Tile Calculator
Work out how many tiles you need for a floor or wall, including cuts and wastage.
Tile Calculator
Enter your area dimensions to estimate tiles required.
Tiles Required
A tile calculator works out precisely how many tiles a floor or wall project needs, factoring in the inevitable waste that comes from cutting tiles around edges, corners, and fixtures. Enter your room's dimensions along with your chosen tile size, and Toolnix returns the exact tile count required, including a sensible waste allowance so you are not left short-handed halfway through installation with a discontinued tile pattern.
What This Tile Calculator Actually Covers
The calculator first works out the total floor or wall area you need to cover, then divides that figure by the area of a single tile based on the dimensions you select. Because real installations always involve some cutting, especially around room edges, doorways, and fixtures like toilets or cabinets, the tool then adds a waste percentage on top of that raw division.
The result is a realistic tile count you can actually order, rather than a theoretical minimum that would leave you scrambling for extra pieces mid-installation.
How to Calculate the Tiles You Need
Once calculated, you will see the exact number of tiles to order, along with how many full boxes that translates to, since tiles are almost always sold by the box rather than individually.
Enter Room Dimensions
Length and width establish your total floor or wall area to cover.
Select Tile Size
A common 12 by 12 inch tile, a large format plank, or a custom size.
Set Waste Allowance
10 percent is the standard for straightforward rectangular rooms.
Why a Waste Allowance Is Essential, Not Optional
Skipping the waste allowance is one of the most common and costly tiling mistakes. Diagonal tile layouts require significantly more cuts than a simple straight, grid-aligned layout, since diagonal cuts at the walls create more offcuts that cannot be reused elsewhere.
| Situation | Suggested Waste | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Straight lay, simple rectangle | 10% | Cuts limited to perimeter edges |
| Diagonal or herringbone layout | 15% | Angled cuts leave unusable offcuts |
| Large format tiles | 15% | Each offcut wastes more material |
| Alcoves, bump-outs, multiple doorways | 15–20% | Every corner adds another cut |
| Patterned or directional tile | 15–20% | Pattern matching restricts piece reuse |
Large format tiles also tend to waste more material per cut than smaller tiles, simply because each discarded offcut represents a larger fraction of a full tile. Complex room shapes with alcoves, bump-outs, or multiple doorways likewise need more tiles for the additional corner cuts they require.
The Tile Coverage Formula Used Here
The core formula is straightforward: total tiles needed equals your room area divided by the area of a single tile, multiplied by one plus your chosen waste allowance percentage.
Tiles = (Room Area ÷ Tile Area) × (1 + Waste %)
Example: 200 sq ft ÷ 2 sq ft = 100 tiles • 100 × 1.10 = 110 tiles to order
So a 200 square foot room using 2 square foot tiles with a 10 percent waste allowance would need 100 tiles for the raw area, multiplied by 1.10, giving 110 tiles as your actual order quantity. This calculator runs that exact calculation automatically and rounds the final number up to ensure you always order enough full tiles.
Tiles Needed per 100 Square Feet
| Tile Size | Area per Tile | Tiles (Exact) | Order With 10% Waste |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 × 4 in | 0.11 sq ft | 900 | 990 |
| 6 × 6 in | 0.25 sq ft | 400 | 440 |
| 12 × 12 in | 1.00 sq ft | 100 | 110 |
| 12 × 24 in | 2.00 sq ft | 50 | 55 |
| 18 × 18 in | 2.25 sq ft | 45 | 49 |
| 24 × 24 in | 4.00 sq ft | 25 | 28 |
Adjusting for Grout Lines and Tile Size
Grout line width has a relatively small effect on tile count for most residential rooms, though it becomes more noticeable on very large commercial floor areas using wider joint spacing.
Smaller tiles, typically in the 4 to 12 inch range, tend to work particularly well in tighter spaces like bathrooms, since they allow for more flexible cuts around fixtures without wasting an entire larger tile on a small awkward corner.
Order every tile in one go and check that all boxes share the same batch or shade number. Dye lots vary between production runs, and a later top-up rarely matches exactly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Add 10 percent extra for a straightforward straight-lay layout, and closer to 15 percent for diagonal patterns, which naturally generate more offcuts around the room's edges.
Break the room down into smaller rectangular sections, calculate the tile requirement for each section separately, and then add all the individual totals together for your final order.
Smaller tiles between roughly 4 and 12 inches tend to work well in tight bathroom layouts, since they allow easier, less wasteful cuts around toilets, vanities, and other fixtures.
Grout lines have a fairly minor effect for most residential-sized rooms, though the impact becomes more noticeable on very large floor areas using unusually wide grout joints.
Yes, simply enter your wall's height and width the same way you would enter a floor's length and width, and the same area-based formula applies.
This usually happens with unusually complex room shapes, diagonal layouts, or when a larger-than-average tile size is chosen, all of which generate more waste than a standard 10 percent allowance covers.