Enter the 20-foot shipping container load dimensions and the available space to check clearances, orientation, and tight-fit risks.
A 20 ft container has nearly 1,170 cubic feet inside — but the 7 ft 6 in door opening, not the interior, decides whether a tall item gets in.
Your tallest and widest item vs. the 7 ft 8 in wide × 7 ft 6 in high door opening — which is 4 in lower than the 7 ft 10 in interior ceiling.
Item: Measure each item L × W × H, including pallets, crating, and protruding hardware.
Space: 20 ft interior: 19 ft 4 in × 7 ft 8 in × 7 ft 10 in (~1,170 cu ft, ~150 sq ft floor). Door opening 7 ft 8 in W × 7 ft 6 in H.
Actual clear openings are usually 1–2″ smaller than the labeled size.
| Spec | 20 ft container | 40 ft container |
|---|---|---|
| Interior length | 19 ft 4 in | 39 ft 5 in |
| Interior width | 7 ft 8 in | 7 ft 8 in |
| Interior height | 7 ft 10 in | 7 ft 10 in |
| Door opening | 7 ft 8 in W × 7 ft 6 in H | 7 ft 8 in W × 7 ft 6 in H |
| Floor area | ~150 sq ft | ~300 sq ft |
| Volume | ~1,170 cu ft | ~2,350 cu ft |
ISO standard dry containers. The door opening is ~4 in shorter than the interior ceiling because of the header beam above the doors — measure tall items against the door height.
Your exact dimensions probably aren't "standard." Small measurement errors cause big problems — 1 inch can be the difference between fitting and getting stuck.
Verdicts are calculated by comparing all 6 item orientations against the space dimensions using verified building code standards. See our methodology
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Frequently asked
A standard 20 ft dry container measures about 19 ft 4 in long × 7 ft 8 in wide × 7 ft 10 in high inside, giving roughly 1,170 cubic feet and about 150 square feet of floor. The door opening is 7 ft 8 in wide × 7 ft 6 in high.
01About 1,170 cubic feet — the contents of a 2–3 bedroom house, or roughly 10–11 standard pallets in a single layer. Payload is typically up to about 47,900 lb, set by the container rating and road limits.
02A header beam runs across the top of the doors, so the opening (7 ft 6 in) is about 4 inches lower than the 7 ft 10 in interior ceiling. Always check tall items against the door height, not the interior height.
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