A cylinder’s volume is simply the area of its circular base times its height — the same idea as stacking circles up to a given height.
How it works
Squaring the radius, multiplying by pi, and multiplying by the height gives the volume; the total surface area adds the two circular ends to the curved side.
What this does not include
This does not include a hollow (pipe-shaped) cylinder’s volume, which would need to subtract an inner radius’s volume from the outer one — this calculator assumes a solid cylinder.
How to use this calculator
- Choose whether you’re measuring by radius or diameter, then enter that value and the height.
A worked example
A cylinder with radius 3, height 5: volume = πr²h = 141.371669.
The same cylinder specified by diameter 6, height 5: volume = 141.371669 — identical result, since diameter 6 means radius 3.
What the variables mean
| Variable | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Radius or diameter | Size of the circular cross-section, entered either way |
| Height | Distance between the top and bottom |
Edge cases worth knowing
Entering diameter instead of radius produces the identical volume once converted — this calculator accepts either, since both examples above describe the same physical cylinder.
A radius of zero collapses the cylinder to a line with no volume, so the calculator declines to show a result.
Frequently asked questions
What’s a common real-world use for this?
Estimating the capacity of a cylindrical tank, pipe, or container — from a water tank to a can of paint.
Why does the calculator ask for radius or diameter separately?
A tape measure across a cylindrical object gives the diameter, and halving it to get the radius is a common step people forget — offering both avoids that error.
Does the unit of measurement matter?
The result comes out in the same unit cubed as whatever you entered — feet in, cubic feet out; centimeters in, cubic centimeters out.
