Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Calculate a cube's volume and surface area from its side length.
This tool calculates both the volume and total surface area of a cube from a single input: its side length.
Enter the side length. Volume and surface area appear instantly.
Volume = side³
Surface Area = 6 × side² (six equal square faces)
The two results answer different practical questions. Volume is the amount of space inside the cube, in cubic units, so it tells you capacity: how much water, sand, concrete, or air the shape can hold. Surface area is the total area of the outside, in square units, so it tells you how much material is needed to cover it: wrapping paper, paint, insulation, or sheet metal. The calculator shows both to four decimal places using the unit you enter, and the side length must be a positive number.
Imagine a hypothetical square storage box with sides of 0.8 meters. Enter 0.8.
Volume = 0.8 × 0.8 × 0.8 = 0.512 cubic meters
Surface area = 6 × 0.8² = 6 × 0.64 = 3.84 square meters
The box holds 0.512 cubic meters, which is 512 liters because one cubic meter equals 1,000 liters. If you were lining the outside with a covering, you would need about 3.84 square meters, not counting overlaps and waste.
Doubling the side of a cube multiplies the surface area by four and the volume by eight. Tripling it multiplies the surface area by nine and the volume by twenty-seven. This is why a larger cube holds far more relative to the material needed to wrap it: the volume grows faster than the surface. The same principle explains why big ice cubes melt more slowly than small ones, since the melting happens at the surface while the mass is contained in the volume.
Cubic units convert with the cube of the length conversion factor. One cubic foot is 12 × 12 × 12 = 1,728 cubic inches, and one cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. It is safest to convert the side length into your final unit before entering it, so the volume comes out directly in the unit you want. For example, enter the side in feet to get a volume in cubic feet, and divide by 27 to obtain cubic yards.
If you know the volume, the side is the cube root of the volume. A hypothetical cube holding 125 cubic units has a side of 5. If you know the surface area, divide by 6 and take the square root: a surface area of 150 gives a face area of 25 and a side of 5. Use the Exponent Calculator with a fractional exponent for cube roots if needed.
That's a rectangular prism, not a cube -- its volume is length × width × height instead.
Its volume is 1 cubic meter, which equals 1,000 liters. A cube with a 10 centimeter side holds exactly 1 liter.
Volume depends on the side used three times: 2 × 2 × 2 = 8. The surface area uses the side twice, so it becomes 4 times as large.
Take the cube root of the volume. If the volume is 64 cubic units, the side is 4 units.
Yes. The tool multiplies one face by six. If your project only covers five faces, such as an open-top box, subtract one face manually.
Reference: NIST Weights and Measures