Cylinder Calculator

Calculate a cylinder’s volume, curved surface area, total surface area and end-circle area from its radius or diameter and height. Shows the formulas with your values, a labelled diagram and correct length, squared and cubed units.

Calculators Runs client-side Free to use

Jump to the tool

About the Cylinder Calculator

Cylinder Calculator works out the measurements of a right circular cylinder from its radius or diameter and its height. It returns the radius, diameter, height, volume, curved (lateral) surface area, total surface area and the area of each circular end.

The formulas are shown with your numbers: end area πr², curved area 2πrh, total area 2πr² + 2πrh and volume πr²h. Lengths use your unit label, areas the squared unit and volume the cubed unit. A labelled diagram with a text description shows where the radius and height are measured. The results are pure geometry for an ideal cylinder — they do not account for wall thickness, material, fill level or tolerances.

How to use

Choose whether you know the radius or the diameter.
Enter that value and the height.
Type a unit label and choose the decimal places.
Press Calculate to see the volume, areas, working and diagram.
Copy or download the summary, or press Reset.

Key features

Accepts radius or diameter.
Volume, curved area, total area and end-circle area.
Formula working with your values substituted.
Lengths, squared areas and cubed volume labelled correctly.
Labelled cylinder diagram with a text description.
Decimal place setting from 2 to 8.
Copy and download a plain-text summary.

Best practices

Measure the inside diameter for how much a container holds, the outside for how much material wraps it.
Keep radius and height in the same unit.
Convert cubic units to litres or gallons separately if you need capacity.
Use the curved area alone for labels or wraps that skip the ends.
Allow extra for waste, overlap and real-world tolerances.

Benefits

All the usual cylinder measurements at once.
Clear working for study and checking.
Quick estimates for tanks, pipes, cans and columns.
Private: runs entirely in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

What formulas are used?

End (top or bottom) area = πr², curved surface area = 2πrh, total surface area = 2πr² + 2πrh, and volume = πr²h, where r is the radius and h the height.

What is the difference between curved and total surface area?

The curved (lateral) area is only the side wall. The total surface area adds the two circular ends.

Can I get the volume in litres or gallons?

Not directly. The volume is in cubic units of your label (for example cm³). 1,000 cm³ is 1 litre; for other conversions use a unit converter.

Is this suitable for tank capacity or engineering?

It gives geometric values for an ideal cylinder only. It is not material, capacity, structural or safety guidance; real containers have wall thickness, fittings and fill limits.

What values are accepted?

Positive radius or diameter and height greater than zero, up to 1,000,000,000. Empty, negative, zero and malformed values are rejected.

Does the unit label convert anything?

No. The unit label is text only: it is attached to lengths, with ² for areas and ³ for volumes, so the results read correctly. Enter every measurement in the same unit. To change units, convert the inputs first, for example with the Unit Converter.

How accurate are the results?

The tool uses standard double-precision arithmetic (about 15–16 significant digits) and the full-precision value of π. Results are then rounded to the decimal places you choose, so the last shown digit is rounded and a value computed from rounded figures by hand can differ slightly. Very large or very small values are shown in exponent form.

Is anything I enter saved or sent anywhere?

No. Every calculation runs in your browser on your device. Inputs, settings and results are not uploaded and are not saved in browser storage. Reset clears them from the page.