Vinyl flooring calculator: how much vinyl plank flooring do I need?
Room area plus waste, divided by the area in one pack, rounded up. The waste for each room comes from our simulation study of 5,811 laying plans, for click vinyl planks laid straight with a third or a half offset.
Vinyl flooring calculator
Each room gets the waste for its size; the rounding to whole packs happens once, over all rooms.
Preset: the vinyl plank from the planner
printed on the box, for example 1.62 m² (17.44 sq ft)
You need
Enter the length and width of a room.
Packs of vinyl flooring by room size
For packs of 1.62 m² in rectangular rooms, from the typical value to the unlucky case in one plan in ten:
| Floor area | Straight, third offset | Straight, half offset |
|---|---|---|
| 10 m² | 7 – 8 | 7 – 8 |
| 15 m² | 10 – 11 | 10 – 11 |
| 20 m² | 14 | 14 – 15 |
| 25 m² | 17 – 18 | 17 – 18 |
| 30 m² | 20 – 21 | 20 – 21 |
| 40 m² | 26 – 27 | 26 – 28 |
Median and unlucky value of our simulation study for each room size. No spare pack included.
Worked example: a 5 × 4 m living room
- Area: 5 × 4 m = 20 m², vinyl planks of 90 × 15 cm, 12 planks per pack = 1.62 m² per pack.
- Straight, third offset: 6.1 % waste for a room of this size, so 20 × 1.061 = 21.22 m². 21.22 ÷ 1.62 = 13.1, you order 14 packs, about 158 planks.
- Straight, half offset: 7 % waste for a room of this size, so 20 × 1.07 = 21.4 m². 21.4 ÷ 1.62 = 13.21, you order 14 packs, about 159 planks.
- Add one spare pack from the same batch for breakage and later repairs.
Laying laminate instead? The laminate flooring calculator counts every plank and cut for your room, and the guide how to install click vinyl covers the subfloor, the expansion gap and the first row.
Planks without an attached pad? The underlay calculator gives the rolls of underlay and the vapour barrier film.
Frequently asked questions
- How much vinyl flooring do I need for a 20 m² (215 sq ft) room?
- With a third offset about 21.2 m² (228 sq ft): the floor area plus 6.1 % waste. In packs of 1.62 m² (17.44 sq ft) that is 14 packs. With a half offset it is 21.4 m² (230 sq ft), still 14 packs. Add one spare pack.
- How much waste should I allow for vinyl plank flooring?
- In our simulation study, straight laying with a third offset wasted a median 6.1 % in rooms of 15 to 30 m² (160 to 320 sq ft), 8.4 % in smaller rooms and 4.3 % in larger ones. A half offset wasted more: 7.0, 10.3 and 5.2 %. Long vinyl planks of 120 × 23 cm (47 × 9 in) came to 7.5 % with a third offset over all simulated rooms.
- How do I work out the number of packs?
- Floor area times (1 + waste in percent ÷ 100), divided by the area in one pack, always rounded up. With several rooms each room gets the waste for its size and the rounding happens once over the total, because offcuts travel from one room to the next.
- Third or half offset: which needs fewer packs?
- The third offset, in every room size of our study: 6.1 against 7.0 % in medium rooms and 8.4 against 10.3 % in small ones. In a small room that can be one pack less.
- Should I buy an extra pack of vinyl flooring?
- Yes. The waste only covers the offcuts that cannot be used any more, not breakage, a plank damaged while laying or a repair a few years later. Keep one pack from the same batch, because a later order often has a different shade.
Count the exact waste for your room
Upload your floor plan and the free planner works out the exact packs and waste before you order.
create a layout planSources: Autolay simulation study, 5,811 laying plans, 3 October 2026; pack contents: the vinyl plank in the planner.