Sea freight
3D container loading calculator
Which container your cargo fits in, how full it will be, and where every carton goes. Internal dimensions for the standard boxes, the pallet counts that follow from them, and a 3D plan for the shipment you actually have.
Free, and you can run one calculation before signing in at all.
The short answer
11 euro pallets in a 20 ft. 25 in a 40 ft. 27 in a 45 ft high cube.
Single tier, no overhang, standard-width boxes.
Those are floor counts, and the floor is rarely what limits a container. A 20 ft box holds about 33 m³ and 28 tonnes; dense cargo reaches the weight long before the space, light cargo reaches the roof long before the weight, and mixed cartons leave voids that no table predicts. The table below gives the box; the planner underneath gives the answer for your load, with a fill percentage and a picture.
Container dimensions and capacities
Internal measurements for the boxes that carry most containerised freight, with the euro and industrial pallet count each takes on a single tier, the nominal payload and the internal volume.
| Container | Internal L × W × H | Pallets, one tier (euro · industrial) | Payload · volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 ft standard | 5.90 × 2.35 × 2.39 m | 11 · 10 | ~28,200 kg · 33 m³ |
| 20 ft pallet-wide high cube | 5.90 × 2.44 × 2.69 m | 14 · 10 | ~28,000 kg · 39 m³ |
| 40 ft standard | 12.03 × 2.35 × 2.39 m | 25 · 21 | ~26,700 kg · 68 m³ |
| 40 ft high cube | 12.03 × 2.35 × 2.69 m | 25 · 21 | ~26,500 kg · 76 m³ |
| 40 ft pallet-wide high cube | 12.10 × 2.44 × 2.69 m | 30 · 24 | ~26,000 kg · 79 m³ |
| 45 ft high cube | 13.56 × 2.35 × 2.69 m | 27 · 24 | ~25,700 kg · 86 m³ |
| 20 ft reefer | 5.44 × 2.29 × 2.27 m | 10 · 9 | ~27,500 kg · 28 m³ |
| 40 ft high cube reefer | 11.56 × 2.29 × 2.55 m | 23 · 20 | ~29,000 kg · 67 m³ |
Nominal figures. Internal dimensions vary by manufacturer and by a few centimetres between boxes of the same size; payload is the ISO rating and the road leg usually allows less. Pallet counts assume no overhang. Measure the box you have been allocated before you plan to the centimetre.
Pack your own container
Enter the cargo — or describe it in a sentence — and the solver chooses the container, places every item and shows what did not fit. Stacking limits, weight caps and items that cannot be tipped are respected.
This is the planner itself, not a demo. Enter your own cargo and it packs it — the figures above are the starting point, not the answer for your load.
What changes the answer
Five things decide whether the floor count survives contact with the cargo. Each one is a reason a published figure and a real container disagree.
- The door, not the box
- A standard container door is about 2.34 m wide and 2.28 m high — narrower and lower than the 2.35 × 2.39 m inside. Anything that fits the box but not the opening does not go in, and a high cube's taller door is often its real advantage.
- Volume is not capacity
- 68 m³ of box holds far less than 68 m³ of cartons. Rows that do not divide the width evenly, the gap above the top tier and odd sizes at the end take 10–25% on a good day. The fill percentage the planner reports is the honest figure.
- Weight before space
- Dense cargo hits the payload limit long before it fills the floor. A 20 ft container holds about 28 tonnes and 33 m³ — anything above roughly 850 kg per cubic metre runs out of weight first, and the pallet count stops mattering.
- Road limits arrive before the rating
- A 40 ft may be rated for 26.7 tonnes, but the truck collecting it may not be: many European routes cap the loaded box plus chassis at 40–44 tonnes gross, and US roads at 80,000 lb. Plan to the tightest leg, not to the plate on the door.
- What may sit on what
- Double-stacking doubles a count only if the lower tier can carry the upper one and the total clears the roof. Fragile, non-tiltable and crush-limited items break that arithmetic, and they are the norm rather than the exception.
Questions
How many pallets fit in a 20 ft container?
11 euro pallets (1200 × 800 mm) or 9–10 industrial pallets (1200 × 1000 mm) on a single tier. A pallet-wide 20 ft takes 14 euro pallets, because two fit side by side across its 2.44 m width.
How many pallets fit in a 40 ft container?
25 euro pallets or 21 industrial on one tier, in a standard or a high cube — the high cube adds height, not floor. A pallet-wide 40 ft high cube takes 30 euro pallets.
What is the difference between a 40 ft and a 40 ft high cube?
30 cm of height: 2.69 m inside against 2.39 m, which is 76 m³ against 68. Same floor, same door width, and the door is 30 cm taller too. If your cargo stacks two high and the second tier just misses in a standard box, the high cube is the answer.
Should I plan by volume (CBM) or by weight?
Both, and whichever runs out first wins. Above roughly 850 kg per cubic metre a 20 ft reaches its payload before it is full; below that it fills before it is heavy. The planner reports fill percentage and total weight together, so the binding one is obvious.
Plan the container
Your cargo, the right box, and a 3D plan you can share as a link.
Open the planner