Pallet Calculator

If you want to know how many packages fit on a pallet, don't worry. We'll explain everything you need to know 😊

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To find the maximum number of packages/boxes we can fit on a pallet within a limited volume, we need to test each possible pallet stacking pattern and keep the one with the highest package count.

Possible pallet stacking patterns

Picture yourself looking at an empty pallet from the top: What are all the possible ways to arrange the packages on the first layer?

Let's begin by describing one of these possible arrangements for a single package.

Assume we first position the package on the top left corner so that its width is parallel to the pallet's width and one of the other sides is parallel to the pallet's length. We keep placing packages next to each other using this orientation until we run out of space on the pallet's width. This is our first row. Parallel to this row, we place an equal row of packages and repeat until we run out of space on the pallet's length. That completes our first layer and is one of the possible arrangements.

Remember, we didn't specify which side was parallel to the pallet's length. By placing the package's width parallel to the pallet's width, we can choose either the package's length or height to be parallel to the pallet's length, with the remaining side parallel to a vertical plane.

We can repeat this thought process and conclude that we have two possible arrangements for each side we choose to be parallel to the pallet's width. That leaves us with six possible arrangements:

Use this calculator to easily calculate how many items with particular dimensions you can fit in a pallet. Pallet stacking calculator.

   

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Using the pallet calculator

This is a pallet loading calculator that allows you to calculate how many items of the same dimensions and weight (optional) you can stack on a single pallet. Currently it supports only simple item stacking, meaning that each item will be placed with the same orientation with regards to the base - no complex rotations or ordering. Complex ordering results in some cases in fitting slightly more items onto the pallet, however it is also more difficult to follow a complex stacking scheme, leading to increased loading and unloading times, and probably higher costs for palletizing.

For your convenience we have pre-entered many of the most widely used pallet sizes in international shipping and logistics, meaning you don't need to enter their dimensions each time. If you know the maximum allowed weight of the pallet, then enter the weight of the item and we will calculate the total cargo weight and warn you if it is more than the allowed. Below is a reference list of the standard sizes supported in our pallet calculator.

   

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There are many standard pallet sizes - the table bellow contains only the ones available for use in this tool, which are also the most commonly used ones. If you are using a pallet that is not listed below, and you know the exact dimensions and maximum load capacity, then it is best to specify them using our pallet calculator's "Custom" option.

Standard pallet sizes and their dimensions Pallet TypeDimensions (Width x Length) EUR, EUR-1 800 x 1200 mm EUR-2 1200 x 1000 mm EUR-3 1000 x 1200 mm EUR 6 (half-pallet) 800 x 600 mm North America 1219 x 1016 mm America / EU / Asia 1067 x 1067 mm Asia 1100 x 1100 mm Australia 1165 x 1165 mm

The height of the pallet itself is usually around 144 mm., but there might be differences.

The weight each pallet can support depends on the type of material it is made of (wood, plastic, metal) and its dimensions. The typical weight capacity range is between 500kg and 2,000kg (1,100 lbs to 4,600 lbs), with plastic pallets typically maxing out at around 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs) of weight capacity and wood pallets being able to hold up to 2,000kg (4,600 lbs). Note that no matter which type one wants to distribute the weight about evenly due to handling complications otherwise.

   

Pallet stacking: calculation process

To calculate how many items you can fit you have to find an optimal way to stack them that minimizes unused volume on the pallet and makes sure every inch of it is productive. This is not a trivial issue if you want totake all possible orderings into account and in fact it belongs to a class of mathematical literally problems called "NP-hard".

However, if we limit the task to that in which all items are oriented the same way with respect to the pallet base, it turns out there are only six ways to arrange a set of 3-dimensional items in a 3-dimensional box (the pallet, inclding its height). You can use our n choose k calculator to check that if unsure - 3 objects, choose 2 from each.

Let us denote the width, height and length of each item with w, h and l, and the corresponding pallet dimensions with W, H, and L, then these look like so:

• w alongside W, h alongside L, l alongside H
• w alongside W, l alongside L, h alongside H
• h alongside W, w alongside L, l alongside H
• h alongside W, l alongside L, w alongside H
• l alongside W, w alongside L, h alongside H
• l alongside W, h alongside L, w alongside H

Once the relative alignment is known, you can calculate for each of the six how many items you can fit in the rectangular box by adding items towards each of the pallet dimensions until you run out of volume. Finally, compare the total occupied volume (or number of items, if the items are the same thing) in each of the six cases and pick the option that best utilizes the pallet capacity space.

   

Pallet utilization vs. ease of stacking

Pallets are very efficient when transporting multiple cargo items of small dimensions from one point to another - the ease of handling the items palletized versus individually results in significant savings due to reduced transportation and handling costs, as well as fewer loses due to damaged goods. Making maximum use of the available volume should, in theory, decrease your shipping costs.

However, taking it to the extreme, one might start seeing diminising or even negative returns. If your goal is maximum utilization, you may need to use a very complex item stacking scheme. Depending on your operation this might result in increased the amounts of manual work during the stacking of the pallet, and of longer time spent stacking. While for truckers and warehouse operators it is all about the number of tonnes they shift by the hour, for the ones handling the contents of the pallet a simple internal stacking can make their life a lot easier, more than making up for the under-utilized space. Currently our pallet stacking calculator only supports basic stacking in which items are ordered in the same way and there are no complex rotations and fittings within a pallet.

Make sure you benefit from palletization - as long as the items are palletized they travel cheap and fast and ship as many items per pallet as theoretically possible only if it makes economic sense. This calculator can assist you in estimating how much you can fit in each pallet you ship.

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