Pallets
Pallet calculator
Pallet footprints, and how many of each fit in a container or on a trailer. The standard counts first, then the things that change them, then a 3D plan for the load in front of you.
Free, and you can run one calculation before signing in at all.
The short answer
11 euro pallets in a 20 ft container, 24–25 in a 40 ft, and 33 on a 13.6 m trailer.
Single tier, no overhang, weight permitting.
The euro pallet is 1200 × 800 mm, and those counts follow from dividing a container floor by it. The 40 ft figure is given as a range because it depends on orientation: loaded one way you get 24, pinwheeled you can reach 25. A pallet-wide 40 ft high cube takes 30. Double-stacking roughly doubles all of these, if the lower tier can carry the upper one and the total clears the roof.
Pallet sizes, and what fits where
The standards you are likely to meet, with single-tier counts for the two common containers and a standard European trailer.
| Pallet | Footprint | 20 ft · 40 ft | 13.6 m trailer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Euro / EPAL 1 | 1200 × 800 mm | 11 · 24–25 | 33 |
| EPAL 2 (industrial) | 1200 × 1000 mm | 9–10 · 20–21 | 26 |
| US GMA (48 × 40 in) | 1219 × 1016 mm | 9–10 · 20–21 | 26 |
| UK standard | 1200 × 1000 mm | 9–10 · 20–21 | 26 |
| Asia / JIS | 1100 × 1100 mm | 9 · 18–20 | 24 |
| Half euro | 800 × 600 mm | 22 · 48–50 | 66 |
Nominal figures for a single tier with no overhang. Counts vary with orientation and with how much the cargo extends past the pallet edge; the pallet-wide and high-cube variants take more. Treat these as the starting point, not the answer for a specific load.
Pack your own pallets
Enter the pallet size and what goes on it — or describe the shipment in a sentence — and the solver works out both how the cartons sit on the pallet and how the pallets sit in the container.
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 count
Four things move these numbers, and the first two move them more often than anything else.
- Overhang
- Cargo that extends past the pallet edge changes the footprint the trailer sees. A few centimetres per pallet is what turns 33 into 30, and it is the single most common reason a published count does not survive contact with real cargo.
- 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.
- 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.
- Loading pattern
- Straight rows waste the remainder at one end. Pinwheeling — alternating orientation around the perimeter — regularly fits an extra pallet or two into the same floor, which is why two people can measure the same trailer and disagree by 10%.
Questions
How many euro pallets fit in a 40 ft container?
24 to 25 on a single tier, depending on orientation. A 40 ft pallet-wide high cube takes 30. If the cargo double-stacks safely you can roughly double that, subject to the 26–28 tonne payload limit.
How many pallets fit in a 20 ft container?
11 euro pallets, or 9 to 10 of the 1200 × 1000 mm standards including GMA and UK. A 20 ft runs out of weight before space on most dense cargo.
What is the difference between a euro pallet and a US pallet?
A euro pallet is 1200 × 800 mm; the US GMA pallet is 48 × 40 inches, or 1219 × 1016 mm. The GMA is wider and slightly longer, which is why it fits containers less efficiently than the euro pallet it is often compared with.
Can it work out how many cartons fit on a pallet?
Yes — that is the same problem one level down. Give it the carton and the pallet footprint and it arranges the cartons, respecting stack height, weight and any item that must stay upright.