Wallpaper Calculator
How many rolls of wallpaper a room needs, with pattern repeat, drop matching and door and window deductions handled.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Total wall width to paper, Wall height, Roll width, Roll length, Pattern repeat, Extra drops for openings and mistakes, Price per roll
- What you get
- Drops needed, Length of one drop, Whole drops from one roll, Rolls needed by drop count, Rolls if you ignored the pattern, Rolls the pattern repeat costs you, Rolls to buy, Usable area of one roll, Printed coverage of one roll, Share of the roll that becomes wall, Offcut from each roll, Cost of the paper, Cost of the rolls the repeat added
- Formula shown
- Yes, every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only, always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Wallpaper Calculator
- 1 Enter Total wall width to paper (m), The perimeter of the room for a full room, or the width of one wall for a feature wall. Do not deduct doors or windows here.
- 2 Enter Wall height (m), Floor to ceiling, plus a little for trimming at the top and bottom.
- 3 Enter Roll width (m), A standard roll is 0.53 metres. Wide vinyl is 1.06 metres. Check your roll.
- 4 Enter Roll length (m), Ten metres is the standard, which is about 32.8 feet.
- 5 Enter Pattern repeat (m), Printed on the roll label. Zero for a plain or a free match paper. A half drop match needs the repeat added as well.
- 6 Enter Extra drops for openings and mistakes, One drop covers the pieces above and below a window and the inside of a reveal.
- 7 Enter Price per roll, Optional. Used to show the cost and the cost of the matched waste.
- 8 Press Calculate. You get Drops needed, Length of one drop, Whole drops from one roll, Rolls needed by drop count, Rolls if you ignored the pattern, Rolls the pattern repeat costs you, Rolls to buy, Usable area of one roll, Printed coverage of one roll, Share of the roll that becomes wall, Offcut from each roll, Cost of the paper, Cost of the rolls the repeat added, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
- 9 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result, that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
A 4 by 3 metre room, standard roll
A 14 metre perimeter, 2.4 metre walls, 0.53 by 10 metre rolls, 0.3 metre repeat, one extra drop.
You enter
- Total wall width to paper
- 14 m
- Wall height
- 2.40 m
- Roll width
- 0.53 m
- Roll length
- 10 m
- Pattern repeat
- 0.30 m
- Extra drops for openings and mistakes
- 1
- Price per roll
- $35.00
You get
- Drops needed
- 28
- Length of one drop
- 2.70 m
- Whole drops from one roll
- 3
- Rolls needed by drop count
- 10
- Rolls if you ignored the pattern
- 7
- Rolls the pattern repeat costs you
- 3
- Rolls to buy
- 11
- Usable area of one roll
- 4.29 sq m
- Printed coverage of one roll
- 5.30 sq m
- Share of the roll that becomes wall
- 81.0%
- Offcut from each roll
- 1.90 m
- Cost of the paper
- $385.00
- Cost of the rolls the repeat added
- $105.00
About 27 drops of 2.7 metres, three drops per roll, so nine rolls and a spare. Ignoring the repeat would have suggested six rolls, which would run out.
A feature wall in a large repeat paper
A 3.5 metre wall, 2.5 metre height, a 0.64 metre repeat.
You enter
- Total wall width to paper
- 3.50 m
- Wall height
- 2.50 m
- Roll width
- 0.53 m
- Roll length
- 10 m
- Pattern repeat
- 0.64 m
- Extra drops for openings and mistakes
- 1
- Price per roll
- $45.00
You get
- Drops needed
- 8
- Length of one drop
- 3.14 m
- Whole drops from one roll
- 3
- Rolls needed by drop count
- 3
- Rolls if you ignored the pattern
- 2
- Rolls the pattern repeat costs you
- 1
- Rolls to buy
- 4
- Usable area of one roll
- 4.99 sq m
- Printed coverage of one roll
- 5.30 sq m
- Share of the roll that becomes wall
- 94.2%
- Offcut from each roll
- 0.58 m
- Cost of the paper
- $180.00
- Cost of the rolls the repeat added
- $45.00
Seven drops at 3.14 metres each, three per roll, so three rolls with a fourth as a spare. Only 68 percent of each roll becomes wall.
A plain paper in a hallway
A 9 metre hallway at 2.7 metres with a free match paper and wide vinyl.
You enter
- Total wall width to paper
- 9 m
- Wall height
- 2.70 m
- Roll width
- 1.06 m
- Roll length
- 10 m
- Pattern repeat
- 0 m
- Extra drops for openings and mistakes
- 1
- Price per roll
- $55.00
You get
- Drops needed
- 10
- Length of one drop
- 2.70 m
- Whole drops from one roll
- 3
- Rolls needed by drop count
- 4
- Rolls if you ignored the pattern
- 3
- Rolls the pattern repeat costs you
- 1
- Rolls to buy
- 5
- Usable area of one roll
- 8.59 sq m
- Printed coverage of one roll
- 10.60 sq m
- Share of the roll that becomes wall
- 81.0%
- Offcut from each roll
- 1.90 m
- Cost of the paper
- $275.00
- Cost of the rolls the repeat added
- $55.00
Nine drops in wide vinyl, three per roll, so three rolls and one spare. A free match paper uses nearly all of every roll.
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