Box surface area calculator
Find a box's outer surface area and how much corrugated board it takes to make.
How it works
Surface area is the total area of all six faces: 2 × (L×W + L×H + W×H). It's useful for estimating wrap, labels and print coverage.
A regular slotted container actually uses more board than its surface area, because the top and bottom are made of overlapping flaps and there's a glue flap on one side. The blank area is (2L + 2W + glue flap) × (W + H). Board is bought by the MSF (thousand square feet), so the last result is handy for costing. Use the corrugated board cost calculator to turn that into money.
Results are estimates based on typical industry values. Confirm final specifications with your supplier or carrier.
Frequently asked questions
What is the formula for the surface area of a box?
2 × (length × width + length × height + width × height).
What does MSF mean in packaging?
Thousand square feet of board. Corrugated board is priced and sold per MSF.
Related articles
- How much bubble wrap do I need?
How to estimate bubble wrap per item and per roll, how many layers to use, bubble sizes and how wrapping changes the box size you need.
More box sizing and design tools
- Box dimensions converter
Convert a box size between inches, centimeters, millimeters and feet in one step, including fractional inches.
- Inside to outside dimensions calculator
Turn a box's inside dimensions into its outside size, based on the board it's made from.
- Outside to inside dimensions calculator
Measured the outside of a box? Find the usable space inside it.
- RSC blank size calculator
Get the flat sheet size, panels and flap depth for a regular slotted corrugated box.
- Tuck end box blank size calculator
Estimate the flat blank of a reverse tuck end carton and how many fit on a press sheet.
- Mailer box size calculator
Size a roll-end tuck front mailer box around your product.