Pallet Calculator: How Many Boxes Fit on a Pallet?

How many boxes fit on a pallet?

Work in two steps. First the layer: how many box footprints fit on the deck, trying the box both ways round. Then the stack: the height limit minus the pallet's own height, divided by the box height and rounded down, gives the number of layers. Boxes per pallet is layer × layers, unless the weight limit is reached first.

Worked example: boxes 12 × 10 × 10 in at 20 lb on a 48 × 40 in pallet. Four boxes fit along 48 in and four across 40 in, so 16 a layer. With a 60 in limit and a 6 in pallet there are 54 in of room, 5 layers, so 80 boxes at 1,600 lb, 1,640 lb with a 40 lb pallet. An order of 1,000 boxes needs 13 pallets, the last one carrying 40.

Why turning some boxes can fit more

A simple grid is not always best. Boxes of 16 × 12 in on a 48 × 40 in pallet fit 9 lengthwise (3 × 3) or 8 turned (4 × 2). Put two rows lengthwise, which uses 24 in of the width, and turn the rest: the last 16 in take four boxes turned, for 10 a layer and the whole deck covered.

The calculator tries both grids and every two-block split along the length and the width, and draws the winning layer. It does not search interlocking patterns such as brick or pinwheel layouts, which sometimes fit one more box or tie the stack together; a palletizing program or your warehouse can check those.

Standard pallet sizes

In the US the standard is the GMA pallet, 48 × 40 in. Interlake Mecalux gives it as typically 5.5 to 6 in high and 33 to 49 lb for a wood pallet, and notes that 42 × 42 in pallets are common in the beverage industry and 48 × 48 in in chemicals.

In Europe the EPAL Euro pallet is 1,200 × 800 mm and 144 mm high, weighs about 25 kg and has a safe working load of 1,500 kg, per EPAL's data sheet. ISO 6780 lists six sizes for international shipping, including 48 × 40 in, 1,200 × 800 mm, 1,200 × 1,000 mm and 42 × 42 in.

Height and weight limits

The height limit includes the pallet. The calculator starts at 60 in, a typical figure, but the real limit comes from whoever handles the load: the carrier's trailer, the warehouse racking, the customer's dock or a retailer's receiving rules. Ask before you quote a pallet count.

Weight has two limits: what the pallet is rated to carry, and what the boxes at the bottom can bear. Interlake Mecalux gives a wood GMA pallet 2,000 to 2,800 lb under dynamic loading; the calculator starts at 2,000 lb of goods. When weight is the limit, the result says so and the top layer may be part-full.

Tips for distributor and packaging reps

Pallet counts turn into freight quotes, so get them right early: confirm the pallet type, the height limit and whether the customer accepts overhang before you price delivery. A box an inch too wide can drop a layer from 16 to 12.

Packaging reps can use the same numbers to sell a case size: show the buyer how a slightly smaller carton fits another row per layer, and what that saves in pallets and freight over a year.

Sources, checked October 2026. Results are estimates; the carrier's and the pallet maker's limits decide:

• Interlake Mecalux: GMA pallet (48 × 40 in, height, weight, load; 42 × 42 and 48 × 48 in uses)
• EPAL: Euro pallet data sheet (1,200 × 800 × 144 mm, approx. 25 kg, safe working load 1,500 kg)
• Wikipedia: Pallet, the six ISO 6780 sizes

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