Bathroom Tile Calculator
Enter your measurements
Extra to cover cuts, breakage, and mistakes.
Results
- Tiles needed90 tiles
- Boxes9
- Area80 sq ft
- Thinset (50 lb bags)1
Estimated cost
per sq ft of bathroom tile (material)
Material cost is per square foot of tile only and does not include thinset, grout, or backer board. Installed cost covers tile, thinset, grout, and standard labor for a straightforward bathroom floor or wall installation; complex patterns, floor leveling, or demo and disposal add cost.
Estimate only — prices vary by region, supplier, and season. Get a local quote before buying.
The bathroom tile calculator tells you exactly how many tiles and boxes to buy, how much thinset you need, and what the total area is — all with a waste allowance built in. Enter the surface dimensions, the tile size in inches, the tiles per box printed on the product label, and your chosen waste percentage, and the calculator returns tile count, boxes to purchase, total area, and 50 lb bags of thinset. Bathroom tile is almost always sold by the box rather than by the single piece, so the calculator converts your area into whole boxes for you. Standard sizes run from 4x4 inch ceramic wall tile up to 24x24 inch porcelain floor tile, with 12x12 and 12x24 being the most common DIY choices. A 10 percent waste factor is standard for straight-lay patterns in rectangular bathrooms; diagonal layouts, herringbone, and small mosaic sheets can push waste to 15 percent or more because of the extra edge and corner cuts around the toilet flange, vanity, and door threshold.
How it’s calculated
Tiles = Area ÷ (tile width × length ÷ 144), plus waste. Boxes = tiles ÷ tiles per box. Thinset ≈ 1 bag / 95 sq ft.
Worked example
For an 8 by 6 foot bathroom surface (48 sq ft) tiled with 12x12 inch tiles, 10 tiles per box, and a 12 percent waste allowance, the calculator returns 54 tiles and 6 boxes to purchase. A single 50 lb bag of thinset covers that job comfortably, since one bag spreads roughly 95 square feet of small-format floor tile with a 1/4 inch notched trowel.
Inputs
- Surface length
- 8 ft
- Surface width / height
- 6 ft
- Tile width
- 12 in
- Tile length
- 12 in
- Tiles per box
- 10
- Waste / overage
- 12 %
Result
- Tiles needed
- 54 tiles
- Boxes
- 6
- Area
- 48 sq ft
- Thinset (50 lb bags)
- 1
- Estimated material cost
- $72 – $576
Materials & pricing near you
Bathroom tile is sold by the box at home centers, tile showrooms, and flooring warehouses across the US. Budget ceramic floor and wall tile starts around $1.50 per square foot; mid-range porcelain runs $3 to $7 per square foot; designer stone-look porcelain or natural stone can reach $10 to $12 per square foot or higher. Tile in dense coastal metros generally costs more than in the rural Midwest or Sun Belt, both for the material and for installation labor. Showroom minimums can run $150 to $250, and special-order tile may need 2 to 4 weeks of lead time with a non-refundable deposit. Most bathroom tile work does not require a permit, but full remodels that relocate plumbing typically do.
Frequently asked questions
How much extra tile should I buy for a bathroom?
A 10 percent waste factor covers most straight-lay rectangular bathrooms. If you are cutting diagonal, herringbone, or other angled patterns, use 15 percent. Always buy at least one extra box and keep the leftovers — dye lots change between production runs, and matching tile for a future repair can be difficult or impossible.
How do I measure a bathroom floor for tile?
Measure the length and width of the room in feet, then multiply for total square footage. Most installers tile under the toilet and a freestanding vanity, so it is safer to include that floor area in your count rather than subtracting it. Only subtract a built-in shower base or a wall-to-wall cabinet that no tile runs beneath.
Do I need to account for grout joints in the tile count?
For most standard joint widths (1/8 to 3/16 inch), the effect on tile count is small enough that a 10 percent waste allowance covers it. The calculator uses nominal tile dimensions, which is how tile is labeled and sold. Only unusually wide sanded joints on small mosaic tile would shift the count enough to matter.
Can I use the same calculator for bathroom floor and wall tile?
Yes. Run the calculator separately for each surface — floor, back wall, side walls — using the actual dimensions of each plane. Wall tile is often a different size or material than the floor, and walls need far less thinset, so calculate and buy each product independently for accurate box counts.