Volume Calculator — Cube, Cylinder, Sphere, Cone and More

This volume calculator covers the twelve shapes people measure most often — from boxes and cylinders (tanks, cans, pipes) to spheres, cones, pyramids and capsules. Choose the shape, enter its dimensions in any unit, and get the volume in that unit cubed plus litres, millilitres, US gallons, cubic metres and cubic feet, together with the total and lateral surface area and the formula used.

How to use this tool

1. Choose the shape; its label says what a, b and c stand for.
2. Enter the dimensions it needs (other boxes are ignored) and pick their unit.
3. Read the volume and its conversions to litres and gallons.
4. Use the surface area for paint, wrapping or material estimates.

Formula

Cylinder V = πr²h · Sphere V = (4/3)πr³ · Cone V = πr²h/3 · Box V = l·w·h

A cone or pyramid holds one third of the cylinder or prism with the same base and height. The frustum (a cone with its top cut off) uses V = πh(R² + Rr + r²)/3. A capsule is a cylinder with a hemisphere on each end. The ellipsoid surface has no simple exact formula, so the Knud Thomsen approximation is used (error under about 1.1%).

Example

A cylindrical tank with radius 3 cm and height 10 cm holds π × 3² × 10 ≈ 282.74 cm³, or 0.283 litres. A cone with radius 3 and height 4 has volume 12π ≈ 37.70 and slant height 5, so its curved surface is π × 3 × 5 ≈ 47.12.