Tile guide
How many tiles are in a square foot?
A square foot is 144 square inches. Divide 144 by the area of one tile in square inches and you have tiles per square foot. No lookup needed.
Tiles per sq ft = 144 ÷ (tile length in × tile width in)
Tiles per sq m = 10,000 ÷ (tile length cm × tile width cm)
Tiles per sq m = 10,000 ÷ (tile length cm × tile width cm)
Reference table
| Tile size | Sq ft per tile | Tiles per sq ft | Tiles for 50 sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 × 1 in | 0.007 | 144 | 7200 |
| 2 × 2 in | 0.028 | 36 | 1800 |
| 3 × 6 in | 0.125 | 8 | 400 |
| 4 × 4 in | 0.111 | 9 | 450 |
| 4 × 12 in | 0.333 | 3 | 150 |
| 6 × 6 in | 0.25 | 4 | 200 |
| 6 × 24 in | 1 | 1 | 50 |
| 8 × 8 in | 0.444 | 2.25 | 113 |
| 12 × 12 in | 1 | 1 | 50 |
| 12 × 24 in | 2 | 0.5 | 25 |
| 18 × 18 in | 2.25 | 0.44 | 23 |
| 24 × 24 in | 4 | 0.25 | 13 |
| 24 × 48 in | 8 | 0.13 | 7 |
From tiles per square foot to tiles to buy
- Multiply the area by tiles per square foot.
- Add a waste allowance for cuts and breakage.
- Round up to whole tiles, then to whole boxes.
A 48 sq ft bathroom floor in 12 × 24 in tile: 48 × 0.5 = 24 tiles. With 10% allowance, 26.4, so 27 tiles. If a box holds 8, that is 4 boxes.
Nominal vs actual size
Tile is often named by a nominal size that differs slightly from the actual dimensions on the box. For a count, the difference is small; for layout and grout joints, use the actual size. When the box lists square feet per carton, the tile cost calculator works straight from that figure.
See also tile waste percentage explained.