Essential
Cartons per Container Calculator
How many of your exact cartons fit into a 20ft, 40ft, or 40ft high cube container? This calculator floor-fits your carton dimensions directly against real container internal dimensions and stacks by height, giving a per-layer count, a layer count, and a theoretical maximum total — the direct carton-to-container answer, not a container-size recommendation from total volume alone.
Length × width × height
Cartons per layer
98
14 × 7, best orientation
Layers
11
Theoretical total
1078
Real loading typically loses 10-15% to interlocking and access
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How it works
The calculator floor-fits your carton footprint against the container floor two ways — as entered, and rotated 90° — and keeps whichever orientation tiles more cartons into a layer, the same approach the Pallet Calculator uses for cartons on a pallet deck.
Layers are set by dividing the container's internal height by the carton height and rounding down, since a stack cannot hold a fraction of a carton's height. Multiplying cartons per layer by layers gives the theoretical total.
That total is a theoretical maximum, not a realistic loading count. Real container loading typically achieves only about 85-90% of this figure once you account for interlocking patterns (staggering layers for stability), door-swing clearance, dunnage, and the practical difficulty of packing every last corner by hand or forklift. Treat this tool's number as an upper bound to plan against, not a guarantee.
Total cartons = cartons per layer (best of both orientations) × layers
Worked example
40 × 30 × 20 cm cartons in a 20GP container (589 × 235 × 239 cm internal)
- Upright orientationfloor(589÷40) × floor(235÷30) = 14 × 7 = 98 cartons/layer
- Rotated orientation (checked, not better here)floor(589÷30) × floor(235÷40) = 19 × 5 = 95 cartons/layer
- Best orientation kept98 cartons per layer
- Layers at 239 cm internal heightfloor(239÷20) = 11 layers
- Theoretical total98 × 11 = 1,078 cartons
1,078 cartons (theoretical maximum) fit in a 20GP container
Frequently asked questions
How many cartons fit in a 20GP or 40HC container?
It depends entirely on your carton dimensions — there is no single answer, since a small carton and a large one fill a container's floor and height very differently. Enter your exact carton length, width, and height above to get the specific per-layer, layer, and total count for a 20ft general purpose (20GP), 40ft general purpose (40GP), or 40ft high cube (40HC) container.
Why are real carton counts lower than this calculator's total?
This tool computes a theoretical maximum: every layer using one uniform orientation, no gaps, no door-swing clearance, and no allowance for how cartons actually get physically loaded. Real container loading commonly achieves around 85-90% of that figure once you account for interlocking or staggered stacking patterns for load stability, dunnage and bracing, and the practical limits of hand or forklift loading — treat the theoretical total as an upper bound, not a target.
Should I palletize my cartons or floor-load them into the container?
Floor-loading loose cartons (as this calculator assumes) generally fits more cartons into the same container than palletizing them, since pallets add their own height and leave gaps between pallet edges and the container wall. Palletizing is slower to load and unload but far faster to handle at the warehouse and less prone to shifting damage in transit — the Pallet Calculator can tell you how many cartons fit per pallet if you want to compare the palletized count against this tool's floor-loaded figure.
Does this calculator account for door clearance or access space?
No — it assumes the container floor and height are usable edge-to-edge with no allowance for door-swing clearance, aisle space, or access to inspect or unload the load. Real container loading plans typically reserve some space near the doors for exactly this reason, which is part of why the real achievable count runs below this tool's theoretical total.
Related tools
Estimates & assumptions
- Theoretical maximum: assumes a single uniform orientation per layer, no interlocking/staggered stacking, and no door-swing or access clearance. Real loading typically achieves 85-90% of this figure.
- Floor-loaded (loose cartons), not palletized — see the Pallet Calculator to compare a palletized load.
- No weight limit is checked here; confirm your total cargo weight against the container's payload limit separately.
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