Aluminium sheet weight calculator

Sheet in aluminium alloy: 9 common sizes with the mass per metre, and a calculator for your own. Aluminium weighs under 35 % of the steel of the same section.

Short answer

Aluminium sheet weighs 2.70 kg/m² for every millimetre of thickness: 1 mm — 2.70 kg/m², 3 mm — 8.10 kg/m², 5 mm — 13.5 kg/m². A 1250×2500 mm sheet at 3 mm is therefore about 25.3 kg. Aluminium weighs under 35 % of steel sheet of the same thickness. The masses of common thicknesses are in the table below.

Common sizes and mass per metre

Where the number comes from

The cross-section works out as F = a · b. For 4 mm that is 4 000 mm², which at a density of 2.70 g/cm³ gives 10.80 kg/m².

Aluminium is welded with TIG on alternating current or with a wire feeder and aluminium wire; the oxide film melts at around 2050 °C, far above the metal itself, and has to come off with a stainless brush immediately before welding. The detail is in welding aluminium.

Aluminium sheet weight by sheet size: 1000×2000, 1250×2500, 1500×3000

The aluminium sheet weight calculator handles any size, but stockholders carry three. The table gives the mass of a whole sheet straight away, plus the reverse — how many square metres there are in 100 kg, which helps when the price is per kilogram and the requirement is in metres.

How to read it: a 1500×3000×2 sheet weighs 24.3 kg and one person can carry it, awkwardly; 1500×3000×5 is already 60.8 kg — two people or vacuum lifters. The same 1250×2500×2 sheet weighs 49.1 kg in steel and 16.9 kg in aluminium. Steel masses for these sizes are in the sheet metal weight calculator.

Sheet alloy and weight: 1050A, 5754, 5083, 6082

Aluminium sheet is sold in several alloys, each with a slightly different density. The table works out two common sheets for every alloy in the site’s density table:

In practice: for 1050A, 5754 and 5083 sheet the difference from 2.70 is at most 1.5 %, or 0.3 kg on a 1250×2500×2 sheet — the calculator figure is good enough for quoting and transport. Only 7075 is worth working out separately, at 4.1 % heavier.

• 1050A — commercially pure aluminium, soft, bends well; flashings, covers, cladding.
• 5754 — the most common structural sheet: boxes, tanks, vehicle bodies, tread plate. Welds well.
• 5083 — thicker plate for welded structures and boat hulls; the lightest alloy in the table.
• 6082 — plate for machining and load-bearing parts. The American 6061, from the same 6xxx group, is less common in European sheet catalogues; its density on ASM data sheets is also 2.70 g/cm³.

The temper (O, H111, H22, H24, T6) changes hardness and strength, not weight. It does matter for welding: work-hardened sheet loses part of its strength in the heat-affected zone — more in the article on welding aluminium.

Aluminium tread plate (five-bar): how to work out the weight

Tread plate is designated by two numbers, for example 2/3.5: the first is the base thickness t, the second the thickness over the pattern T. The plain-sheet formula does not apply, but it gives two firm bounds: the base without the pattern (t · 2.70) and a solid plate of thickness T (T · 2.70).

The raised bars cover only a small part of the surface, so the real mass sits close to the lower bound, not halfway. An exact figure cannot be derived from the designation alone: while this page was being written, two product listings for the same 2/3.5 plate gave clearly different kg/m², because bar shape and height depend on the mill. For ordering, take the mass from the supplier’s data sheet; for an estimate, enter the base thickness in the calculator and you get the lower bound. Tread plate is most often 1050A or 5754.

Coil and strip: weight per running metre

Strip and coil are counted in running metres: mass per metre is width in metres × thickness in mm × 2.70. A 1000×1 strip weighs 2.70 kg/m, 1250×0.8 also 2.70 kg/m, 1250×1 3.38 kg/m.

The other way round, the length of strip in a coil is its mass divided by the mass per metre. A 500 kg coil of 1250×0.8 strip is 500 / 2.70 = 185 m — that is how many flashings and trims you can unroll from it before allowing for cutting waste.

Aluminium instead of steel: what thickness for the same stiffness

Aluminium sheet of the same thickness is 2.91 times lighter than steel, but also three times more flexible: the elastic modulus of aluminium is 70 000 MPa (EN 1999-1-1), of steel 210 000 MPa (EN 1993-1-1). Plate bending stiffness goes with the cube of thickness, so for the aluminium to deflect the same, the thickness has to go up by ∛3 = 1.44.

1. Steel sheet 2 mm: 15.70 kg/m².
2. Aluminium of the same stiffness: 2 × 1.44 = 2.88 mm, bought as 3 mm — 8.10 kg/m².
3. The saving is roughly half the weight, not two thirds: 1.44 × 2.70 / 7.85 = 0.50.

That is a deflection check; where load capacity is specified, the strength of the particular alloy and temper decides, and load-bearing parts are for the structural engineer. All aluminium shapes in one place — the aluminium weight calculator.

How many sheets and how many kilograms to order

Example: an enclosure in 3 mm sheet, 7.5 m² of flat blanks in total.

1. A 1250×2500 sheet is 3.125 m²: 7.5 / 3.125 = 2.4, so 3 sheets.
2. Mass bought: 3 × 25.3 kg = 75.9 kg — that is what you pay for at a price per kilogram.
3. Mass of the product: 7.5 m² × 8.10 kg/m² = 60.8 kg.
4. The difference, 15.2 kg or 20 % of the purchase, is offcut; some goes into small parts, the rest is sold as aluminium scrap.

Common mistakes when working out aluminium sheet weight

• Material left on steel. The result is 2.91 times too high — a 1250×2500×2 sheet shows 49.1 kg instead of 16.9 kg.
• Tread plate worked out on the thickness over the pattern. For 2/3.5 that is 75 % above the lower bound — use the base thickness or the supplier’s data sheet.
• Length in millimetres in the metres box. A sheet of “2500” instead of “2.5” weighs a thousand times too much.
• Square metres of blanks instead of sheets. You pay for whole sheets; the difference is offcut and belongs in the price.

Author: Dmitry Frolov, welder and metal fabricator Updated: 15 October 2026