Free Metal Weight Calculator: Steel Plate, Pipe, Beam & Hollow Section Weights (2026)

STRUCTURAL STEEL · PIPING · FABRICATION · UPDATED OCTOBER 2026

Section data aligned with EN 10365:2017, EN 10219-2:2019, EN 10210-2:2019, EN 10056-1:2017, ASME B36.10M and GOST 8240-97 · Calculator v5.0 · Reading time about 15 minutes

The Aienginear Metal Weight Calculator works out the mass per metre, piece weight and total weight of plates, bars, pipes, hollow sections, angles, channels and European, Russian and American rolled beams. Pick a profile, type the dimensions or choose a standard size, select one of 21 materials, and the result updates as you type. Add each line to the built-in Bill of Quantities (BOQ) and export it as an Aienginear-branded PDF, CSV or text report. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing you enter is uploaded.

How to use the metal weight calculator

1. Choose units. Use the mm/kg switch for metric input or in/lb to type dimensions in inches and lengths in feet. Imperial inputs are converted internally, and results stay in kg and kg/m (pipe also shows lb/ft).
2. Pick the material. The selector lists 21 grades, from S235JR and ASTM A36 carbon steel to 304/316 stainless, duplex 2205, aluminium, copper alloys, nickel alloys and titanium. Choose Custom density for anything else.
3. Select the profile. Bars (round, square, hex, flat, rectangular), pipe and CHS, SHS and RHS, plate, equal and unequal angles, UPN, UPE and GOST channels, IPN, IPE, HEA, HEB and HEM beams, and AISC W-shapes.
4. Enter dimensions or a standard size. For pipe, the ASME B36.10M quick pick fills OD and wall for NPS ½ to 24 in Sch 40, 80 and 160. For hollow sections choose the corner profile (EN 10219-2 cold-formed, EN 10210-2 hot-finished or sharp). For angles you can add the root and toe radii.
5. Set length and quantity. The tool shows mass per metre, single-piece weight and total weight, plus section area and other properties where relevant.
6. Add to the BOQ and export. Press Add to BOQ for each line, then download the Aienginear PDF, CSV, JSON or TXT report for purchasing, transport planning or lifting studies.

What is new in version 5.0 (October 2026)

We re-checked every data table and formula in the calculator against the current product standards before this release. The main corrections and upgrades are:

• Channel data corrected. UPN 30 to UPN 160, every UPE size and every GOST 8240-97 П-series channel now carry the standard kg/m values. Older entries for these sizes were too light by up to 35 %.
• Hollow-section corner radii. SHS and RHS now follow the EN 10219-2 and EN 10210-2 area formulae instead of sharp-corner geometry, which over-stated weight by roughly 1.5 % to 4 %.
• Angle fillets. Optional root radius r1 and toe radius r2 inputs reproduce EN 10056-1 section areas.
• Imperial input fixed. The in/lb switch now converts inputs; previously it changed only the labels.
• Material library updated. Separate S235, S275 and S355 grades with their EN 10025-2 strengths, corrected densities for Monel 400 (8,800), Nickel 200 (8,890) and Titanium Grade 5 (4,430 kg/m³), plus A106/API 5L pipe steel, aluminium 5083 and titanium Grade 2.
• Privacy. The report download no longer asks for a name or email address.

Metal densities used for weight calculation

Density is the only material property that enters a weight calculation, so choosing the right value matters more than any rounding in the geometry. Steel grades of the same family are almost identical: S235, S355, A36 and A106 Gr B all use 7,850 kg/m³. Alloying with nickel and molybdenum raises the density of austenitic stainless steel to about 7,900 to 8,000 kg/m³, while aluminium alloys sit near 2,700 kg/m³, roughly one third of steel.

Metal weight formulas for every profile

Every formula below gives the cross-sectional area A. Convert it to mass per metre with m′ = A × ρ ÷ 10⁶ (A in mm², ρ in kg/m³, m′ in kg/m), then multiply by the length in metres and the number of pieces. For carbon steel the constant becomes m′ = 0.00785 × A.

Worked examples you can check with the calculator

Steel pipe weight per metre (ASME B36.10M)

Plain-end pipe weight depends only on the outside diameter and wall thickness. ASME B36.10M fixes the OD for each nominal pipe size (NPS) and the wall for each schedule, so the weight per metre of any pipe can be read from a table or computed with 0.02466 × (OD − t) × t. Stainless pipe to ASME B36.19M shares the same ODs; use the stainless density ratio from Table 1. For full dimension data see our pipe sizes and schedule chart. For grade-specific chemistry, strength and tolerances see our ASTM A53 pipe guide, and for fitting take-offs use the ASME B16.9 pipe elbow dimensions chart.

Hollow sections (CHS, SHS, RHS) and corner radii

Square and rectangular hollow sections are never truly sharp-cornered. Hot-finished sections to EN 10210 have tight corners, while cold-formed sections to EN 10219 are bent around larger radii that grow with wall thickness. Both standards give the radii to use when calculating section properties, and the calculator applies them automatically once you pick the corner profile.

Circular hollow sections and pipe have no corners, so the plain ring formula is exact. The only choice is whether you are buying pipe (ASME B36.10M or EN 10216/10217 sizes) or structural CHS (EN 10210 or EN 10219 sizes); the calculator accepts any OD and wall.

IPE, HEA, HEB and IPN beam weights

Hot-rolled I and H sections have tapered or parallel flanges joined to the web by large root fillets, so their weight cannot be found accurately from three rectangles. Their dimensions and nominal mass per metre are now collected in EN 10365:2017, which replaced the older DIN 1025 parts. Rolling tolerances are set by EN 10034 for IPE and HE sections and by EN 10024 for taper-flange IPN beams.

• IPE — parallel-flange I-beams, the default choice for floor beams and rafters.
• HEA, HEB, HEM — wide-flange H-sections in light, standard and heavy series; the same nominal size gets progressively thicker flanges and webs.
• IPN — the older taper-flange I-beam (about 14 % slope on the inner flange face), still used for crane runways and machinery frames.

UPN, UPE and GOST channel weights

European channels come in two shapes. UPN has tapered inner flange faces, while UPE has parallel flanges that make bolted connections simpler; for the same height a UPE is slightly lighter. In Russia, Central Asia and many Middle East projects you will also meet channels to GOST 8240-97, numbered by height in centimetres, for example 20П (200 mm, parallel flanges) or 20У (sloped flanges).

Adding galvanizing, paint and other coatings

The calculator returns the weight of bare metal. Hot-dip galvanizing adds a measurable mass that matters for transport and lifting on large orders. Zinc has a density of about 7,140 kg/m³, so each micrometre of coating weighs roughly 7.14 g/m². A typical 85 µm coating on steel thicker than 6 mm (the ISO 1461 local minimum is 70 µm with a mean of 85 µm) therefore adds about 0.61 kg per m² of surface.

1. Find the painted or galvanized surface area per metre: for pipe use π × OD (the calculator shows outer surface area), for plate use both faces plus edges.
2. Multiply by the coating mass per m² (thickness in µm × 7.14 g/m²).
3. Add the result to the bare weight. For a 6 m length of NPS 6 pipe galvanized inside and outside, the area is about 6 × π × (0.1683 + 0.1541) = 6.08 m², adding about 3.7 kg to 169.6 kg of steel (2.2 %).

Why calculated weights differ from the weighbridge

• Rolling tolerances. Hot-rolled sections may deviate from nominal mass by a few per cent; EN 10034, EN 10024 and EN 10279 set the limits. Plate thickness tolerances in EN 10029 can push heavy plate over nominal weight.
• Pipe wall tolerance. ASME B36.10M is a dimension standard, and the purchasing specification (for example ASTM A53 and ASTM A106 allow −12.5 % on wall) controls the actual wall, so real pipe is often lighter than the table.
• Mill length. Random lengths, cut allowances and offcuts all change the shipped weight; add a wastage factor (often 3 % to 5 % for sections and 8 % to 10 % for plate nests) in your BOQ.
• Coatings, welds and bolts. Add galvanizing, paint, weld metal and connection hardware separately. On bolted frames, connections can add 5 % to 10 % to the member weight.
• Density assumption. Some suppliers quote stainless at 7,930 or 8,000 kg/m³; differences of 1 % are normal, so state the density on your BOQ.

How to build a steel Bill of Quantities (BOQ)

A steel BOQ is the bridge between the drawings, the purchase order and the transport plan. Each line should state the profile and size, the material grade and standard, the mass per metre, the length, the number of pieces and the line total. The Aienginear metal weight calculator builds this list for you:

1. Calculate a profile and press Add to BOQ; the line keeps its material, kg/m, length and quantity.
2. Repeat for every member, including plates, stiffeners and bracing.
3. Review the running total, then export the PDF for the client or purchasing, the CSV for Excel, or the JSON to archive the calculation.
4. Apply wastage and coating allowances before you request transport or crane capacity.

If you also need welding consumables and labour, carry the BOQ weights into our welding cost calculator. For tanks and vessels, combine plate weights with the tank volume calculator and the pressure vessel calculator.

Standards referenced by the calculator

Related Aienginear tools and guides

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate the weight of a steel plate?

Multiply length × width × thickness (all in metres) by 7,850 kg/m³. A 2,000 × 1,000 × 10 mm plate is 0.02 m³ and weighs 157 kg. A quick rule is 7.85 kg per m² for every millimetre of thickness, so a 10 mm plate weighs 78.5 kg/m².

What is the formula for steel pipe weight per metre?

For carbon steel, weight in kg/m = 0.02466 × (OD − t) × t, with the outside diameter OD and wall t in millimetres. In US units, lb/ft = 10.69 × (OD − t) × t with dimensions in inches. NPS 6 Sch 40 (168.3 × 7.11 mm) gives 28.26 kg/m.

What density should I use for carbon steel and stainless steel?

Use 7,850 kg/m³ for carbon and low-alloy steels such as S235, S355, A36 and A106. Use about 7,900 kg/m³ for 304/304L and 8,000 kg/m³ for 316/316L, the nominal values given in EN 10088-1.

How much does one cubic metre of steel weigh?

One cubic metre of carbon steel weighs about 7,850 kg, or 7.85 tonnes. The same volume of aluminium weighs about 2,700 kg and of 316 stainless steel about 8,000 kg.

Why does my sharp-corner SHS weight not match the supplier table?

Supplier tables include the corner radii. EN 10219-2 cold-formed sections use outside radii of 2t to 3t, and EN 10210-2 hot-finished sections use 1.5t. Ignoring them over-states weight by roughly 1.5 % to 4 %. Select the corner profile in the calculator to match the table.

How do I calculate the weight of an IPE, HEA or HEB beam?

Read the nominal mass per metre from EN 10365:2017 (for example IPE 200 = 22.4 kg/m, HEA 200 = 42.3 kg/m, HEB 200 = 61.3 kg/m) and multiply by the length. The calculator does this and corrects the value if you choose a material other than carbon steel.

What is the difference between UPN and UPE channels?

UPN channels have tapered inner flange faces, while UPE channels have parallel flanges that are easier to bolt. Both are listed in EN 10365:2017. For the same height a UPE is usually a little lighter, for example UPN 200 = 25.3 kg/m and UPE 200 = 22.8 kg/m.

Can I use steel weight tables for aluminium?

Yes. Multiply the steel weight by the density ratio 2,700 / 7,850 = 0.344. Note that aluminium extrusions are usually made to their own shapes and sizes, so check the actual profile drawing rather than assuming a steel section shape.

How do I convert kg/m to lb/ft?

Multiply kg/m by 0.672 to get lb/ft, or multiply lb/ft by 1.488 to get kg/m. For example, a W10x22 beam is 22 lb/ft, or about 32.7 kg/m.

How accurate is the Aienginear metal weight calculator?

It reproduces published standard values to within table rounding (see Table 3). Real delivered weight can differ by a few per cent because of rolling tolerances, wall-thickness tolerance, coatings and cut lengths, so treat results as nominal weights for estimating, purchasing and planning, and confirm critical lifts with actual weights.

Written by Muhammad Raza

Founder of Aienginear. Engineering and digital solutions professional with 26+ years managing projects, plant shutdowns and turnarounds in oil & gas, petrochemical and power generation.

LinkedIn · YouTube · Report an error or ask a question