Cylinder Calculator
Calculate the volume and surface area of a cylinder from its radius and height.
About this calculator
A cylinder's volume is its circular base area multiplied straight through its height: V = πr²h, the same "base times height" logic that works for any prism-like solid with a constant cross-section. Surface area is built from two pieces — the curved side, which unrolls flat into a rectangle measuring the circle's circumference (2πr) by the height, plus the two flat circular caps at either end, each πr². Adding those gives the calculator's SA = 2πr(r + h), equivalent to 2πr² for the two caps plus 2πrh for the curved side.
This total-surface-area figure represents everything you'd need to wrap or coat a solid cylinder, such as a can, pipe segment with sealed ends, or roller: if you only need the curved wall — a length of pipe that's open on both ends, or a label that wraps around a can without covering its lids — subtract the two cap areas (2πr²) from the total. Because volume grows with the square of radius but only linearly with height, a wider cylinder holds disproportionately more than a taller one of the same height-to-radius ratio; doubling radius quadruples volume, while doubling height only doubles it. This makes radius the more consequential measurement to get right when estimating capacity for tanks, pipes, or any cylindrical container.
Inputs
Results
Volume
62.8319
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the cylinder's radius — the distance from its central axis to the curved side.
- Enter the cylinder's height — the distance between its two flat circular ends.
- Read the volume, the space enclosed inside the cylinder.
- Read the surface area, which covers the curved side plus both circular ends.
How the result changes with Radius
| Radius | Volume |
|---|---|
| 1 | 15.708 |
| 1.5 | 35.3429 |
| 3 | 141.3717 |
| 5 | 392.6991 |
Engine last updated . Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the surface area include the top and bottom circles, or just the curved side?
It includes all three surfaces — the curved side wall plus both flat circular ends — giving the total outer surface of a fully closed cylinder like a sealed can. If your cylinder is open at one or both ends, such as a length of pipe, subtract πr² for each open end from the reported total to get the correct material or coating area.
Why does radius affect volume so much more than height does?
Volume depends on radius squared but on height only to the first power, since the formula is πr²h. Doubling the height doubles the volume, but doubling the radius quadruples it — so when estimating how much a cylindrical tank or pipe segment can hold, small changes in radius move the total far more than equivalent changes in height.
How is a cylinder's curved surface area related to its circumference?
If you imagine cutting the curved side and unrolling it flat, it becomes a rectangle whose width equals the circle's circumference (2πr) and whose height equals the cylinder's height. That rectangle's area, circumference times height, is exactly the lateral (curved-side-only) surface area, which is why the full surface-area formula includes a 2πrh term.
Can I use this calculator for a hollow tube or pipe instead of a solid cylinder?
This calculator computes the solid volume and total outer surface enclosed by a single radius and height, so for a hollow pipe with meaningful wall thickness, you'd need the outer radius and inner radius separately — the material volume is the difference between the two solid-cylinder volumes computed at each radius, which this single-radius tool doesn't provide directly.
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