Tile Calculator
How many tiles for a floor or wall
A 10 by 10 ft floor laid in 12 by 12 inch tile with a 1/8 inch joint needs 108 tiles, including 10% for cuts and breakage. Enter your area in feet or metres, pick the size printed on your box or type a custom one, and this floor tile calculator gives the exact count, with the grout joint included and boxes to order if you add the tiles per box. The tiles per square metre chart on this page covers every common size.
How many tiles do I need?
Two steps. First find your area: length × width, in whichever unit your supplier quotes. Then divide by the coverage of one tile, and add waste for cuts and breakage.
Work in the unit you'll buy in. UK, Irish and European suppliers price tile by the square metre; US suppliers price by the square foot or by the box. Use the Imperial/Metric toggle above so you never have to convert by hand.
To work out how many tiles you need for your tile rather than a generic one, set Tile size to the size on the box. Modern tile is mostly not square: 12 × 24 in (30 × 60 cm) is the standard large-format rectangle, plank tile runs 6 × 24 in and 8 × 48 in, and subway tile is 3 × 6 in (7.5 × 15 cm). Anything unusual — a 33 × 33 cm Continental size, a 100 × 100 cm slab, a hand-made square — goes in under Custom. Add the tiles-per-box figure from the label, under More options, and you get boxes to order rather than a loose tile count.
Rule of thumb: a 30×30 cm tile is about 11 per m². A 12×12 in tile is exactly 1 per ft². Everything else scales from there.
Tiles per square metre and square foot
How many 60x60 tiles per m2 is the question we get most, and the answer is 2.8. Use this as a tile coverage calculator in either unit: tiles per square foot for US suppliers, tiles per m2 for UK, Irish and European ones. Coverage is by face size, before waste and before the grout joint, for the sizes most suppliers stock. The calculator above adds the joint, so its laid rate runs slightly lower, by up to 6% on small tile. Metric and imperial sizes are near-equivalents, not exact matches (30 cm is 11.8 in), so check the actual size on the box.
| Tile size | Nominal imperial | Tiles per m² | Tiles per ft² |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 cm | 4 × 4 in | 100 | 9 |
| 15 × 15 cm | 6 × 6 in | 44.4 | 4 |
| 20 × 20 cm | 8 × 8 in | 25 | 2.25 |
| 30 × 30 cm | 12 × 12 in | 11.1 | 1 |
| 30 × 60 cm | 12 × 24 in | 5.6 | 0.5 |
| 45 × 45 cm | 18 × 18 in | 4.9 | 0.44 |
| 60 × 60 cm | 24 × 24 in | 2.8 | 0.25 |
| 20 × 120 cm plank | 8 × 48 in | 4.2 | 0.38 |
The printable material coverage chart lists tiles per square foot for every common size in one place, along with grout and thinset coverage, so you can check a box count at the merchant without reloading this page.
How the grout joint changes your tile count
Tiles are not laid edge to edge. Each one sits on a pitch of its own size plus one joint, so the gap does part of the covering and you need fewer tiles than the face area suggests. On large format the difference disappears in the rounding. On small tile it is several boxes, and a calculator that ignores the joint over-counts before the waste allowance is even added.
| Tile | No joint | 1.5 mm | 3 mm | 5 mm | Fewer at 3 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 × 60 cm | 37 | 37 | 37 | 37 | none |
| 30 × 60 cm | 74 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 1 (1.4%) |
| 30 × 30 cm | 147 | 146 | 144 | 142 | 3 (2.0%) |
| 7.5 × 15 cm subway | 1,174 | 1,139 | 1,107 | 1,065 | 67 (5.7%) |
| 10 × 10 cm | 1,320 | 1,282 | 1,245 | 1,198 | 75 (5.7%) |
Set the joint your tiler will actually use. Rectified porcelain and subway tile are typically laid at 1.5 to 2 mm, 3 mm is a sound general default, and rustic, handmade or hand-cut edges need 5 mm or more. If you are unsure, leave it at 3 mm: a wrong joint moves the count far less than a wrong tile size does.
How much waste to add for tile
Waste is not padding, it is the tile that ends up in the offcut pile. A diagonal layout cuts every perimeter tile at 45°, and almost none of those offcuts are reusable, which is why the percentage climbs.
| Layout or situation | Add | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Straight grid, square room | 10% | Perimeter cuts only |
| Brick or offset bond | 10% | Half tiles at alternate rows |
| Diagonal (45°) | 15% | Every edge tile is cut twice |
| Herringbone or chevron | 15 to 20% | Angled cuts, few reusable offcuts |
| Large format (60 cm and up) | 15% | Breakage, and one bad cut wastes a lot |
| Irregular room | 15% | More edges means more cuts |
Buy the whole job in one batch. Tile is fired in lots and shade varies noticeably between them, so a top-up order weeks later can arrive visibly different. Keep a few spares from that batch for future repairs.
Worked example: tiling a 3 × 4 m bathroom floor
The floor is 12 m² (about 129 ft²), tiled in 60 × 60 cm porcelain, straight grid. To follow along above: set Units to Metres, length 3, width 4, waste 10%, Tile size to 24 × 24 in · 60 × 60 cm and leave the grout joint at 3 mm.
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Floor area | 3 m × 4 m | 12 m² |
| Add 10% waste | 12 × 1.10 | 13.2 m² |
| Tiles needed | 13.2 ÷ 0.3636 m² (60.3 cm pitch with a 3 mm joint) | 37 tiles |
| Boxes (4 tiles = 1.44 m²) | 13.2 ÷ 1.44 | 10 boxes |
Order by the box, not the tile: suppliers rarely split them, so you round up to the next full box anyway. Check the box coverage on the label, since it varies by tile thickness and range.
Floor tile vs. wall tile
Floor tiles are rated for foot traffic (look for a PEI rating of 3 or higher) and for slip resistance; wall tiles are thinner and lighter. Don't put wall tile on a floor. For showers and wet areas, choose porcelain or glazed ceramic with a low water-absorption rating, and work the quantity out on the wall tile calculator, which measures by wall rather than by floor area.
Thinset, grout and adhesive quantities
Adhesive coverage depends on the trowel notch, which in turn depends on tile size. Bigger tiles need a deeper notch, so a bag goes far less far than people expect.
| Trowel notch | Suits tile up to | Coverage per bag |
|---|---|---|
| 3/16 in V-notch | Mosaic and small wall tile | ~95 ft² (8.8 m²) |
| 1/4 × 1/4 in square | 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) | ~85 ft² (7.9 m²) |
| 1/4 × 3/8 in | 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 in) | ~60 ft² (5.6 m²) |
| 1/2 × 1/2 in | 60 cm (24 in) and larger | ~40 ft² (3.7 m²) |
Grout use rises with narrow joints and small tiles, because there is more joint length per square metre. Manufacturers' coverage figures vary a lot by joint width and depth, so work from the figure on your specific bag rather than a generic rule. Large-format tiles should also be back-buttered for full contact.
What tiling a room costs
Tile itself commonly runs $1 to $15 per ft² (roughly £10 to £120 per m²): basic ceramic at the bottom, porcelain in the middle, natural stone at the top. Professional installation typically adds $5 to $15 per ft² depending on layout complexity and whether the substrate needs work.
Don't forget the extras that catch people out: adhesive, grout, spacers, silicone, trim or edging strips, backer board for wet areas, and hire of a wet saw. On a small bathroom these can add as much as the tile.
Tile mistakes that cost you a second order
- Ordering the exact area. Every job has cuts. 10% is the minimum, not the maximum.
- Splitting the order across batches. Shade varies by production lot and it shows under a bathroom light.
- Using the room's floor area for a wall job. Measure each wall, then subtract the door and window openings.
- Forgetting the layout multiplier. Herringbone can need twice the waste of a straight grid.
- Buying wall tile for a floor. Check the PEI rating before you order, not after.
- Keeping no spares. One cracked tile in three years means re-tiling the room if the batch is gone.
What the tile count assumes
Tile counts are area ÷ the area one tile occupies once laid: its face plus one grout joint in each direction, so a 60 cm tile with a 3 mm joint sits on a 60.3 × 60.3 cm pitch. Waste is added on top. Metric and imperial are calculated separately rather than converted, because the sizes are not equivalent: a 60 cm tile is 0.36 m² while a 24 in tile is 0.3716 m², about 4% larger. Treating them as the same understates metric counts.
- Waste defaults to 10% for a straight grid, rising to 15% for diagonal and large-format layouts and up to 20% for herringbone, reflecting how much of each cut is reusable.
- Thinset coverage figures are the trowel-notch ranges published on manufacturer bags, which vary by brand.
Both unit systems. Metric mode measures in metres and m², and switches to the sizes metric suppliers sell: 30×30 cm tiles, 45×45 cm tiles, 60×60 cm tiles. Any coverage you enter yourself is read as m².
Figures reviewed . Every worked example on this page is checked against the calculator above.
Tile Calculator: frequently asked questions
How many tiles per square metre?
About 11 for a 30×30 cm tile, 25 for a 20×20 cm tile, 4.9 for a 45×45 cm tile, and roughly 2.8 for a 60×60 cm tile, all by face size before the grout joint and waste. Switch the units toggle to metres to enter your room directly in m²; the calculator also allows for the joint, which trims these slightly on small tile.
Does the grout gap change how many tiles I need?
Yes, because each tile occupies its face plus one joint. On 60 cm tiles the effect disappears in the rounding, but on small tile it is real: a 3 × 4 m floor in 7.5 × 15 cm subway takes 1,107 tiles with 3 mm joints against 1,174 with none, about 5.7% fewer. Set the grout joint above to the width you will actually use.
How many 60x60 tiles do I need per m²?
About 2.8, since one 60×60 cm tile covers 0.36 m². For a 12 m² floor that is roughly 34 tiles bare, or 37 once you add 10% waste. Suppliers usually sell them 4 to a box, covering 1.44 m².
How much extra tile should I buy?
10% for a straight grid in a square room, 15% for diagonal, large-format or irregular rooms, and 15 to 20% for herringbone or chevron. Buy it all in one batch, as shade varies between production lots.
How do I figure tiles for an odd-shaped room?
Break the space into rectangles, calculate each, and add them together using the 'number of areas' field. For walls, measure each wall separately and subtract door and window openings.
How much thinset do I need?
It depends on trowel notch, not just area. A 50 lb bag covers roughly 85 ft² with a 1/4 inch square notch, but only about 40 ft² with the 1/2 inch notch that large-format tile needs. Back-butter big tiles for full coverage.
Should I work in square feet or square metres?
Work in whichever unit your supplier prices in. UK, Irish and European sellers quote per square metre; US sellers quote per square foot or per box. The Imperial/Metric toggle on this calculator converts either way so you can order without doing the maths.
How much does it cost to tile a room?
Tile commonly runs $1 to $15 per ft² depending on material, with professional installation adding roughly $5 to $15 per ft². Budget separately for adhesive, grout, trim, backer board and saw hire, which add up fast on small bathrooms.
Can I calculate rectangular, plank or subway tile?
Yes. Set Tile size to the format you are buying: 12 × 24 in (30 × 60 cm) for standard large-format rectangles, 6 × 24 in or 8 × 48 in for plank, or 3 × 6 in (7.5 × 15 cm) for subway. Anything else goes under Custom, where you type both dimensions. Rectangular tile does not change the maths, only the face area each tile covers.
How do I turn a tile count into boxes to order?
Enter the tiles-per-box figure printed on the label, under More options, and this tile estimator returns boxes as well as tiles. Always round up: suppliers rarely split a box, and shade varies between production lots, so a top-up order weeks later can arrive visibly different.