Sheet Metal Weight Calculator
Weigh steel, stainless, aluminium, copper or brass sheet and plate from length, width and thickness or gauge, with holes subtracted, in kg and lb.
The interactive tool loads here when JavaScript runs.
About this toolWhat is the Sheet Metal Weight Calculator?
The weight of a sheet is its volume times the density of the metal, and nothing more complicated than that. What makes it fiddly in practice is the units: sheets are sold in feet or millimetres, thickness comes as a gauge number or a decimal, density tables mix kg/m³ with lb/in³, and the answer is wanted in kilograms for the crane and pounds for the freight quote. This calculator handles all of that in one place.
Choose a material, type the length and width, and give the thickness either directly or as a gauge number from the steel, galvanized, stainless or aluminium table. Add a quantity and any round holes or rectangular cut-outs, and you get the weight of one piece and of the whole batch, the weight per square metre and per square foot, and the net area after cut-outs. A comparison table shows what the same sheets would weigh in every other material in the list.
- Ten material presets with typical published densities, plus custom density
- Thickness by value or by gauge from four gauge tables
- Round holes and rectangular cut-outs subtracted
- Weight per piece, batch total, kg/m² and lb/ft²
- Same-size weight in every other material, copy and share link
How to use the Sheet Metal Weight Calculator
- Select metric or inch units and pick the material, or enter a custom density in kg/m³.
- Type the sheet length and width in the same unit.
- Enter the thickness, or switch to gauge and choose the gauge table and number.
- Set the quantity, and add the number and size of round holes and rectangular cut-outs if the part has them.
- Read the weight per piece, the batch total, the weight per area and the material removed by cut-outs.
Worked examples
A 4 x 8 ft sheet of 16 gauge mild steel
Input
96 x 48 in, 16 ga Manufacturers’ Standard Gauge (0.0598 in), 7,850 kg/m³
Output
78.15 lb (35.45 kg), 2.442 lb/ft²
The traditional gauge table gives 80 lb for this sheet because the gauge was defined at a slightly higher steel density. The difference is about 2%.
Aluminium plate for a cover
Input
96 x 48 in, 0.125 in, 6061 at 2,700 kg/m³
Output
56.19 lb each
Aluminium weighs a little over a third of steel for the same size, which the materials table shows directly: the same sheet in mild steel would be 163.4 lb.
Stainless panels with holes, batch of ten
Input
2,000 x 1,000 x 3 mm 304 stainless, eight 50 mm holes, quantity 10
Output
47.21 kg each, 472.1 kg total, 23.79 kg/m²
The eight holes remove 0.0157 m², 0.79% of the sheet, which saves about 0.37 kg per panel.
Background and insight
The default densities are typical published values: 7,850 kg/m³ for carbon steel (the value used throughout EN 1993 and most steel tables), 7,930 kg/m³ for 304 stainless, 2,680 kg/m³ for 5052 aluminium, 2,700 kg/m³ for 6061, 8,890 kg/m³ for C110 copper and 8,530 kg/m³ for C260 cartridge brass, the last two from Copper Development Association data. Alloys vary by a percent or so, so a custom density is available.
Steel sheet gauges carry a built-in weight. The Manufacturers’ Standard Gauge was defined from weight, at 41.82 lb per square foot per inch of thickness, which corresponds to about 8,030 kg/m³. That is why a nominal 16 gauge sheet is listed in old tables at 2.5 lb/ft² while 0.0598 in at 7,850 kg/m³ comes to 2.44 lb/ft². The calculator uses the density you pick, so expect results about 2% below the traditional gauge weight tables for steel.
Real sheet is rarely exactly nominal. Mills roll to a thickness tolerance (ASTM A568 for carbon steel sheet, ASTM A480 for stainless) and sheets tend to be thinner at the edges than in the middle. For shipping and lifting, round up; for costing by weight, ask the supplier whether they invoice on theoretical or actual weight.
Common use cases
Freight and handling
Know the weight of a bundle before booking a truck or choosing a lifting clamp or forklift.
Material costing
Convert a price per kilogram or pound into a price per sheet or per part.
Structural and enclosure design
Estimate the dead weight of cladding, guards, ducts and panels for supports and fixings.
Comparing materials
See how much an aluminium or stainless version of a steel part would weigh before redesigning it.
Tips and limitations
- Weights here are theoretical. Allow a few percent for thickness tolerance and coatings when sizing lifting gear.
- Galvanized sheet adds zinc: a G90 coating is about 0.90 oz/ft² total, roughly 0.27 kg/m², on top of the steel.
- Checker plate and tread plate weigh more than the nominal base thickness. Use the supplier’s weight per area for those.
- For a bent part, use the flat blank size from the bend allowance calculator rather than the outside dimensions.
- Gauge numbers mean different thicknesses in different tables. Check that the gauge table matches the material you are buying.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate the weight of a metal sheet?
Multiply length x width x thickness to get the volume, then multiply by the density. In metric, a 2,440 x 1,220 x 2 mm steel sheet is 2.9768 m² x 0.002 m x 7,850 kg/m³ = 46.74 kg.
How much does a 4 x 8 sheet of 16 gauge steel weigh?
About 78 lb (35.4 kg) at 7,850 kg/m³ and 0.0598 in thick. Gauge weight tables list 80 lb because the Manufacturers’ Standard Gauge was defined at 2.5 lb/ft² for 16 gauge.
What density should I use for stainless steel sheet?
About 7,930 kg/m³ (0.286 lb/in³) for 304 and 7,980 kg/m³ for 316. Ferritic grades such as 430 are lighter, around 7,750 kg/m³.
How much lighter is aluminium than steel?
Aluminium alloys are about 2,700 kg/m³ against 7,850 for steel, so the same size sheet weighs about 34% as much. Aluminium is usually used thicker to match stiffness, which narrows the gap.
What is the weight of 1 mm steel sheet per square metre?
7.85 kg/m². Weight per area in kg/m² equals thickness in millimetres times density in g/cm³, so 3 mm aluminium is 8.1 kg/m² and 2 mm stainless 304 is 15.86 kg/m².
Does galvanizing change the weight of sheet metal?
Slightly. The galvanized gauge thickness already includes the coating, and common G60 to G90 coatings weigh about 0.18 to 0.27 kg/m² in total for both sides.
Is there an in-depth guide to the Sheet Metal Weight Calculator?
Yes. “How to Calculate Sheet Metal Weight (and Why Gauge Tables Disagree)” covers the background, how it works, common pitfalls and worked examples. Read the full guide.
Related Tools You May Like
Free, in-browser tools that pair well with this one.