How many tiles do I need?
Enter your room size, your tile size and your grout gap. You get the number of tiles to order and the exact size of every edge cut. For a rectangular room in a straight or brick layout, it lays every tile across the actual room, so the cut sizes are the ones you'll take to the saw.
Room and tile
Cut breakdown needs room dimensions.
Row offset
Start position
Brick / offset cannot be combined with Center the field. Start position is a corner start.
tiles
Enter the room's length and width, or its total area.
Waiting for room dimensions.
This is an estimate for planning and purchase, not a substitute for measuring the room properly. Confirm with your supplier before you order. Grout quantity is not calculated here.
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How many tiles do I need?
Enter the room, the tile and the grout gap. The big number is what to order. Below it you get the boxes, if you give the tiles per box, and the size of every edge cut.
Two things change the count more than people expect: the tile's actual size and the grout gap the maker asks for. Both are on the carton or the spec sheet. The two jobs below show why.
How many 12 x 24 tiles for a 5 x 8 bathroom floor?
Say the floor is 5 by 8 feet and the tile is Daltile Industrial Park, sold as 12 x 24. Daltile's sales sheet gives its actual size as 11 7/8 by 23 5/8 inches and asks for a 3/16 inch grout joint.
Type it in as 12 x 24 with the default 1/8 inch gap, long side along the 8 foot wall, starting in a corner, and you get 20 positions and an order of 21.
Type the actual size and the maker's joint instead, and you get:
- 16 whole tiles and 9 cuts, 25 positions in all
- 2 tiles for breakage at 5 percent
- 27 tiles to order
That's 6 more tiles, and the reason is one row. At 23 5/8 plus 3/16, four tiles take 95 1/4 inches of a 96 inch wall. The fifth column is a 3/4 inch strip. With the nominal size, four tiles never quite fit, so there's no fifth column at all.
If your carton holds 8 pieces, the nominal entry says 3 cartons and the actual entry says 4. Read the piece count off your own carton.
That 3/4 inch strip is also the cut you don't want. See the next section for the fix.
Corner start or centered: which saves tile?
It depends on the room. Run both and look at the cuts.
- 5 x 8 bathroom, Industrial Park 12 x 24 at 3/16: centering the field keeps the order at 27 and turns the 3/4 inch strips into cuts of 12 3/16 and 11 13/16 inches on all four walls. Center it.
- 13 x 11 kitchen, Continental Slate 18 x 18 at 3/16 (the kitchen below): a corner start gives 72 positions, an order of 76 and 9 cartons. Centering gives 81 positions, an order of 86, 10 cartons, and 3 1/8 inch strips along two walls. Start in the corner.
The start setting only moves where the first tile sits, but that can still change the order by a carton.
How many boxes of 18 x 18 tile for a 13 x 11 kitchen?
Take a 13 by 11 foot kitchen in Daltile Continental Slate 18 x 18. Daltile's sales sheet lists it at 17 3/4 inches actual, a 3/16 inch floor joint, and 9 pieces per carton covering 19.77 square feet.
Enter 13 by 11 feet, 17.75 by 17.75 inches, a 3/16 gap, a corner start and 9 tiles per box:
- 56 whole tiles and 16 cuts, 72 positions
- 4 tiles for breakage at 5 percent
- 76 tiles to order, 9 cartons, 5 tiles left in the last one
Now try it the square foot way. 143 square feet plus 10 percent is 157.3. Divide by 19.77 and you get 7.96, so 8 cartons. Eight cartons hold 72 tiles. That covers the 72 positions with not one tile spare for a crack or a bad cut. The ninth carton is the one you'd be driving back for.
Buy by pieces, not by the square feet printed on the carton. Every edge cut uses a whole tile, even when most of it goes in the bin.
Check it by hand
The rule: add the grout gap to the tile size. Divide the wall by that. The whole number is full tiles along that wall; any leftover is one more, cut. Do it for both walls and multiply. Then add breakage and round up.
The bathroom, actual size, worked line by line:
- Along the 8 foot wall: 23 5/8 + 3/16 = 23 13/16 in per tile.
- 96 ÷ 23.8125 = 4.03. That's 4 full tiles, using 95 1/4 in, with 3/4 in left. So 5 tiles along this wall.
- Along the 5 foot wall: 11 7/8 + 3/16 = 12 1/16 in per tile.
- 60 ÷ 12.0625 = 4.97. That's 4 full tiles, using 48 1/4 in, with 11 3/4 in left. So 5 tiles along this wall.
- Positions: 5 x 5 = 25. Whole tiles: 4 x 4 = 16. Cuts: 25 minus 16 = 9.
- Breakage: 25 x 5% = 1.25, round up to 2.
- Order: 25 + 2 = 27. Cartons of 8: 27 ÷ 8 = 3.4, round up to 4.
The kitchen, same steps: 17 3/4 + 3/16 = 17 15/16 in. 156 ÷ 17.9375 = 8.70, so 8 full plus a 12 1/2 in cut, 9 tiles. 132 ÷ 17.9375 = 7.36, so 7 full plus a 6 7/16 in cut, 8 tiles. 9 x 8 = 72. 72 x 5% = 3.6, round up to 4. Order 76. 76 ÷ 9 = 8.4, round up to 9 cartons, which hold 81, so 5 are left.
Breakage first, then boxes
The order of rounding matters. The page counts positions first, adds breakage to that count and rounds up, and only then divides by the tiles per box and rounds up again. Rounding to boxes first and adding breakage after can cost you a box you didn't need, or leave you one short.
Breakage starts at 5 percent. It covers snapped tiles, bad cuts and a few spares for repairs later. The cut pieces are already counted as whole tiles, so the 5 percent isn't covering them.
The page also shows what careful offcut reuse could save. It doesn't take that off the order, because whether an offcut is usable depends on your saw and your pattern.
Which patterns we lay out, and which we estimate
Straight grid and brick offset are laid out tile by tile across your room. Diagonal, herringbone and chevron are estimates: they add the low end of a published layout waste range before breakage, and the result says so. In a 10 by 10 foot room of 12 inch tiles, that's 121 tiles for diagonal or herringbone and 124 for chevron. The ranges and their source are in how much waste to add.
What this doesn't do
- No L-shaped rooms, obstacles, floor drains, hexagon tile or mixed sizes. For an odd shape, use Total area: you get a count with a 10 percent layout figure, and no cut list.
- No perimeter gap. Cut sizes run from the last full tile to the wall. Take your expansion gap off each wall cut before you mark it.
- No grout, thinset or backer board. Check the grout maker's coverage at your joint width and tile thickness.
- For a backsplash, do each wall run on its own and add them. Tile still goes around an outlet, so don't deduct it. Take a window or range hood off the measurement first.
Before you buy
Read two numbers off the carton or the maker's sheet: the actual tile size and the recommended joint. Enter those, not the size on the price tag. In the bathroom above, that one change moved the order from 21 to 27.
If you're laying 12 x 24 in a brick pattern, check the offset too. Daltile's Continental Slate sheet says overlap shouldn't exceed 33 percent for tile 15 inches or longer, so pick the 1/3 offset rather than 1/2 if your tile's sheet says the same. For the bathroom, a 1/3 offset still orders 27.
Sources: Daltile, Industrial Park sales sheet: 12 x 24 actual 11 7/8 x 23 5/8 in, 3/16 in grout joint (read 24 Oct 2026). Daltile, Continental Slate sales sheet: 18 x 18 actual 17 3/4 x 17 3/4 in, 3/16 in floor joint, 9 pieces and 19.77 sq ft per carton; overlap not to exceed 33 percent for tile 15 in or longer in a brick joint (read 24 Oct 2026). Diagonal, herringbone and chevron ranges: Cavalieri Flooring layout taxonomy, as cited in how much waste to add.
Tile calculator FAQ
How many 12x12 tiles do I need for a 10x10 room?
Order 105. A 10 by 10 foot room holds 100 tiles at a 1/8 inch gap from a corner: 81 whole and 19 cut to 10 7/8 inches. The default 5 percent breakage adds 5. If your 12 inch tile is really 11 13/16, as Daltile lists for its Continental Slate 12 x 12, enter that size and your joint, because together they decide the count. At the default 1/8 inch gap each row runs 5/8 inch short of the wall, so you get 100 whole tiles plus 21 slivers 5/8 inch wide, and an order of 128. At 3/16 inch, the floor joint on Daltile's Continental Slate sheet, 100 tiles fit exactly with nothing cut, and the order is 105.
Should I enter the nominal or the actual tile size?
The actual size, with the maker's joint. A 5 by 8 foot floor in Daltile Industrial Park 12 x 24 orders 21 tiles at the nominal size and 1/8 inch gap, and 27 at the actual 11 7/8 x 23 5/8 with the 3/16 inch joint Daltile asks for.
Can I just buy by the square feet on the box?
Not safely. A 13 by 11 foot kitchen is 143 square feet. Add 10 percent and divide by Continental Slate's 19.77 square feet per carton and you get 8 cartons, 72 tiles. The layout needs 72 positions plus 4 for breakage: 76 tiles, 9 cartons.
Does the grout gap change how many tiles I need?
Sometimes, and it always changes the cuts. In a 10 by 10 foot room, 12 inch tiles butted tight fit 100 whole with nothing cut. At 1/8 inch it's still 100, but 19 need cutting. On the 5 by 8 bathroom, Industrial Park typed as a nominal 12 x 24 at the default 1/8 inch orders 21 tiles. At its actual size with the 3/16 inch joint Daltile asks for, it orders 27. Take both numbers from the maker's sheet.
Should I start in a corner or center the tile?
Run both. In a 5 by 8 bathroom of 12 x 24 tile, centering costs nothing and gets rid of a 3/4 inch strip. In a 13 by 11 kitchen of 18 x 18, centering adds a carton and leaves 3 1/8 inch strips.
How much extra tile should I buy?
See Breakage first, then boxes.
How much grout do I need?
See What this doesn't do.
Can I use it for a shower wall or backsplash?
See What this doesn't do.
Does it lay out herringbone or diagonal tile?
See Which patterns we lay out, and which we estimate.
Related tools
Layout waste ranges live in how much waste to add. For boxed flooring rather than tile, use the flooring calculator. More material tools are on the home project tools hub.