How much carpet do I need?

Enter your room size to get the carpet in square yards and running feet off the roll — seams and waste included — plus the installed cost with padding and labor. Free, no signup.

Short answer

To estimate carpet, measure the room length × width for the floor area and divide by 9 for square yards. Carpet comes off a fixed-width roll (usually 12 ft), so a room wider than the roll needs seams and extra material. A 12×15 room is 180 sq ft (20 sq yd) and runs about $530–$1,100 installed with padding and labor. Installed carpet is roughly $4–$12 per square foot.

Standard roll

12 ft

also 13.5 & 15

Priced by

sq yd

1 yd = 9 sq ft

Installed

$4–$12

per sq ft

12×15 room

~20 sq yd

180 sq ft

Length (ft)Width (ft)

Roll widthCarpet grade

Include paddingInclude installation

Enter your room size to see how much carpet you need and what it costs installed.

Carpet cost by area

120 sq ft 144 sq ft 200 sq ft 300 sq ft 400 sq ft 500 sq ft 800 sq ft 1,000 sq ft 1,200 sq ft 1,500 sq ft

Carpet by room size

10 × 10 room 10 × 12 room 12 × 12 room 12 × 14 room 12 × 16 room 12 × 20 room 14 × 16 room 16 × 16 room 16 × 20 room 20 × 20 room

Frequently asked questions

How much carpet do I need?

Measure the room length × width for the floor area, then divide by 9 for square yards (carpet is sold by the yard). Because carpet comes off a fixed-width roll — usually 12 ft — a room wider than the roll needs seams and extra material. A 12×15 room is 180 sq ft, or 20 sq yd. Enter your room above for the exact yardage, seams, and cost.

How much is carpet per square foot?

Carpet material runs about $2–$9 per square foot ($18–$80 per square yard). Installed with padding and labor it is roughly $4–$12 per square foot depending on grade. The calculator breaks out carpet, padding, and installation separately.

How much does it cost to carpet a room?

A typical 12×15 bedroom (20 sq yd) runs about $530–$1,100 installed at standard grade — carpet, padding, and labor. Larger rooms, stairs, premium carpet, and old-carpet removal add to that. Enter your exact room above.

How many square yards is a square foot of carpet?

Divide square feet by 9. So 180 sq ft = 20 sq yd, and 500 sq ft ≈ 55.6 sq yd. Stores price carpet per square yard even though you measure the room in square feet.

Why does carpet have seams?

Carpet is milled in rolls of a fixed width — most often 12 ft (also 13.5 and 15 ft). A room wider than the roll on its short side must be pieced together from strips, creating seams and offcut waste. A wider roll can remove a seam if the room is narrow enough.