Home › Calculators › Tile Calculator
Tile Calculator: How Many Tiles to Buy
Enter the floor or wall size and your tile size. The calculator gives the exact tile count for the area, then the count you should actually buy after adding a waste allowance for cuts and breakage, because nobody sensible orders the exact number.
How This Calculator Works
Area in square feet divided by one tile's area in square feet gives the exact count. The buy count then adds your waste percentage: 10 percent is standard for straight layouts with square tiles, 15 percent for diagonal layouts, large format tiles or rooms with many cuts, because every cut edge and every broken tile comes out of that allowance.
Worked Example
A 10 by 8 foot bathroom floor is 80 square feet. A 12 by 12 inch tile covers exactly 1 square foot, so the exact count is 80 tiles. At 10 percent waste, buy 88 tiles. That spare stock also covers a future repair, which matters because tile batches vary in shade.
Tiles needed per 100 square feet, by tile size (before waste)
| Item | Figure | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 12 x 12 in | 1.00 sq ft per tile | 100 tiles |
| 12 x 24 in | 2.00 sq ft per tile | 50 tiles |
| 6 x 6 in | 0.25 sq ft per tile | 400 tiles |
| 18 x 18 in | 2.25 sq ft per tile | 45 tiles (44.4 exact) |
| 3 x 6 in subway | 0.125 sq ft per tile | 800 tiles |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much extra tile should I buy for waste?
10 percent for a simple straight layout, 15 percent for diagonal patterns, large tiles or cut-heavy rooms. Round up to full boxes on top of that.
How do I count tiles sold by the box?
Divide your buy count by the tiles per box (or use the box coverage in square feet against your area plus waste) and round up to the next whole box. Never round down.
Does grout line width change the count?
Slightly: wide joints mean each tile covers a touch more area. At normal joint widths the effect is under 2 percent and the waste allowance absorbs it.
Should I keep spare tiles after the job?
Yes, keep at least a few. Tile lines get discontinued and dye lots differ, so spares from the original batch are the only guaranteed match for a future repair.