How many boxes fit on a pallet?
Boxes per pallet is simply boxes per layer multiplied by the number of layers. US warehouses often call this Ti-Hi (tier × high): the Ti is the count on one layer, the Hi is how many layers high the pallet goes.
Boxes per layer depends on how cleanly the carton footprint divides the pallet deck. The calculator lays the carton both ways, lengthwise and turned 90°, and for each one checks whether the leftover width can take an extra row of turned boxes. It keeps the highest count. It doesn't try pinwheel patterns or tip boxes onto their side, so the carton height you enter is the height of each layer. The boxes are assumed to stay upright (this side up).
Two things cap the number of layers. Height: the space between the top of the pallet and your maximum height, divided by the carton height. The deck height (how tall the empty pallet is) comes off first, because the maximum is measured from the floor. Weight: your maximum load divided by the weight of one full layer. Whichever gives fewer layers sets the count.
Knowing boxes per pallet tells you how many pallets the order needs, how much floor space they take, whether they fit a truck or container, and what pallet count to give a carrier when you ask for a per-pallet rate. Note that most US less-than-truckload (LTL) freight is priced on freight class and weight, not on how many pallets you ship; per-pallet rates are separate programs some carriers run. This tool works purely from dimensions and weight limits. It doesn't apply a DIM factor or convert volume to weight.
How to calculate boxes per pallet
To work out how many cartons fit on a pallet, go from the pallet up: floor area first, then height, then weight.
For the floor, divide the pallet length by the carton length and the pallet width by the carton width, round each down to a whole number and multiply. Do the same with the carton turned 90°, and see whether the leftover width can take a row of turned cartons. The highest result is your boxes per layer.
For height, subtract the deck height from the maximum height and divide by the carton height, rounding down. That's the number of layers, and boxes per layer × layers is boxes per pallet.
Then check weight. Divide the maximum load by the weight of one layer and round down. If that comes out lower than the height result, weight sets the layer count. Last, divide the order quantity by boxes per pallet and round up: a part-filled last pallet still takes a pallet.
- Measure the pallet: length, width and deck height. The presets are 48 × 40 in with a deck of about 14.5 cm (measure yours if you can) and the 120 × 80 cm euro pallet with the EPAL 144 mm deck.
- Find boxes per layer: ⌊pallet length ÷ carton length⌋ × ⌊pallet width ÷ carton width⌋, the same with the carton turned 90°, and any strip of turned cartons in the leftover width. Keep the highest.
- Find layers by height: ⌊(maximum height − deck height) ÷ carton height⌋.
- Multiply boxes per layer by layers, then check the weight. If boxes per pallet × carton weight goes over the maximum load, cut back to ⌊maximum load ÷ layer weight⌋ layers.
- Find pallets needed: ⌈total cartons ÷ boxes per pallet⌉, always rounded up.
Example: 40 × 30 × 25 cm cartons on a 48 × 40 in pallet
You have 500 cartons, each 40 × 30 × 25 cm and 12 kg, going on a standard 48 × 40 in pallet. For this example, assume a maximum height of 152 cm from the floor (pallet included) and a 1,000 kg load limit. The cartons ship upright.
| Pallet deck (48 × 40 in) | 121.9 × 101.6 cm |
| Per layer, 40 × 30 way | 3 × 3 = 9 |
| Per layer, turned 90° | 4 × 2 = 8 |
| Boxes per layer (best) | 9 |
| Deck height | 14.5 cm |
| Usable height (152 − 14.5) | 137.5 cm |
| Layers by height (137.5 ÷ 25, rounded down) | 5 |
| Layers by weight (1,000 ÷ 108 kg, rounded down) | 9 |
| Boxes per pallet (9 × 5) | 45 |
| Load weight (45 × 12 kg) | 540 kg |
| Loaded height, pallet included | 139.5 cm |
| Pallets for 500 (500 ÷ 45, rounded up) | 12 |
Each pallet takes 45 cartons, 9 per layer and 5 layers high, and height is what stops it, not weight. 500 cartons need 12 pallets: 11 full and a 12th carrying just 5.
48 × 40 in vs. euro pallet
Boxes per layer for a 40 × 30 cm carton footprint, taking the better of the two orientations.
| Pallet | Deck (cm) | Per layer (40 × 30 cm) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 × 40 in | 121.9 × 101.6 | 9 | The US standard pallet and the most common US size (about 30% of new wood pallets); also called the GMA or CBA pallet |
| Euro (EPAL) | 120 × 80 | 8 | European standard; EPAL deck height 144 mm |
| Custom | Your size | Recalculated | Both orientations and the leftover-width strip are worked out again. For example, 110 × 110 cm (T11, common in Japan and Korea) gets 8; a UK pallet (120 × 100 cm) gets 9 |
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the pallet itself. The maximum height is measured from the floor, so the deck uses part of it: about 14.5 cm on a 48 × 40 in pallet (the tool's preset, so measure yours) and 144 mm on an EPAL euro pallet. Leave it out and you plan a layer that won't fit.
- Checking only one orientation. 40 × 30 cm cartons fit 9 per layer on a 48 × 40 in pallet one way and 8 the other. On a euro pallet it goes the other way, 6 against 8. Try both.
- Ignoring weight. With 30 × 25 × 20 cm boxes at 10 kg, a 180 cm limit allows 8 layers, but 16 boxes per layer weigh 160 kg and a 1,000 kg limit stops you at 6.
- Letting boxes overhang. FedEx and UPS both say not to ship freight hanging over the pallet edge, since the overhanging boxes lose compression strength and get punctured or crushed. Carriers also measure at the longest points, so overhang makes the pallet measure bigger and less dense.
- Rounding the pallet count down. 500 ÷ 45 is 11.1, but that still means 12 pallets on the floor. ODFL's LTL pallet-rate program rounds up too: when a shipment goes over its 3,000 lb per-pallet limit, the billed pallet count is total weight ÷ 3,000 lb, rounded up.
How many boxes fit on a standard pallet?
Multiply boxes per layer by the number of layers. For example, 40 × 30 × 25 cm cartons on a standard 48 × 40 in pallet (121.9 × 101.6 cm) fit 9 per layer. With an assumed maximum height of 152 cm including the pallet, 5 layers fit, so the pallet holds 45 boxes. The answer changes with carton size, pallet size and the height and weight limits you work to, so run your own numbers.
Does a 48 × 40 in pallet fit more boxes than a euro pallet?
Not automatically. The 48 × 40 in pallet has about 12,385 cm² of deck against 9,600 cm² for the 120 × 80 cm euro pallet, roughly 1.29 times the area. How many boxes go on a layer depends on how well the carton divides each deck: a 40 × 30 cm carton gets 9 per layer on the 48 × 40 in pallet and 8 on the euro pallet. Pick the pallet your destination warehouse and carrier are set up to handle, then compare the counts.
How high can you stack a pallet?
There is no single limit. The maximum height is set by your carrier, the receiving warehouse or the trailer. For reference, ODFL's LTL pallet-rate program allows up to 99 in including any overhang, and UPS needs advance approval for Air Freight and Worldwide Expedited Ground Freight shipments over 76 in tall. Enter the maximum measured from the floor, pallet included; the calculator subtracts the deck height for you. A weight limit can cap the layers before height does.
Does the calculator rotate or tip boxes on their side?
It turns them on the deck but never tips them onto their side. It tries the carton lengthwise and turned 90° on the deck, and also fills leftover width with a strip of turned cartons, then keeps the highest count. Because boxes stay upright, the carton height you enter is the layer height. If a box can ship on its side, enter its dimensions in that orientation.
Is the number of layers limited by height or by weight?
Either one, whichever allows fewer layers. Take the calculator's default: 30 × 25 × 20 cm boxes at 10 kg, a 48 × 40 in pallet, a 180 cm maximum height and a 1,000 kg load limit. Height allows 8 layers, but 16 boxes per layer weigh 160 kg, so weight stops the stack at 6 layers. That gives 96 boxes per pallet.
Can boxes overhang the edge of the pallet?
Carriers say no. FedEx advises against any overhang, noting it can cut package compression strength by as much as 32 percent and leaves boxes open to tearing and punctures. UPS says not to ship freight that overhangs the pallet. Carriers also measure freight at its longest points, so overhang makes the pallet measure larger and less dense, which can change the freight class. The overhang field takes the distance a box may stick out on one side and adds it to both sides of the length and width. Leave it at 0 unless your carrier allows overhang.
Column stacking or interlocking: which is better?
FedEx recommends column stacking, where each box sits directly on the one below it, because in almost all cases it increases top-to-bottom compression strength; corrugated pads between layers help. Interlocking, turning alternate layers, adds stability when the contents are rigid. In this calculator interlocking is a 3D view only, and it can fit fewer boxes: the 40 × 30 × 25 cm example fits 43 interlocked against 45 in columns. The results always use column stacking.
What is the maximum weight for a pallet?
It depends on the pallet and the carrier. Estes gives a maximum of about 2,500 lb for a standard 48 × 40 in pallet, EPAL rates the euro pallet at a safe working load of 1,500 kg, and ODFL's pallet-rate program allows up to 3,000 lb per pallet. The calculator's default maximum load is 1,000 kg, and it counts the boxes only, not the weight of the pallet itself. An empty wood or plastic pallet can weigh 20 to 70 lb, according to UPS.
Sources
All calculations run in your browser. Figures are based on published standards, carrier-published values and nominal dimensions, so check them against your carrier's own numbers before you book.
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