Bathroom Tile Calculator

How to plan a full bathroom tile estimate

The thing most people underestimate about bathrooms is how much wall there is to tile. The floor is the easy part; it’s the wet walls, the shower surround, and the little returns around a window that quietly double the tile count. The trick is to treat each surface as its own measurement and then add them up.

Worked example: a small bathroom, floor + walls

Going with a smaller tile makes a tiny room feel busier but can also make it feel more detailed — there’s a real trade-off. Our guide on the best tile size for a small bathroom weighs it up, and the cost-to-tile-a-bathroom guide covers the budget.

Don’t forget the details

Floor and wall tiles are usually different products, so keep them as separate line items — a floor tile needs a higher slip rating, and a wall tile is often thinner and lighter. If the shower is part of the job, size it on its own with the shower tile calculator, and if there’s a vanity backsplash, the backsplash calculatorhandles that strip. Budget for waterproofing and backer board too — they’re easy to forget until you’re at the checkout.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate tile for a whole bathroom?

Work out each surface separately — the floor, each wall, and the shower — then add them together. Subtract the door, window, and shower opening. Add 10–15% waste and round up to whole boxes. The calculator above lets you enter several areas at once so you get one combined total.

Do floor and wall tiles need to be calculated separately?

You measure them separately because they're usually different tiles and different sizes, but you can add them into the same project to get a single box count per tile type. Just keep floor tile and wall tile as their own line items if the sizes differ.

How much tile do I need for a small bathroom?

A typical 5 × 8 ft bathroom floor is about 40 sq ft, and tiling the walls to a reasonable height can easily add another 100+ sq ft. It adds up fast once walls are involved, so measure everything rather than estimating from the floor size alone.

How much waste should I allow for a bathroom?

Allow 10% as a baseline and 15% if you're using mosaic, small-format, or a patterned layout, because bathrooms are full of corners, niches, and openings that each create extra cuts. Small tiles in particular waste more, so err on the generous side.

Tiling a different surface?

The math behind every tile estimate is the same — area, tile size, grout gap, and a waste buffer. These versions just come preset for a specific job, with tips and worked examples for that surface. Pick whichever is closest and the numbers come out the same.