What is the difference between a rectangular prism and a cuboid?

They are the same shape. A cuboid (or rectangular parallelepiped) is the formal geometry term, while "rectangular prism" is the more common educational term. Both refer to a box-shaped solid with six rectangular faces.

What is the formula for the total surface area?

The total surface area is SA = 2(lw + lh + wh). This sums the area of all six rectangular faces: two l×w faces (top and bottom), two l×h faces (front and back), and two w×h faces (left and right sides).

Does the order of length, width, and height matter?

For volume it does not matter — multiplication is commutative, so l × w × h = w × l × h. For surface area the formula is also symmetric, so you can enter the dimensions in any order and get the same result.

How many decimal places does the result use?

Results are shown to 4 decimal places with trailing zeros removed. The internal calculation uses full floating-point precision.

Volume of a Rectangular Prism Calculator

Enter the length, width, and height of a rectangular prism to instantly calculate its volume (V = l × w × h) and total surface area.

Prism Dimensions

Unit

Length (l)

Width (w)

Height (h)

Formula Reference

Volume V = l × w × h

Surface Area SA = 2(lw + lh + wh)

Enter the length, width, and height, then click Calculate Volume.

Prism Diagram

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Summary

This calculator computes the volume of a rectangular prism (also called a cuboid or box) using V = l × w × h, where l is the length, w is the width, and h is the height. As a bonus it also calculates the total surface area using SA = 2(lw + lh + wh). All results update instantly as you type.

How it works

Enter the length of the rectangular prism.
Enter the width of the rectangular prism.
Enter the height of the rectangular prism.
Select your preferred unit (cm, m, in, or ft).
The volume and total surface area are calculated instantly.
Use the Copy button to copy the volume result to your clipboard.

Use cases

Calculate the volume of a cardboard shipping box.
Estimate concrete volume for a rectangular foundation.
Determine storage capacity of a rectangular tank or container.
Solve geometry homework problems involving rectangular prisms.
Compute fill volume for a rectangular garden bed or raised planter.
Verify 3D model box dimensions during product packaging design.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-05-25 · Reviewed by Nham Vu