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Paint & finishes

Paint Calculator

Estimate paint for a room, wall, or ceiling, including openings, coats, product coverage, and whole containers.

What are you painting?

What are you painting?

Measurement system

Length
Width
Height

Subtract openings

Add only areas that will not be painted. Use a separate row for each size.

Opening 1
Opening width
Opening height

Up to 20 openings can be entered.

350 ft²/US gal is an editable starting assumption. Use the coverage printed on your paint label whenever available.

Common sizes are suggested for convenience. Product and market availability varies.

How it works

How your measurements become a paint estimate.

We calculate the selected surfaces, subtract openings, then apply your number of coats and chosen product coverage.

Room walls

Wall area = 2 × (length + width) × height

A room is treated as a rectangle with a uniform height.

Wall or ceiling

Area = length × width

Openings are subtracted before the number of coats is applied.

Paint volume

Paint = paintable area × coats ÷ coverage

Coverage is a product and surface assumption, not a geometric constant.

Containers

Containers = round up(paint volume ÷ container size)

The count uses the exact unrounded paint estimate.

Before you buy

What this estimate assumes

  • Rooms, walls, ceilings, and openings are rectangular; room height is uniform and ceilings are flat.
  • Openings do not overlap and are completely unpainted. Painted doors, trim, baseboards, and molding require separate estimates.
  • All included surfaces use the same paint, coverage rate, and number of coats. Calculate walls and ceilings separately when products differ.
  • Primer and losses from spraying, spills, or paint left in equipment are not included. Texture and porosity should be reflected in the coverage rate.

Coverage is a product assumption

The 350 ft²/US gal default uses the lower end of the 350–400 ft² range published by Sherwin-Williams. The metric value is its unit conversion. Always prefer the current label for the exact paint you plan to use.

Sources: Sherwin-Williams Paint Calculator and Benjamin Moore Paint Calculator. Product, surface condition, texture, and application method can change actual coverage.