Goes past square footage to the things that actually run out: how many tiles, how many boxes, the grout for your joints and the thinset for your trowel — for a floor, wall, shower or backsplash, in inches or mm.
Surface
Units
Area to tile
Irregular room? Tile it in rectangles and add the areas, or type a known area directly below.
Grout & adhesive (optional, for the materials list)
1/8″ = .125
Grout and thinset are estimates from the standard joint-volume and per-trowel coverage figures (e.g. the Mapei/Laticrete/Schluter ranges, quoted as facts); confirm against your product's datasheet. The box price is your own number, not a price table. Always buy from one batch and keep spares. Treat results as a buy-list estimate, not a quote.
[ Ad slot — replace with AdSense / Ezoic code ]
Not actually a tiled surface?
For a carpet, laminate, vinyl-plank or hardwood floor use the Flooring Calculator — it works in boxes and rolls, not tiles and grout. For a poured or stamped concrete floor or slab, the Concrete Calculator gives cubic yards and bags. Painting the walls instead? The Paint Calculator handles coats and coverage.
What this tile calculator does — and its lane
This is a tile estimator for any tiled surface: it turns an area and a tile size into the number of tiles and boxes, then carries on to the grout and adhesive most calculators skip. It covers a floor, a wall, a shower surround or a kitchen backsplash — anything set in tile with grout joints. It deliberately does not cover non-tile flooring; for carpet, laminate, vinyl or hardwood the flooring calculator is the right tool, and for a concrete floor the concrete calculator works in yards and bags.
Tiles, boxes — and the bit others leave out
Plenty of tile calculators hand you a square footage or a tile count and stop, which is the single most common complaint about them: no boxes, no grout, no adhesive. This one runs the whole list.
Tiles — area × (1 + waste) divided by the face area of one tile, rounded up. Enter the tile in inches or millimetres and it works out the face area for you.
Boxes — tiles divided by your tiles-per-box figure, rounded up, because tile is sold by the box.
Grout — from the joint width and tile thickness using the standard joint-volume formula, shown as cubic feet and an approximate weight so you can pick a bag size.
Thinset / adhesive — from the area and your trowel notch, because the notch sets how thick the mortar bed is, not the tile.
Grout fills the joints, so the volume depends on how big the tiles are (smaller tiles mean more joint length per square foot), how wide the joints are, and how thick the tile is. The calculator applies the standard formula and shows the result both as volume and as a rough weight at a typical sanded-grout density, so you can match it to a 10 or 25 lb bag. Thinset is governed by the trowel: a finer notch lays a thinner bed and stretches a bag further.
Trowel notch
Coverage / 50 lb bag
Typical tile
1/4″ × 1/4″
~80–100 ft²
Up to ~8″, mosaics
1/4″ × 3/8″
~60–80 ft²
~12″ tile
1/2″ × 1/2″
~40–50 ft²
Large-format, stone
These trowel-coverage ranges are the published Mapei, Laticrete and Schluter figures and are facts of the mortar, not a brand price list. Back-buttering big or stone tile uses more, so add a bag if you plan to.
Waste, layout and m²
Layout drives waste. A straight grid in a plain rectangle wastes little, so 10% is plenty; a diagonal or herringbone run throws away far more in angled offcuts, so push toward 20%. The tile square footage and square metre figures are both shown, so a tile calculator answer in m² is right there for boxes labelled in metric. Whatever the layout, buy from a single batch — later runs can shift slightly in shade — and keep the spares for repairs.
[ Ad slot — replace with AdSense / Ezoic code ]
Frequently asked questions
How many tiles do I need?
Area ÷ the face area of one tile, plus waste, rounded up. A 12″ tile is 1 ft², so 120 ft² needs ~120 tiles plus waste. The calculator works out the face area from your tile width and length (inches or mm), then divides by tiles-per-box for the box count.
Why don't most tile calculators give grout and adhesive?
They stop at square footage or a tile count — the top gripe about them. This one figures grout from joint width and tile thickness with the standard formula, and thinset from the area and your trowel notch. Both are estimates to refine against your product's datasheet.
How much thinset do I need?
It tracks the trowel, not just the tile. A 1/4×1/4″ notch covers ~80–100 ft² per 50 lb bag, 1/4×3/8″ ~60–80, and 1/2×1/2″ for large-format only ~40–50. The calculator divides area by the trowel's coverage and rounds up. Back-buttering uses more.
How much waste should I add?
~10% for a straight grid in a plain room; 15% with niches, columns or many cut-ins; ~20% for diagonal or herringbone. Buy from one batch and keep spares, since later runs can shift in shade. The waste field starts at 10% and is editable.
How do I figure a backsplash or shower wall?
Same method, using wall area. Switch to wall, shower or backsplash mode and enter the surface's height and length. A backsplash is the counter run times the height to the cabinet (often 18″), so it's small. For a shower, add each wall as its own area. Mosaic sheets count by the sheet.
Tiled floors only, or other flooring too?
Tiled surfaces only — it's built around tile size, joints and thinset. For carpet, laminate, vinyl plank or hardwood use the flooring calculator (boxes and rolls); for a concrete floor, the concrete calculator (yards and bags).