Room Paint Cost
Estimate how much paint a room needs and what it will cost.
About Room Paint Cost
Wall area is found from the room perimeter times ceiling height, then divided by per-gallon coverage and the number of coats. Paint is only sold in whole gallons, so rounding up gives an accurate shopping list and budget before you start.
Formula
Room Paint Cost
Wall area = 2 x (length + width) x height; cans = wall area x coats / 350
- 350
- Square feet one gallon covers per coat
Worked example
With the default values below, Room Paint Cost returns Wall Area of 352.0. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Room lengthminimum 0 ft
- 12 ft
- Room widthminimum 0 ft
- 10 ft
- Ceiling heightminimum 0 ft
- 8 ft
- Coatsminimum 1
- 2
- Price per gallonminimum 0
- 40
Results
- Wall Area
- 352.0 sq ft
- Paint Needed
- 2.0 gal
- Cans to Buy
- 3
- Total Cost
- $120.00
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Room Paint Cost
- 3Wall Area= 352.0 sq ft
- 4Paint Needed= 2.0 gal
- 5Cans to Buy= 3
- 6Total Cost= 120.00
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Room Paint Cost calculated?
Wall area = 2 x (length + width) x height; cans = wall area x coats / 350 Wall area is found from the room perimeter times ceiling height, then divided by per-gallon coverage and the number of coats.
Why does Room Paint Cost matter?
Paint is only sold in whole gallons, so rounding up gives an accurate shopping list and budget before you start.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Room length, Room width, Ceiling height, Coats, Price per gallon. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.