Free tool
Container Load Calculator
This container load calculator tells you how many pallets fit a 20ft, 40ft or 40ft high-cube container, and how many containers the order needs. Enter the pallet size, height and weight; the answer comes from standard internal container dimensions.
Updated
No sign-up 20ft · 40ft · 40ft HC Weight and volume both checked
Your pallet
Result
| Container | Pallets | Limited by | Containers needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard | – | – | – |
| 40ft standard | – | – | – |
| 40ft high cube | – | – | – |
–
–
A planning estimate from standard internal dimensions (20ft: 5,898 x 2,352 x 2,393 mm; 40ft: 12,032 x 2,352 x 2,393 mm; 40ft HC: 12,032 x 2,352 x 2,698 mm) and typical maximum payloads. Your carrier’s equipment, road-weight limits and the forwarder’s load plan decide the final figure.
01How it works
How the calculator counts
It tries every sensible floor layout — all pallets lengthways, all crossways, and mixed lanes where one lane runs lengthways and the next crossways — and keeps the one that fits most pallets. That is how a 20ft container takes eleven 1200 x 800 mm pallets: seven crossways in one lane, four lengthways in the next.
It then stacks tiers if your pallets can be stacked, and checks the result against the container’s payload. Whichever runs out first — floor, height or weight — is shown as the limit.
Where edge protectors come in
A pallet that is double-stacked in a container carries its neighbour’s weight on its corners for the whole sailing. That is the load edge protection exists for. Take the pallet count from here to the edge protector size calculator for the board specification, or send both to us on the quote form.
02Questions buyers ask
Container loading questions
On one tier, typically nine 1200 x 1000 mm pallets or eleven 1200 x 800 mm euro pallets, depending on clearance. The calculator shows the count for your exact size.
On one tier, typically twenty to twenty-one 1200 x 1000 mm pallets or twenty-three to twenty-five euro pallets. Stacking can double that if the goods allow it and the weight stays under the payload.
Dense goods such as steel, tiles or liquids reach the payload before they fill the floor. Paper packaging is the opposite: it fills by volume long before it gets heavy.
No. It is a planning estimate from standard dimensions. The forwarder’s load plan, the actual container and road-weight rules decide the final count.
Send us the container, not just the enquiry
Destination port, sizes, yearly quantity and the shipping terms you buy on. That is enough for a container plan and a written quote.