20ft container dimensions suit heavy cargo
A 20 ft container carries nearly as much weight as a 40 ft in half the space, so dense goods — tiles, metal, machinery — go in 20s. Light, bulky goods fill a 40 ft before they reach its weight limit.
Container guide
Shipping container dimensions
Inside length, width and height of every common container, its capacity and the most cargo it takes, and how many pallets fit on its floor, in metric and imperial. Choose the right size and save paying for space you will not fill.
- Metric and imperial
- Pallet counts worked out, not quoted
- Reefers, open tops and flat racks
Pricing a container? Post it free: no credit card, and nothing is booked until you accept a bid.
Inside shipping container dimensions, capacity and payload
| Container | Length | Width | Height | Capacity | Max cargo |
|---|
Loading the containers…
How many pallets fit in a 20ft or 40ft container
One tier on the floor, laid in rows and turned where that fits more: the most the floor holds. A real load is often one or two fewer.
| Container | US pallets (48 × 40 in) | Euro pallets (120 × 80 cm) |
|---|
Rules of thumb
- Dense goods go in 20s: they reach the weight limit before the box is full.
- Light, bulky goods go in 40s, and in high cubes when the cartons are tall.
- Plan a few centimetres short of every inside dimension: doors, corrugations and dunnage take space.
- Check the road weight limit at both ends: it is often below what the container itself may carry.
- Reefers, open tops and flat racks are their own equipment: only carriers who run them can bid.
Related
- CBM calculatorCubic meters, and how many of your cartons fit.
- Containers from ChinaFull and shared containers, bid on by carriers.
- DDP calculatorWhat a duty-paid price is made of.
- What you can shipGoods that need a carrier that takes them.
Choosing a container
Shipping container dimensions: 20ft, 40ft or high cube
40ft high cube container dimensions suit tall cartons
A high cube is a foot taller than a standard box for the same floor. It often costs little more to ship, and takes an extra layer of most cartons.
Pallets on the floor
Pallets are counted one tier high, laid out in rows and turned where that fits more. US pallets (48 × 40 in) are wide enough that two never stand side by side the long way, so a 20 ft box takes fewer than its length suggests. A real load often takes one or two fewer than the most the floor holds.
Outside shipping container dimensions
Every standard container is 8 ft (2.438 m) wide outside. A 20 ft box is 20 ft long and a 40 ft box 40 ft; standard boxes are 8 ft 6 in tall and high cubes 9 ft 6 in. The difference between those and the inside sizes in the table is the walls, the floor and the roof.
Door openings
The doors are a little narrower and lower than the inside of the box, so machinery and tall pallets have to clear the door opening, not just the inside height. Ask the carrier for the door size of the box it will send when a load is close.
Payload and road limits
The payload in the table is what the container is rated to carry. What a truck may carry on the road is set by each country and often lower, especially for 20 ft boxes of heavy goods. A carrier bidding on your shipment will say if the load needs splitting.
Reefers, open tops and flat racks
A reefer’s insulation takes inside space and its machinery takes payload. Open tops load by crane from above; flat racks carry what does not fit inside. All three are posted on Ebbrate as their own equipment, and only carriers who run it bid.
Using shipping container dimensions to choose a size
- Work out the total CBM and weight of the shipment with the CBM calculator.
- If the weight is high for the volume — tiles, metal, machinery — start from a 20 ft container.
- If the cartons are light and bulky, start from a 40 ft, and a high cube if they are tall.
- Check the carton count the calculator gives for that container, not just the volume.
- Post the shipment as full containers and let carriers price the equipment you chose.
Mistakes when planning a container load
- Planning to the full inside volume: rigid cartons never fill it.
- Checking the inside height but not the door opening.
- Loading to the container’s payload when the road limit at either end is lower.
- Booking a dry box for goods that need a reefer, an open top or a flat rack.
Sources
- ISO 668:2020, series 1 freight containers (Standards Council of Canada listing)
- NIST: unit conversion (metric and US customary)
Reviewed by the Ebbrate editorial team, 17 October 2026.
Questions
Container questions
What are the inside dimensions of a 40ft container?
They are in the table above, in meters and in feet and inches, with the capacity and the most cargo it may carry. Outside, every standard container is 8 ft wide.
How many pallets fit in a 40ft container?
One tier of US pallets (48 × 40 in) or euro pallets (120 × 80 cm), laid in rows and turned where that fits more: the table above gives the most the floor holds. A real load is often one or two fewer.
What is the difference between a 40ft and a 40ft high cube?
The same floor, one foot more height. A high cube takes an extra layer of most cartons, often for little more freight.
How much weight can a container carry?
The payload in the table is the most cargo the container is rated for. Road limits at either end are often lower: a carrier will say if your load needs splitting.
What are the outside dimensions of a 20ft container?
20 ft long, 8 ft wide and 8 ft 6 in tall; a high cube is 9 ft 6 in tall. The inside sizes are in the table above.
How many cartons fit in a 40ft container?
It depends on the carton. The CBM calculator works it out from your carton’s size and weight, turning cartons where that fits more and stopping at the weight limit.
Price a full container
You know the shipping container dimensions you need. Post your containers free: carriers who run that equipment on your lane bid against each other, every bid split by leg.