m³ is 1,000 litres, the tank holds about 141,372 litres. A useful comparison: a cone with the same base and height holds exactly one third as much, so a cone of radius 3 m and height 4 m has a volume of 37.70 m³, while the cylinder with that base and height would hold 113.10 m³, three times as much.
You do not have to convert units yourself. Each box has its own unit menu, so you can enter a length in feet, a width in inches and a height in metres. The calculator converts everything to a common unit and shows the answer in each unit you used, for example cubic feet and cubic inches, and then the same volume in litres, gallons and other units underneath. The shapes available are sphere, cone, cube, cylinder, rectangular tank, capsule, spherical cap, conical frustum, ellipsoid, square pyramid and tube.
The biggest slip is mixing up radius and diameter. A sphere’s volume depends on the cube of the radius, so using the diameter by mistake makes the answer eight times too big. For a capsule, the height is the length of the straight middle part only, not the overall length, because the two rounded ends add their own volume. For a tube, enter the outer and inner diameters and the length, and the calculator subtracts the hollow part. For a spherical cap (a slice off a ball) fill in any two of the base radius, ball radius and height. With the base and ball radii there can be two answers, a shallow cap and a deep one, and both are shown.
Once you know a volume, the next question is usually how much material that is. For concrete, gravel or mulch, the Concrete Calculator, Gravel Calculator and Mulch Calculator convert the volume into bags, tons or yards for you. To find the weight of something from its volume, multiply by its density, which the Density Calculator does in both directions. And if you need to cover the outside of the shape with paint or wrap rather than fill it, use the Surface Area Calculator.
Some measurements are easier to find than to measure. The slant height of a cone or pyramid, for example, is the long side of a right triangle formed by the height and the base radius or half the base edge, which you can work out with the Right Triangle Calculator or the Pythagorean Theorem Calculator. For flat shapes where you only need an area, the Area Calculator is the right tool.
Multiply the area of the circular base (π × r²) by the height: V = π × r² × h.
Volume is the space an object occupies. Capacity is the amount a container can hold, usually measured in litres or gallons. For a hollow container they are numerically related: 1 cubic metre holds 1,000 litres.
Multiply by 1,000. For example, 2.5 m³ is 2,500 litres.
It is the piece cut from a ball by a flat plane, like a dome. Its volume is V = 1/3 × π × h² × (3R − h), where R is the radius of the ball and h is the height of the cap.
Yes. Pick a unit for each box and the calculator converts them for you and shows the result in each unit you used.
Pick another tool to jump straight to it.