Formula Cylinder Calculator
Cylinder Calculator works out Volume of material and Internal capacity from Cylinder type, Measurement supplied and Outer radius or diameter. The default figures on this page give volume of material of 62.831853; change any entry and the result, the working and the sources update together.
Your figures
Updates as you typeHow this is worked out
4 steps
- Outer radius R = 2 cm, height/length h = 5 cm
- Volume V = pi r^2 h = pi x 4 x 5 = 62.831853 cm^3
- Curved surface = 2 pi R h = 62.831853 cm^2
- Total surface = curved + 2 x end face = 62.831853 + 2 x 12.566371 = 87.964594 cm^2
Its 6 worked examples are re-run on every release, last on 15 September 2026. What changed
What the Cylinder Calculator calculates
Computes volume, surface area, capacity, weight and partial-fill volume for solid or hollow cylinders and cylindrical tanks.
How to use this Cylinder Calculator
Enter Cylinder type, Measurement supplied, Outer radius or diameter and Height / length. Volume of material updates as you type, and “Use a worked example” loads checked figures you can adjust. Change one figure at a time to see what drives the result.
How the result is worked out
Open “How this is worked out” beside the result for the step-by-step calculation behind Volume of material, Internal capacity and Lateral (curved) surface area.
The method follows Weisstein, Eric W. "Cylinder." MathWorld — A Wolfram Web Resource, Weisstein, Eric W. "Circular Segment." MathWorld (horizontal tank partial-fill area) and NIST Special Publication 811 (unit factors used for capacity and mass output).
Solid cylinder r = 2, h = 5 example
With Cylinder type: solid, Measurement supplied: radius, Outer radius or diameter: 2, Height / length: 5, the calculator returns Volume of material: 62.8318531, Lateral (curved) surface area: 62.8318531, Total surface area: 87.9645943. This example is checked against an independent source in the test suite.
What you can compare
Change one input at a time to see how it affects Volume of material, Internal capacity and Lateral (curved) surface area. The inputs you can vary are Cylinder type, Measurement supplied, Outer radius or diameter, Height / length, Inner radius or diameter (hollow only) and Wall thickness (hollow only).
Results are general information, not financial, tax, legal, medical or engineering advice. Check any decision that matters with a qualified professional.
See something wrong? Report a problem with this calculator
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate the volume of a cylinder?
Computes volume, surface area, capacity, weight and partial-fill volume for solid or hollow cylinders and cylindrical tanks. Open “How this is worked out” beside the result to see each step for your own figures.
How to calculate gallons of water in a cylinder?
It needs Cylinder type, Measurement supplied, Outer radius or diameter, Height / length, Inner radius or diameter (hollow only) and Wall thickness (hollow only). Nothing else is required, and the figures stay in your browser.
How do I calculate the volume of a cylinder in cubic inches?
The result gives Volume of material, Internal capacity, Lateral (curved) surface area, End-face area, Total surface area and Outer radius, each labelled with its unit so the figure can be read on its own.
How do I calculate the volume of a cylinder in gallons using inches?
The page opens with worked default figures: volume of material of 62.831853. Replace them with your own and every figure updates as you type.
How do you calculate volume for a cylinder?
A checked example is built in: Volume of material: 62.8318531. It is recomputed on every release, so the method on this page is tested rather than asserted.
How do I calculate the volume of a horizontal cylinder tank?
The method comes from Weisstein, Eric W. "Cylinder." MathWorld — A Wolfram Web Resource, Weisstein, Eric W. "Circular Segment." MathWorld (horizontal tank partial-fill area) and NIST Special Publication 811 (unit factors used for capacity and mass output), listed in full under Sources so the figures can be checked against the original.