How Many Pallets Fit in a 20ft Container? (2026 Guide)

Quick answer: A standard 20ft container holds about 11 Euro pallets (1200 × 800 mm) or 9–10 standard/GMA pallets (1200 × 1000 mm) in a single ground layer. If your cargo can be double-stacked and stays under the weight limit, you can fit roughly 22 Euro or 18–20 standard pallets in total.

That’s about half what a 40ft container holds — but the 20ft is the right call for heavy, dense cargo that hits the weight limit long before it runs out of floor. The exact number depends on three things: the pallet footprint, whether you can stack, and the container’s payload limit. Let’s break it down.

Your pallets, your number. The counts above assume standard footprints in neat rows. Enter your actual pallet size, height and weight to see how many fit and how full the container runs — free, no signup.

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20ft container internal dimensions

Pallet counts come straight from the usable floor area. A standard (“dry”) 20ft container measures:

Measurement	Metric	Imperial
Internal length	5.90 m	19’ 4"
Internal width	2.35 m	7’ 8"
Internal height	2.39 m	7’ 10"
Door opening (W × H)	2.34 × 2.28 m	7’ 8" × 7’ 6"
Floor area	~13.9 m²	~149 ft²
Volume capacity	~33.2 m³	~1,172 ft³
Max payload	~28,000 kg	~61,700 lb

The 20ft shares its width and height with a 40ft — only the length is roughly halved. That matters: the same pallets tile across the width the same way, so a 20ft holds close to half a 40ft’s floor count. (For every container size side by side, see the shipping container dimensions guide.)

The two pallet sizes that matter

Almost every calculation comes down to one of these footprints:

• Euro pallet (EUR/EPAL): 1200 × 800 mm — the standard across Europe.
• Standard / GMA pallet: 1200 × 1000 mm (≈ 48 × 40 in) — the most common in North America.

Because the two have different footprints, they fill the container differently.

The Euro pallet’s smaller 0.96 m² base is exactly why more of them fit in the same container floor.

The math: pallets in a single layer

The container floor is 5.90 m long × 2.35 m wide. Here’s how each pallet type tiles into it:

Euro pallets (1200 × 800 mm) Load them 800 mm side across the width and you fit two rows (2 × 800 = 1600 mm, well within 2.35 m). Along the 5.90 m length you get 4 pallets per row at 1200 mm each — that’s 2 × 4 = 8 straight. By rotating the final pallets to use the leftover ~1.1 m of length, the industry-standard figure works out to 11 Euro pallets per floor.

Standard pallets (1200 × 1000 mm) Two rows of 1000 mm across the width (2 × 1000 = 2000 mm) leave little waste, and 4 pallets of 1200 mm down the length gives 8 — lifting to 9–10 standard pallets once the leftover length is used.

Pallet type	Footprint	Single layer	Double-stacked
Euro (EUR/EPAL)	1200 × 800 mm	11	~22
Standard / GMA	1200 × 1000 mm	9–10	~18–20

For reference, a 40ft container holds about 25 Euro or 20–21 standard pallets in a single layer — roughly double a 20ft. See how many pallets fit in a 40ft container.

When you can (and can’t) double-stack

Doubling the floor count assumes two things hold:

1. Height fits. Two stacked pallets must clear the 2.39 m internal height. A 1.1 m-tall loaded pallet stacks fine; a 1.3 m one usually won’t in a standard 20ft.
2. Weight stays under the limit. This is the constraint people forget — and it’s the reason to choose a 20ft. A 20ft caps out around 28,000 kg of payload. Across 22 pallets that’s only ~1,270 kg per pallet — so heavy goods hit the weight ceiling long before they run out of floor or height.

In practice, dense cargo (tiles, stone, liquids, machinery) is weight-limited and often ships in a 20ft to stay road-legal, while light, bulky cargo (textiles, packaging, foam) is volume-limited and usually wants a 40ft instead. Knowing which one you are tells you whether stacking actually helps — and which box to book.

Don’t load by rule of thumb — load by plan

These figures are starting points. Real shipments mix pallet sizes, have load-bearing and weight rules, and need a door-to-nose loading sequence. Eyeballing it leaves paid-for space empty or, worse, overloads an axle.

ContainerMath is container loading software that works the exact problem in reverse: enter your carton or pallet dimensions and weights, and it computes a 3D loading plan — how many fit, where they go, and how much volume and payload you’re actually using. It supports 20ft, 40ft, 40ft HC, reefer, and truck/road vessels out of the box. Want just the volume math first? Use the free CBM calculator.

See it packed in 3D — free trial →

Frequently asked questions

How many Euro pallets fit in a 20ft container?

About 11 Euro pallets (1200 × 800 mm) in a single layer, and up to ~22 if the cargo can be safely double-stacked and stays under the container’s weight limit.

How many standard pallets fit in a 20ft container?

Around 9–10 standard/GMA pallets (1200 × 1000 mm) on the floor, or roughly 18–20 double-stacked.

Is a 20ft or 40ft container better for pallets?

A 40ft holds about double the pallets, so it’s cheaper per pallet for light, bulky goods. But a 20ft is often the right choice for heavy, dense cargo that hits the ~28,000 kg payload limit well before it fills a 40ft.

What limits how many pallets I can load — space or weight?

Either. Light, bulky cargo runs out of volume first; dense, heavy cargo hits the ~28,000 kg payload limit first. Work out both before you book — a calculator that tracks volume and weight together will tell you which one binds.