Surface Area Calculator
Surface area calculator works out Volume and Total surface area from Solid, Dimension A and Dimension B. The default figures on this page give total surface area of 54; 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
- Solid: Cube
- Dimensions: edge length = 3 cm
- Total surface area = 54 cm^2 = 0.0054 m^2
- Volume = 27 cm^3 = 0.027 L = 0.000953496 ft^3
Its 7 worked examples are re-run on every release, last on 15 September 2026. What changed
Sources and references
3 sources
What the surface area calculator calculates
Volume, surface area, lateral area and weight for 19 standard solids: prisms, pyramids, cylinders, cones, spheres, Platonic solids, tori, ellipsoids, caps and capsules.
How to use this surface area calculator
Enter Solid, Dimension A, Dimension B and Dimension C. Volume updates as you type. 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, Total surface area and Lateral surface area.
The method follows Weisstein, Eric W. "Solid Geometry" and the individual solid entries. MathWorld — A Wolfram Web Resource, CRC Standard Mathematical Tables and Formulae, mensuration of solids and Thomsen, Knud — approximate formula for the surface area of an ellipsoid (p = 1.6075), documented at Numericana "Surface area of an ellipsoid".
What you can compare
Change one input at a time to see how it affects Volume, Total surface area and Lateral surface area. The inputs you can vary are Solid, Dimension A, Dimension B, Dimension C, Number of base sides and Length unit.
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 to calculate surface area?
Volume, surface area, lateral area and weight for 19 standard solids: prisms, pyramids, cylinders, cones, spheres, Platonic solids, tori, ellipsoids, caps and capsules. Open “How this is worked out” beside the result to see each step for your own figures.
How to work out m2 of an area?
It needs Solid, Dimension A, Dimension B, Dimension C, Number of base sides and Length unit. Nothing else is required, and the figures stay in your browser.
What are surface area formulas?
Volume, surface area, lateral area and weight for 19 standard solids: prisms, pyramids, cylinders, cones, spheres, Platonic solids, tori, ellipsoids, caps and capsules. On this page it is computed from Solid, Dimension A and Dimension B and shown as Volume, Total surface area and Lateral surface area.
What information do I need for the surface area calculator?
You need Solid, Dimension A, Dimension B, Dimension C, Number of base sides, Length unit, Density (optional) and Density unit. The page opens with default figures that give total surface area of 54, so you can see the scale before entering your own.
What does this surface area calculator show?
It shows Volume, Total surface area, Lateral surface area, Base / cross-section area, Slant height, Space diagonal, Solid and Dimensions used, with the working and any warnings for your entries.
Can I check how the surface area calculator result was calculated?
Yes. The “How this is worked out” section shows the calculation steps, and the sources section identifies the references used for the method.