Carpet Calculator
Estimate how much carpet to order — square yards, linear feet off the roll, seams, plus padding and install materials — using U.S. roll widths and pricing, with a roll-width comparison and a downloadable PDF.
Carpet is sold off a wide roll, so seams and roll width drive real waste. This gives a solid square-yard order estimate — your installer will finalize the exact seam plan. For planning purposes only.
| Roll Width | Seams | Linear Ft | Sq Yd to Order | Carpet Cost |
|---|
For your 300 sq ft area at $30/sq yd. Wider rolls often mean fewer seams and less waste.
How to use the carpet calculator
Four quick steps turn your room size into a full carpet order — square yards to buy, linear feet off the roll, seam count, pad, and install materials — with U.S. roll widths and pricing, a roll-width comparison, and a downloadable PDF.
Enter the room
Length × width in feet (needed for seams & roll fit), add closets, halls, and stairs, or tap a preset.
Pick roll & price
Choose a 12 ft, 13′6″, or 15 ft roll and set your carpet price per square yard.
Add pad, materials & waste
Include pad, tack strip & seam tape, set the waste %, and add a labor rate if you want.
Read results & save a PDF
Get square yards, seams, a full cost breakdown, a roll comparison, and a shopping list.
How the carpet estimate is calculated
Carpet isn’t a simple area × price sum — it’s cut off a fixed-width roll, so the calculator fits your room to the roll, counts the seams, adds waste, then prices it by the square yard. Here is the exact math behind each output.
Worked example — a 15 ft × 20 ft living room on a 12 ft roll
Net area: 15 × 20 = 300 sq ft (÷ 9 = 33.3 sq yd of floor)
Roll fit: 20 ft wide ÷ 12 ft roll → 2 runs of 15 ft, so 1 seam
Base linear ft: 2 × 15 = 30 ft → +10% waste: 33 ft
Order: 33 ft × 12 ft = 396 sq ft = 44 sq yd | Carpet cost: 44 × $30 = $1,320
≈ 44 sq yd to order (33 linear ft, 1 seam), about $1,320 in carpet at $30 / sq yd.
Carpet estimating charts
Handy lookups for the questions people ask most — how carpet is sold, square feet to square yards, orders by room size, and typical U.S. costs. Figures use the calculator’s defaults, so confirm your own room shape and roll width.
| Roll width | Sold by | Priced by | Best when the room is… | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 ft | Linear foot off the roll | Square yard | Up to 12 ft wide (no seam) | Most common in the U.S. |
| 13′6″ (13.5 ft) | Linear foot off the roll | Square yard | 12–13.5 ft wide | Common on residential lines |
| 15 ft | Linear foot off the roll | Square yard | 13.5–15 ft wide | Select styles / commercial |
You pay for the full roll width, so a room narrower than the roll still uses the whole width. 1 square yard = 9 square feet, and carpet is almost always priced per square yard.
| Floor area | Square yards | Floor area | Square yards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 sq ft | 11.1 sq yd | 400 sq ft | 44.4 sq yd |
| 150 sq ft | 16.7 sq yd | 500 sq ft | 55.6 sq yd |
| 200 sq ft | 22.2 sq yd | 600 sq ft | 66.7 sq yd |
| 300 sq ft | 33.3 sq yd | 1,000 sq ft | 111.1 sq yd |
This is the raw floor conversion. You’ll order more once roll width, seams, and waste are added, so treat these as the minimum floor figure — not the amount to buy.
| Room | Floor area | Seams | Linear ft | Sq yd to order | Carpet cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 12 | 120 sq ft | 0 | 11 ft | 14.7 sq yd | $440 |
| 12 × 12 | 144 sq ft | 0 | 14 ft | 18.7 sq yd | $560 |
| 12 × 15 | 180 sq ft | 0 | 17 ft | 22.7 sq yd | $680 |
| 15 × 20 | 300 sq ft | 1 | 33 ft | 44.0 sq yd | $1,320 |
| 16 × 20 | 320 sq ft | 1 | 36 ft | 48.0 sq yd | $1,440 |
| 20 × 25 | 500 sq ft | 1 | 56 ft | 74.7 sq yd | $2,240 |
Rooms up to 12 ft on one side fit a 12 ft roll with no seam; wider rooms need a second run and a seam. Order area exceeds floor area because you pay for the full roll width.
| Line item | Typical U.S. range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Carpet (material) | $20–$60 / sq yd | Fiber, face weight, style ($2.20–$6.70 / sq ft) |
| Pad / cushion | ~$3–$7 / sq yd | Thickness & density (rebond, foam, rubber) |
| Tack strip | ~$0.35 / linear ft | Room perimeter |
| Seam tape | ~$0.50 / linear ft | Number and length of seams |
| Professional install | $4–$8 / sq yd | Stairs, furniture, tear-out — DIY = $0 |
2024–2025 U.S. ballparks matching the calculator’s defaults. Carpet is the biggest line; pad and materials are minor, while stairs and pattern-matched carpet add both material waste and labor. Your local quotes will vary.
1 seam
1 seam
0 seams
Carpet is cut off a fixed-width roll, so a room wider than the roll takes two runs joined by a seam. Match the roll to a room dimension and you can drop the seam entirely.
- Seams = runs − 1 — a 20 ft wide room needs two 12 ft runs, so one seam down the room.
- Wider isn’t always cheaper — a 13′6″ roll still needs two runs here, so you just buy more width.
- A matching roll wins — a 15 ft roll fits the room’s 15 ft side in one run: no seam, less yardage.
Everything the calculator works out
One set of room dimensions gives you a complete carpet order — the yardage to buy, the seams to expect, the pad and materials, and a costed roll-width comparison.
Key figures every carpet job depends on
Built for any carpet project
From re-carpeting one bedroom to a whole basement or a rental turnover, the same calculator handles the roll fit, the seams, and the budget.
Re-carpeting a bedroom or basement and wants to know the square yards and seams before walking into the store.
- Start from a preset like Bedroom 12×12
- Rooms under 12 ft wide skip the seam
- Include a pad — it protects the carpet
Quoting carpet by the yard and needs material, pad, tack strip, seam tape, and labor in one place to bid fast.
- Compare roll widths to cut seams
- Add a labor rate for a full bid
- Save the PDF shopping list for the quote
Re-carpeting units on a budget and comparing cost per square yard across rooms and roll options.
- Use the whole-floor preset for units
- Keep waste low with efficient roll fit
- Total square yards for ordering
7 tips for an accurate carpet order
Small habits keep your yardage right the first time — and your seams hidden, your nap consistent, and your budget on track.
Carpet calculator FAQ
The yardage, roll, seam, and U.S. cost questions people ask most before ordering carpet.
Measure the length and width of each room in feet, add closets, hallways, and stairs, then add a waste allowance. Carpet is sold by the square yard off a wide roll, so the real number depends on how your room fits the roll width, not just the raw area.
A 15 ft by 20 ft room (300 sq ft) on a 12 ft roll needs about 33 linear feet, which works out to roughly 44 square yards to order with 10% waste.
Divide the square footage by 9, because one square yard equals 9 square feet. A 300 sq ft room is about 33.3 square yards of floor.
That floor figure is the starting point, but you’ll order more once roll width, seams, and waste are added — a 300 sq ft room often orders around 44 square yards on a 12 ft roll.
Broadloom carpet is manufactured on a continuous roll, usually 12 feet wide in the U.S., with 13′6″ and 15 ft also available. You buy it by the linear foot off that roll and it’s priced by the square yard.
Because you pay for the full roll width, a room narrower than the roll still uses the whole width — which is why order area is almost always larger than floor area.
If the room is wider than the roll, the carpet is laid in multiple runs and joined with seams — the number of seams is the number of runs minus one. A 20 ft wide room on a 12 ft roll needs two runs, so one seam.
Seams are unavoidable in big rooms, but a skilled installer hides them away from doorways and main traffic and keeps the carpet nap running one direction.
In the U.S., carpet typically runs $20 to $60 per square yard for the material, which is about $2.20 to $6.70 per square foot. Pad adds roughly $3 to $7 per square yard.
Add tack strip and seam tape, plus $4 to $8 per square yard for professional installation if you hire out. Installing it yourself drops labor to $0.
Yes, in almost every case. The pad cushions each step, absorbs sound, and greatly extends the life of the carpet by taking the wear — skipping it can void the carpet warranty.
A rebond pad runs about $3 to $7 per square yard depending on thickness and density. Match the pad to the carpet type; low-pile and commercial carpet want a firmer, thinner pad.
Allow about 10% on top of the roll-fit for a plain carpet in a simple rectangular room, and 15 to 20% for patterned carpet that needs a match, stairs, or angled and irregular rooms.
The roll width itself already creates waste when the room doesn’t divide evenly into it, so the percentage is added on top of that. Keep a large offcut for future patches.
Sometimes — it depends on how your room dimensions divide into the roll. A wider roll can eliminate a seam and cut waste if it matches a room dimension: a 15 ft wide room fits a 15 ft roll in one run with no seam.
But a wider roll isn’t automatically cheaper; if the room still needs two runs, you just pay for more width. Compare the roll widths side by side for your exact room before deciding.
General Estimating Notice: This calculator estimates carpet yardage, seams, pad, install materials, and cost from your room dimensions, roll width, waste, and the prices you enter, using typical 2024–2025 U.S. figures. It gives a solid order estimate, but actual quantities and seam placement vary with room shape, doorways, carpet nap and pattern, and installer judgment. Give your installer the room dimensions so they can confirm the final seam plan and yardage, and keep a large offcut for repairs. For planning purposes only.