Tile Calculator How many tiles and boxes you need, with wastage

Enter the area you're tiling and your tile size. You'll get the number of tiles including a wastage allowance for cuts and breakages, plus the number of boxes.

sq ft
%
mm
mm

Tiles = area ÷ tile area, plus wastage, rounded up

Tiles needed
including wastage
Boxes needed
Coverage per tile

Do this in Excel or Google Sheets

Area in A1, tile area in B1, wastage in C1: tiles are =ROUNDUP(A1/B1*(1+C1), 0). Boxes are =ROUNDUP(tiles/perBox, 0).

Learn Excel with my course →

How many tiles do I need?

Divide the area you're covering by the area of a single tile, then add a margin for cuts, breakages and future repairs — usually 10%, or more for diagonal layouts and busy rooms. Because tiles are sold in boxes, round the total up to whole boxes so you're never a tile short mid-job.

Frequently asked questions

How much wastage should I allow?

10% is a safe default for straight layouts. Allow 15% for diagonal patterns or rooms with lots of corners and cuts.

My tiles are in inches, not mm.

Multiply inches by 25.4 to get millimetres — a 24-inch tile is 610 mm.

Why keep spare tiles?

Dye lots vary between batches, so a few spares from the same lot make future repairs invisible.