Cubic metres from package size — free, no sign-up
Enter a package's dimensions and count to get CBM per package, total shipment volume, and the air volumetric weight. Works with cartons, boxes, crates or pallets, in cm, inches or metres.
💡 The fields below are pre-filled with an example. Replace them with your own package's actual measurements to get your result.
The three outside measurements of one package (the box, carton, crate or pallet as it ships). Measure the widest points, including any packaging.
How many identical packages you're shipping.
Sellable items inside each package — used to total your units.
CBM per package
0.0720m³
Total CBM
7.200m³
Formulas used
CBM = length × width × height (in metres)
Total CBM = CBM per package × number of packages
Air volumetric weight (kg) = L × W × H in cm ÷ 6000
CBM stands for cubic metre — the amount of space a package or shipment occupies. It's the single most important number in international shipping, because sea freight consolidators (LCL) price your cargo by the cubic metre, and it decides how much fits in a container. One CBM is a box measuring one metre on every side, and any package's CBM is simply its length × width × height once all three are in metres. Get the CBM right and every shipping quote, container plan and per-unit cost that follows will be right too.
Say you're shipping 100 cartons, each 60 × 40 × 30 cm. Convert to metres — 0.60 × 0.40 × 0.30 — which gives 0.072 CBM per carton. Multiply by 100 cartons and your shipment is 7.2 CBM. At an LCL rate of, say, $90 per CBM that's roughly $648 in sea freight — before you even open a forwarder's email. The same 60 × 40 × 30 cm carton has an air volumetric weight of 60 × 40 × 30 ÷ 6000 = 12 kg, which is what an airline would charge you on if the carton actually weighs less than that.
Importers and exporters use it to sanity-check freight quotes and compare sea versus air. E-commerce sellers and wholesalers use it to plan how much stock fits a container and what each unit costs to land. Freight forwarders and 3PLs use it to quote LCL shipments and allocate space. And anyone shipping internationally uses it to avoid the classic mistake of quoting on weight alone when the cargo is bulky — because bulky-but-light freight is charged on volume, not weight.
What is CBM and how do I calculate it?
CBM (cubic metre) is the volume of a carton or shipment: length × width × height, all in metres. A carton measuring 60 × 40 × 30 cm is 0.60 × 0.40 × 0.30 = 0.072 CBM. Multiply by the number of cartons for the shipment total. Sea freight (LCL) is usually priced per CBM, so it's the number every importer needs.
How do I convert cm or inches to CBM?
Convert each dimension to metres first, then multiply. Centimetres ÷ 100, inches × 0.0254. So a 24 × 16 × 12 inch carton is 0.61 × 0.41 × 0.30 m ≈ 0.075 CBM. This tool does the conversion for you — just pick your unit.
What is volumetric (dimensional) weight?
Air freight charges the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight. Volumetric weight (kg) = length × width × height in cm ÷ 6000. This tool shows it next to your CBM so you can sanity-check an air quote as well as a sea one. (Some couriers use a different divisor such as 5000 — check your carrier's.)
How many CBM fit in a shipping container?
Roughly 33 m³ internal for a 20ft, 67 m³ for a 40ft, and 76 m³ for a 40ft high-cube — though you can rarely use 100% because boxes leave gaps. To see how many of your cartons actually fit, use our container load calculator.
How do I turn CBM into a shipping cost?
Multiply your total CBM by the rate per CBM your forwarder quotes (for LCL sea freight), or use the greater of CBM-based and weight-based charges. Our freight cost calculator handles both LCL and air freight for you.
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