Turn your walls into rolls — and unlike a plain square-foot estimate, this one factors in the pattern repeat and drop match that make most wallpaper run short. Whole room or a single feature wall, US or Euro rolls, figured instantly with nothing sent anywhere.
What are you papering?
Units
Add up all four walls’ widths.
Openings to subtract
Pattern match
The vertical distance before the design starts again — printed on the roll label.
Roll size
Presets fill these in — edit any of them to match your roll’s label. “Usable” is the area cross-check used for random-match papers.
Cost (optional — estimate only)
Any price here is your own editable example, shown as an estimate only — not a price table and nothing is sent to a salesperson or saved. Roll sizes and the usable figure vary by brand, so use your label. Always buy from one batch (one print run) and keep a spare roll. Treat results as a buy-list estimate, not a quote.
[ Ad slot — replace with AdSense / Ezoic code ]
Doing the rest of the room?
Painting the walls or ceiling instead of papering? The Paint Calculator works in gallons and litres by coats and coverage. Tiling a wall, splashback or shower in the same room? The Tile Calculator gives tiles, boxes, grout and adhesive.
What this wallpaper calculator does — and its lane
This is a roll estimator with pattern repeat. You give it the perimeter and height of a room, or the width and height of one feature wall, and it returns the number of rolls to buy. It is deliberately separate from paint: wallpaper is sold in rolls and the maths is about drops and repeats, while paint is sold by coverage and coats — the paint calculator handles that. Doing them separately means each tells you what you actually purchase.
Why pattern repeat is the whole point
The most common complaint about wallpaper calculators is that they just divide wall area by roll area and ignore the pattern repeat — so the answer runs short, sometimes badly. On a patterned paper every strip has to line up with its neighbour, so each drop is cut to the next whole multiple of the repeat above your wall height, and the offcut is waste. A big repeat or a half-drop match can throw away a sizeable share of every roll. This tool asks for the repeat and the match type and counts the strips properly instead of pretending that waste does not exist.
Strips needed — the wall width (perimeter, or a single wall) divided by the roll width, rounded up.
Strips per roll — the roll length divided by the length of one drop. For a patterned paper that drop is rounded up to a whole number of repeats, which is where the waste comes from.
Rolls — strips needed divided by strips per roll, rounded up to whole rolls.
Area cross-check — for a random match with no repeat, net wall area divided by the usable area of a roll, as a sanity check.
Roll sizes are not standard worldwide, so the calculator carries the common ones and lets you override every number. American paper is priced by the single roll but sold in double-roll bolts; a European roll is a fixed 10.05 m by 0.53 m. A small trim allowance is built into each drop for fitting at the ceiling and skirting.
Roll type
Typical size
Usable (after matching)
US single roll
~16.5 ft × 20.5″
~22 ft²
US double roll (bolt)
~33 ft × 20.5″
~44 ft²
Euro roll
10.05 m × 0.53 m
~50 ft² / 4.6 m²
These are common reference sizes, not a price list — brands differ, so the figures stay editable and you should match the label on your paper. Buy every roll from the same batch number so the colour matches, and keep a spare for repairs.
One wall, yards and square metres
For a single accent wall, switch to single-wall mode and enter just its width and height. The result also shows the total paper as linear yards and the wall area in square feet and square metres, so it lines up whether your supplier sells by the roll, the yard or the metre. Doors and windows are subtracted from the area; on the strip count, full drops are still hung across openings and the offcuts usually cover above and below them, which is why the roll count uses the full wall width.
[ Ad slot — replace with AdSense / Ezoic code ]
Frequently asked questions
How do I measure for wallpaper, and how much do I need?
Measure the perimeter (all walls’ widths added up) and the ceiling height, or for a feature wall just its width and height. The tool divides wall width by roll width for strips needed, divides roll length by one drop’s length for strips per roll, then divides and rounds up to whole rolls — in ft², m² and yards, with doors and windows subtracted.
What is pattern repeat / drop match, and why does it matter?
The repeat is the vertical distance before the design starts again. Every strip must align, so each drop is cut up to the next whole repeat above the wall height — the leftover is waste. Bigger repeats waste more, which is why dividing square feet runs short (the #1 complaint). A half-drop match staggers alternate strips and wastes a little more. This tool builds that in rather than hiding it.
How many rolls do I need for a 12×12 room?
A 12×12 ft room is a 48 ft perimeter, ~384 ft² at an 8 ft ceiling. With a Euro roll (10.05 m × 0.53 m) and an 18″ straight repeat, each strip cuts to 9 ft, so 3 strips per roll, ~28 strips needed → 10 rolls. With no repeat the same room is ~7 rolls — the repeat is eating roughly a third of each roll. Enter your real roll and repeat for the exact figure.
What’s the difference between US single, double and Euro rolls?
US paper is priced by the single roll (~25–28 ft², ~22 usable) but sold in double-roll bolts of about twice that. A Euro roll is a fixed 10.05 m × 0.53 m, ~5.3 m² / 57 ft². Pick US single, US double, Euro or custom — every number stays editable to match your label.
Does this ask for my email or a quote?
No. It computes as you type, captures nothing and sends nothing anywhere. Any price is your own editable per-roll example, shown as estimate only — never a price table or a route to a salesperson. Use it anonymously and offline.
Is this for wallpaper only, or paint too?
Wallpaper only — rolls and pattern repeat. Painting the walls or ceiling is gallons/litres by coats and coverage, so use the paint calculator for that. Each tool gives the unit you actually buy in.