How many pallets fit in a 20 ft or 40 ft container?

Enter the container’s interior length, width and height from your shipping line or container spec, choose a pallet and see how many fit on the floor. There are no preset container sizes, so nothing here depends on a figure we could not verify.

Pallet size

48 × 40 in (GMA pallet)42 × 42 in48 × 48 in48 × 42 in40 × 40 in48 × 45 in44 × 44 in36 × 36 in48 × 36 in1200 × 800 mm (EUR 1)1200 × 1000 mm (EUR 2 / ISO)1100 × 1100 mm1165 × 1165 mmCustom size

Unit for container and custom sizes

InchesMillimetres

Container interior length

Container interior width

Container interior height

Stacked layers

1 (single layer)2 (double-stacked)

Loaded pallet height

Needed for two layers. Measure your loaded pallet; there is no default.

Weight check (optional)

Maximum payload

lb

From your shipping line or carrier.

Weight of one loaded pallet

lb

Calculate

Enter the container interior size to see the result.

How it works

Interior length and width are converted to inches (25.4 mm per inch, exactly) and the pallet footprint is fitted on that floor area with the same best-fit method as the pallet calculator and pallets per trailer: straight, turned, or a block one way with the remainder filled the other way. Layers multiply the floor count, as long as the layers fit under the interior height you entered. The comparison shows the same container with 48 × 40 in and EUR 1 pallets.

As a worked example only, take an interior of 480 × 90 in (a test input, not a container specification) and 48 × 40 in pallets: 20 straight, 12 turned, and a best geometric fit of 22 per layer.

Where to find interior sizes: see shipping container sizes, or use the figures from your shipping line.

Limits

This is geometry only. Door opening, lashing and bracing space, cargo weight limits, floor loading and how the loading team stows the freight are not modelled, so a real load may hold fewer pallets than the calculation. Confirm with your forwarder or shipping line. For volume rather than floor area, use the cubic feet calculator. See also Euro pallet dimensions and the pallet size table.