Cylinder Volume Calculator
Find the volume of a cylinder from its radius or diameter and height, in cubic units, liters and gallons, plus its surface area. Works for hollow tubes too.
The volume of a cylinder is pi times the radius squared times the height: V = πr²h. A cylinder with a 3 inch radius and a height of 10 inches holds 282.743 cubic inches, which is 4.63333 liters or 1.224 US gallons. If you measured the diameter, halve it first. Enter your measurements to get the volume in cubic units, liters and gallons, plus the surface area.
This calculator assumes a perfect right circular cylinder with straight sides and flat ends; it does not handle tanks lying on their side, partial fill levels, domed or cone ends, or wall thickness unless you enter an inner size. Results are shown to six significant digits, so check critical measurements yourself.
Volume
282.743 in³
- Liters
- 4.63333
- US gallons
- 1.224
- Cubic feet
- 0.163625
- Cubic meters
- 0.00463333
- Base area (each end)
- 28.2743 in²
- Side (lateral) area
- 188.496 in²
- Total surface area
- 245.044 in²
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About the Cylinder Volume Calculator
A cylinder is a circle stretched straight up, so its volume is the area of the circle at its base, πr², times the height. The calculator takes either the radius or the diameter (it halves a diameter for you), works in inches, feet, yards, millimeters, centimeters or meters, and converts the result with exact definitions: an inch is 2.54 centimeters, a liter is 1,000 cubic centimeters and a US gallon is 231 cubic inches. A drum 22.5 inches across and 33.5 inches tall works out to 13,319.9 cubic inches, or 57.6617 US gallons to the brim. In metric, a 5 cm radius and 20 cm height gives 1,570.8 cubic centimeters, which is 1.5708 liters. For a tube or pipe, enter the inner measurement too and the calculator gives the volume of the wall itself: a 10 foot tube 4 inches across outside and 3.5 inches inside has 353.429 cubic inches of wall. The surface area shows the side (2πrh), each end (πr²) and the total, which is what you need for paint, insulation or a label wrap. For the default 3 by 10 inch cylinder, the side is 188.496 square inches and the whole outside 245.044.
Frequently asked questions
What is the formula for the volume of a cylinder?+
V = πr²h, where r is the radius of the circular end and h is the height. With a diameter d, use V = π(d/2)²h. The units of the answer are the cube of the units you measured in, so inches give cubic inches.
How do I find how many gallons a cylinder tank holds?+
Measure the inside diameter and the inside height in inches, then the calculator divides the cubic inches by 231, the exact number in one US gallon. The result is the volume to the brim; a tank lying on its side or only partly full holds less.
How do I calculate the volume of a hollow cylinder or pipe?+
Subtract the inner cylinder from the outer one: V = π(R² − r²)h, with R the outer radius and r the inner radius. Enter an inner radius or diameter above zero and the calculator does this. To find how much a pipe holds instead, enter only the inside measurement as a solid cylinder.
What is the surface area of a cylinder?+
The side is 2πrh, each circular end is πr², so a closed solid cylinder has 2πrh + 2πr² in total. For a hollow cylinder the calculator adds the inner wall and uses the ring-shaped ends.
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