Volume & surface area calculator
Pick a sphere, cylinder, cone, or rectangular prism. Explore the space inside a solid and the surface that wraps around it.
Give your shape a size.
Use the same unit for every dimension. Changing the unit relabels the measurements; it does not convert them.
From dimensions to an answer
Volume and surface area formulas chart
Volume is in cubic units and surface area is in square units. 1 cm³ holds 1 mL, so 1,000 cm³ = 1 liter.
| Solid | Volume | Total surface area |
|---|---|---|
| Cube (edge s) | V = s³ | S = 6s² |
| Rectangular prism | V = whd | S = 2(wh + wd + hd) |
| Cylinder | V = πr²h | S = 2πr² + 2πrh |
| Cone | V = ⅓πr²h | S = πr² + πrℓ, ℓ = √(r² + h²) |
| Sphere | V = ⁴⁄₃πr³ | S = 4πr² |
| Hemisphere | V = ⅔πr³ | S = 3πr² (with base) |
| Square pyramid (base b) | V = ⅓b²h | S = b² + 2bℓ |
| Any prism | V = base area × length | S = 2 × base area + base perimeter × length |
Volume and surface area questions
Wondering about the why? Start here.
How are volume and surface area different?
Volume is the three-dimensional space inside a solid, measured in cubic units. Surface area is the area of its outer surfaces, measured in square units. Filling a box concerns volume; covering it concerns surface area.
Compare volume and surface areaDoes the calculator include the bases in surface area?
Yes. It reports total surface area: both circular bases for a closed cylinder, the circular base for a cone, and all six faces for a rectangular prism. An open container needs a separate adjustment for any missing face.
See the cylinder formulasWhich height should I enter for a cone?
Enter the perpendicular height from the circular base to the tip, not the sloping distance along the side. For the right circular cone used here, the calculator derives slant height as √(r² + h²) when finding total surface area.
Explore the cone calculator