Shower Tile Calculator
Enter your measurements
Extra to cover cuts, breakage, and mistakes.
Results
- Tiles needed46 tiles
- Boxes6
- Area80 sq ft
- Thinset (50 lb bags)1
Estimated cost
per sq ft of shower tile (material)
Material cost is per sq ft of tile only and excludes thinset, grout, and waterproofing. Installed cost includes waterproofing (cement board or a sheet/liquid membrane), thinset, grout, labor, and a standard niche; custom niches, heated floors, or specialty stone push toward the upper end.
Estimate only — prices vary by region, supplier, and season. Get a local quote before buying.
A shower tile calculator takes the guesswork out of ordering materials by converting your wall and floor dimensions into exact tile counts, box quantities, and thinset bags — with a realistic waste buffer already built in. Showers are more cut-intensive than open floor runs because every valve, corner, niche, and curb generates unusable offcuts; a 10–15% waste allowance is standard for a stacked or offset layout, and diagonal or herringbone patterns push that closer to 20%. Tile is sold by the box, not by the piece, and box coverage varies widely — a box of 4x12 subway tile might cover about 10 sq ft while a box of large-format 12x24s can cover 16 sq ft or more. Knowing your exact box count prevents the two most common jobsite headaches: running short mid-install, where dye lots rarely match on a reorder, and over-ordering tile that a retailer won't take back once the box is opened.
How it’s calculated
Tiles = Area ÷ (tile width × length ÷ 144), plus waste. Boxes = tiles ÷ tiles per box. Thinset ≈ 1 bag / 95 sq ft.
Worked example
Consider a shower tiled floor-to-ceiling with 18 ft of total wall run at 8 ft of height — a 144 sq ft tiled surface — using 12x24 in tiles packed 8 to a box with a 15% waste factor. Each 12x24 covers 2 sq ft, so 144 sq ft needs 72 tiles before waste; adding 15% brings it to 83 tiles, which rounds up to 11 boxes. The calculator also returns 2 bags of 50 lb thinset at the formula's coverage of roughly 95 sq ft per bag. That box count — 11, not the 83-tile figure — is the number to bring to your tile dealer, because boxes are how the product is stocked and priced.
Inputs
- Surface length
- 18 ft
- Surface width / height
- 8 ft
- Tile width
- 12 in
- Tile length
- 24 in
- Tiles per box
- 8
- Waste / overage
- 15 %
Result
- Tiles needed
- 83 tiles
- Boxes
- 11
- Area
- 144 sq ft
- Thinset (50 lb bags)
- 2
- Estimated material cost
- $288 – $2,160
Materials & pricing near you
Shower tile is sold by the box at tile showrooms, big-box stores, and online dealers. Entry-level ceramic wall tile starts around $2–$3 per sq ft; mid-grade porcelain — the most common shower choice because its low water absorption suits wet walls — typically runs $3–$8 per sq ft; designer stone-look and large-format porcelain slabs can reach $10–$15 or more. Northeast and West Coast metros tend to carry higher shelf prices and delivery minimums, and some distributors require a full-pallet order for free freight, so small jobs may pay a delivery fee. Thinset and grout are commodity items that vary little by region. A like-for-like tile replacement rarely needs a permit, but the waterproofing behind it — cement board, a sheet membrane, or a liquid-applied membrane — must meet local IRC requirements where work is inspected.
Frequently asked questions
How much extra tile should I order for a shower?
Plan for at least 10% waste on a straightforward stacked or offset pattern, and 15% or more when you have multiple niches, a built-in bench, or a diagonal or herringbone layout. Shower walls produce more cuts per square foot than open floors because every pipe, valve, corner, and curb requires notching. Ordering one extra box upfront is far cheaper than reordering later and risking a dye-lot mismatch that shows as a visible color shift on the wall.
What tile size works best for shower walls?
4x12 subway, 3x6 brick, and 12x24 large-format tiles are the three most popular shower wall formats in the US. Larger tiles (12x24 and up) create a more seamless look with fewer grout joints, which means less grout to clean and seal in a wet area. The tradeoff: large-format tiles need a flat substrate and more back-buttering on out-of-plumb walls, so they take longer to set — factor that into your labor budget.
How do I measure total square footage for a shower?
Measure each wall individually (width times height in inches, then divide by 144 to get sq ft) and add the panels together. As a practical convention, subtract only large openings such as a window or a recessed niche; a single fixture penetration is left in and absorbed by your waste allowance. Measure the shower floor separately if you are tiling it, since floor tile is usually a different size and finish — often small mosaic for slope and grip — than the wall tile.
How much thinset do I need for a shower?
A 50 lb bag of modified thinset covers roughly 40–95 sq ft depending on tile size and trowel notch — small tile with a fine trowel reaches the high end, while large-format tile with a deep-notch trowel and back-buttering can drop to 40–50 sq ft per bag. This calculator estimates about 95 sq ft per bag, which suits average wall tile; if you are setting 12x24 or larger, budget closer to one bag per 40–50 sq ft and confirm coverage on your product's data sheet.