Volume Calculator
Calculate the volume and surface area of common 3D shapes — cube, box, sphere, cylinder, and cone. Convert between units.
About this calculator
This calculator finds the volume and surface area of five solids — cube, rectangular box, sphere, cylinder, and cone — from up to three dimension fields, whose meaning shifts entirely depending on which shape is selected. For a sphere, only Dimension 1 (treated as the radius) is used; for a cube, likewise only Dimension 1 (its edge length); a cylinder and cone both use Dimension 1 as a radius and Dimension 2 as a height, leaving Dimension 3 unused. At the calculator's default Rectangular Box shape, Volume — the straight product of all three dimensions — grows by an identical proportion no matter which of the three you nudge by a given percentage, since multiplication treats every factor the same way regardless of its size.
Surface Area doesn't share that even-handedness: it sums three pairwise products of the dimensions, so a percentage nudge to whichever dimension is currently largest moves the total by slightly more than the same nudge to a smaller one, because that dimension's own size compounds with its share of the pairwise sum. If Dimension 2 or Dimension 3 is left at zero, the calculator quietly substitutes Dimension 1's value in their place rather than treating a zero-size box as degenerate or flagging it as an incomplete input.
Inputs
Results
Volume
480 cubic in
How to Use This Calculator
- Select the shape type (cube, rectangular box, sphere, cylinder, or cone) from the dropdown.
- Enter the required dimensions that appear — for a box: length, width, and height; for a sphere: radius only.
- Volume is shown in cubic units; the calculator also converts to liters and cubic meters for convenience.
- Surface area is computed simultaneously — useful for packaging or material cost estimates.
- For irregular containers, approximate using the closest standard shape or decompose into sub-shapes.
- All dimension inputs must be positive; use consistent units throughout (e.g., all centimeters or all inches).
How the result changes with Dimension 1 (L or R)
| Dimension 1 (L or R) | Volume |
|---|---|
| 5 | 240 cubic in |
| 7.5 | 360 cubic in |
| 15 | 720 cubic in |
| 25 | 1,200 cubic in |
What each input means
- Shape
- The geometric shape to calculate.
- Dimension 3 (H)
- Only used for rectangular box.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersShape = 2, Dimension 1 (L or R) = 10, Dimension 2 (W or H) = 8, Dimension 3 (H) = 6 = 4 input(s) provided
- Calculate VolumeVolume480 = 480
- Calculate Surface AreaSurface Area376 = 376
- Calculate Cubic FeetCubic Feet0.2778 = 0.2778
Engine last updated . Checked against 1 independently-derived test — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Volume respond identically to a percentage change in any of the three dimensions?
For a Rectangular Box, Volume is the straight product of Dimension 1, Dimension 2, and Dimension 3 multiplied together. A product treats every factor the same way, so raising any one dimension by a given percentage — while holding the other two fixed — raises the total volume by that same percentage, regardless of which dimension you picked.
Why does Surface Area respond a bit more strongly to Dimension 1 than to Dimension 3?
Surface Area sums three pairwise products of the dimensions rather than one product of all three, and each dimension's pull depends on both its partners and its own size. At the calculator's default box (10 by 8 by 6), Dimension 1 is the largest of the three, and that larger starting size gives it slightly more leverage over the total than the smaller Dimension 3 has.
What happens if I leave Dimension 2 or Dimension 3 at zero for a shape that needs them?
The calculator doesn't treat zero as a real measurement for those fields — instead, it silently substitutes Dimension 1's value in place of any Dimension 2 or Dimension 3 left at zero. For a cylinder or cone, that means an empty height field quietly becomes equal to the radius rather than producing a zero-volume result or a warning.
Why does Dimension 3 do nothing when I select Sphere or Cylinder?
Each shape reads only the dimension fields its own formula actually needs: a sphere uses just Dimension 1 as its radius, and a cylinder uses Dimension 1 as radius and Dimension 2 as height. Dimension 3 only comes into play for the Rectangular Box shape, so it has no effect on Volume or Surface Area for any of the other four shapes.
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