How Many Boxes Fit on a Pallet? Layers, Height & Overhang

How many boxes fit on a pallet isn’t something you can look up in a table. Boxes (or cartons) per pallet is a calculation: boxes per layer × number of layers. The box size and the pallet set the first number, and so does the rule that boxes stay inside the pallet edge. The second is capped by the height you’re allowed to build to and the weight the pallet can carry. Below is how I work out boxes per pallet step by step, with worked examples you can open in our pallet calculator.

Step 1: Work out how many boxes fit on one layer#

Start with the pallet footprint. In the US that’s the 48 × 40 in standard pallet (the GMA pallet, 1,219 × 1,016 mm). In Europe it’s usually the EPAL euro pallet (1,200 × 800 mm).

Always use the outside dimensions of the box. Then:

1. Divide pallet length by box length and pallet width by box width, round both down, and multiply: ⌊pallet length ÷ box length⌋ × ⌊pallet width ÷ box width⌋.
2. Turn the box 90° and do the same again.
3. Try a mixed pallet pattern, with most of the layer in one orientation and the leftover strip filled with boxes turned 90°.
4. Keep whichever gives the most boxes.

Here’s what that looks like for a 300 × 250 mm box on a standard pallet:

A mixed layout doesn’t help here, because every leftover strip (19 mm, 16 mm or 116 mm) is narrower than the box. But look at the difference between the two grids. Load the box the wrong way round and you get 12 per layer instead of 16. That’s 4 boxes, or 25%, lost on every layer of every pallet.

Mixed layouts pay off when the box is large compared with the pallet and a single-orientation grid leaves an empty strip at least as wide as one side of the box. Take a 600 × 400 mm box on the same pallet. A straight grid fits 2 × 2 = 4 boxes and leaves a 216 mm strip across the width (1,016 − 800). Put the 400 mm side along the 1,219 mm edge instead and three boxes fit in a row. That leaves 416 mm of width, enough for two more boxes turned 90°. Five boxes instead of four, or 25% more per layer.

On a euro pallet, boxes that divide 1,200 × 800 mm evenly leave no waste at all. A 400 × 300 mm box with its 300 mm side along the 1,200 mm edge gives 4 × 2 = 8 per layer. Turn it the other way and you get 3 × 2 = 6. So even when a box looks like it was made for the pallet, test both orientations.

Step 2: Work out how many layers fit under the height limit#

The height limit is measured from the floor and includes the pallet:

⌊(maximum height − pallet height) ÷ box height⌋

The harder part is knowing what the maximum height is. It comes from three places, and the lowest one decides:

• The receiving warehouse’s racks. If the pallet is going into pallet racks (the steel shelving that holds pallets on beams), it has to clear the beam above it. There’s no common figure for this, so ask the receiving warehouse before you plan the load.
• The container or trailer. A 40ft high cube is 2,700 mm high inside (2,695 mm on some lines), but its door opening is lower, at 2,597 mm or 2,585 mm. If you double stack pallets, the two loads together have to fit through the door with space left above the cargo for the forklift to work. Halving the door height gives about 129–130 cm per pallet, and that’s before any working space.
• The strength of the bottom boxes. The bottom layer carries the weight of everything above it. Compare the box’s stacking strength, from a box compression test (BCT) or an edge crush test (ECT), with the load that will sit on top of it, then allow for the strength a box loses to humidity and time in transit. ISTA publishes test procedures for transport packaging if you need to test a box properly.

Step 3: Check the weight#

Height isn’t the only thing that caps the layer count. Weight can too:

⌊pallet weight limit ÷ (boxes per layer × weight of one box)⌋

The number of layers you can actually build is the lower of the height result and the weight result.

Use the right weight limit. A pallet’s load rating comes in several forms: the static load (sitting still on the floor), the dynamic load (moving on a forklift or pallet jack) and the racked load (sitting on rack beams). Plan with the dynamic or racked figure, not the static one. For example, EPAL gives the euro pallet a safe working load of 1,500 kg, while the 5,500 kg figure is the most the bottom pallet can carry when loaded pallets are stacked, which is a static case. On the US side, CHEP’s 48 × 40 in wooden block pallet is rated for 2,800 lb (about 1,270 kg) of evenly spread load under normal use, and for block stacking up to five high with no more than 10,000 lb (about 4,536 kg). That’s one product’s rating, though, not a figure for GMA pallets in general. For more on pallet sizes and load ratings, see our standard pallet sizes guide.

In our calculator, the maximum load weight covers the boxes only. The weight of the pallet itself isn’t included.

Worked example: 300 × 250 × 200 mm boxes on a standard pallet#

Here are the inputs:

• Box: 300 × 250 × 200 mm, 12 kg
• Pallet: 48 × 40 in standard pallet, about 145 mm high
• Maximum height: 1,500 mm, including the pallet
• Dynamic weight limit: 1,150 kg (an assumed figure for this example)
• Order: 500 boxes

The working:

1. Boxes per layer: 16, from Grid A in the table above.
2. Layers by height: ⌊(1,500 − 145) ÷ 200⌋ = 6.
3. Layers by weight: ⌊1,150 ÷ (16 × 12)⌋ = ⌊5.99⌋ = 5.
4. Layers you can build: 5. The pallet reaches its weight limit before the height is used up.
5. Per pallet: 5 × 16 = 80 boxes, 960 kg of boxes, 1,145 mm high, with 355 mm of height to spare.
6. Pallets for the order: ⌈500 ÷ 80⌉ = 7, with 20 boxes on the last one.

In US warehouse terms, that load is a Ti-Hi (tier × high) of 16 × 5: 16 boxes per layer (Ti), five layers high (Hi). It’s everyday language in warehouses and retail receiving, and some retailers and 3PLs ask suppliers to state the Ti-Hi for each SKU in their routing guide (their shipping instructions for suppliers).

Open this example in the pallet calculator to see the same result and a top view of the layer.

When weight is the limit, the unused height is wasted space. You can turn it into boxes with a pallet that has a higher load rating, or with lighter boxes.

Amazon FBA pallet limits#

If you’re sending pallets into an Amazon fulfillment center (the warehouse that stores and ships your stock for FBA) in the US, Amazon’s rules may cap the load before your own limits do. The requirements are:

• A 40 × 48 in four-way wooden pallet, GMA grade B or better.
• No more than 72 in high, including the pallet. The exception is a single item that’s taller than that, which can go up to 98 in if it can be clamped.
• No more than 1,500 lb total, including the empty pallet and the wrap.

In metric, that’s 182.88 cm and 680.4 kg. Amazon changes these rules from time to time, so check its current guidance before you build.

Here’s the same box, now at 10 kg, on a standard pallet with a maximum height of 180 cm (72 in with a little room to spare) and a 1,000 kg weight limit:

• Layers by height: ⌊(180 − 14.5) ÷ 20⌋ = 8
• Layers by weight: ⌊1,000 ÷ 160⌋ = 6
• Result: 6 layers × 16 = 96 boxes, 134.5 cm high, 960 kg of boxes
• Order of 500: ⌈500 ÷ 96⌉ = 6 pallets, with 20 boxes on the last one

Open the FBA example in the pallet calculator.

The 1,000 kg limit is an assumption, though, and the result breaks Amazon’s weight rule: 960 kg of boxes plus the pallet is well over 1,500 lb (680.4 kg). To meet the rule, the boxes can weigh no more than about 655 kg: 680 kg minus the calculator’s 25 kg pallet weight, ignoring the wrap. That gives ⌊655 ÷ 160⌋ = 4 layers × 16 = 64 boxes per pallet, and ⌈500 ÷ 64⌉ = 8 pallets, with 52 boxes on the last one.

Two more things to watch:

• A part-filled last pallet still takes the floor space for one pallet.
• A pallet that’s over the height limit can be turned away at the fulfillment center’s loading dock or need reworking, and the shipper pays for that.

Leave some headroom rather than building right up to the limit, so there’s room for stretch wrap and the labels stay visible.

Column stacking vs. interlocking#

Column stacking puts each box directly on top of the one below, corner on corner, all the way up. The corners are the strongest part of a box, so this keeps the most compression strength. FedEx’s pallet packing guide says it increases top-to-bottom compression strength in almost every case. It’s the right choice for boxes that crush easily.

Interlocking turns the pattern on each layer, the way bricks are laid, so boxes bridge the joins below. That ties the load together and makes it more stable against shifting and leaning, but it gives up some compression strength. FedEx notes that interlocking can add stability when the contents of the boxes are rigid. Use it for heavy, rigid boxes and on rough routes.

A middle ground I use a lot: column-stack every layer, interlock only the top layer, and hold it all together with stretch wrap and corner boards (the L-shaped strips of board that run up the corners of the load).

Can boxes overhang the pallet?#

No. Keep every box inside the pallet edge. FedEx says overhang can reduce a box’s compression strength by as much as 32% and leave it at risk of tearing and puncturing. UPS says to choose a pallet big enough that nothing overhangs.

Overhang causes damage in other ways too. Boxes that stick out get hit and squeezed by the pallets next to them. And a load that breaks the carrier’s packing guidelines can be harder to claim for if it’s damaged.

It costs you on the freight bill as well. Carriers measure a pallet at its longest points, overhang included. A bigger measurement means a bigger volume and a lower density, which on a less-than-truckload (LTL) shipment can push it into a higher rate bracket.

In our pallet calculator, overhang is 0 by default. The value you enter is the overhang on one side, and it gets added to both ends of the length and the width. Leave it at 0 to see how many boxes really fit.

Underhang, where the load sits a little inside the pallet edge, is fine structurally and costs you only a little in density. Even so, FedEx notes that a load set in from the edge can still get damaged. For how density affects your rate, see our freight density guide.

Mistakes that cost you pallets#

• Using the product size instead of the box size. Enter the outside dimensions of the box, including the board thickness, bulging flaps and any pouch on the outside. An error of 5 mm per box adds up to 20 mm across a row of four.
• Declaring dimensions without the pallet and wrap. Carriers measure the whole handling unit (each pallet, crate or loose piece), so the pallet (about 145 mm for a standard pallet) and the wrap count. That changes the density bracket and the dimensional weight. See our chargeable weight guide for how that works.
• Building to maximum height before checking the container. Two lower pallets that can be stacked two high in a container can beat one pallet built to the limit. Check the container load before you settle on a Ti-Hi. Our pallets per container guide covers double stacking.
• Building tall on a small base. A load that’s tall for its footprint can tip over when a forklift moves it. Secure it with banding, or take off a layer.
• Planning a mixed-SKU pallet (rainbow pallet) like a single-SKU one. When boxes with different footprints share a layer, the pallet divides less cleanly and the columns don’t line up. Expect fewer boxes and more damage than a single-SKU calculation shows. Our calculator plans one box size at a time.