Building & renovation
How much interior paint do you need for your walls?
Liters and cans of interior wall paint from m², surface type, coats and coverage.
Quick answer
Interior paint is sold by the liter but rooms are measured in square meters — and the label coverage (often 8–12 m²/L per coat) assumes a smooth, primed wall, not fresh plaster or old patchy paint. Two coats are the default for a color change; one coat only works when you are refreshing the exact same shade.
Advanced settings
Paint needed
8.8 liters
- Cans to buy
- 4 × 2.5 L
Typical washable interior paint covers about 10 m┬▓ per liter per coat on a normal wall. Plan two coats unless you are touching up an identical color.
How it works
Use the surface type selector when the wall drinks paint: new gypsum board and bare plaster need 30–50% more product than a previously painted surface. Open the advanced panel to match the yield on your tin, set can size (0.75–15 L) and waste — rollers and trays always leave something behind. A roller kit sized to your wall height saves more paint than guessing liters.
Two habits decide whether the wall looks even, and neither costs a litre. Tins of the same colour from different production batches can differ enough to see in daylight, so pour them all into one bucket and mix before you start — professionals call it boxing, and it is why a wall painted from two tins sometimes shows a soft band halfway up. The second is the wet edge: plan the wall so you never stop in the middle. Where fresh paint meets paint that has begun to set, the overlap stays visible after it dries, and no third coat hides it. Two things worth doing before you buy: compare the tins on real cost per m² rather than on the shelf price, and check whether the wall needs a fixative first — on new plaster, skipping it costs a third coat.
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Frequently asked questions
How many liters of paint for a 20 m² room?+
Wall area is not floor area: a 4×5 m room with 2.7 m ceilings has roughly 54 m² of wall minus doors and windows — often 40–45 m² paintable. At 10 m²/L and two coats on a normal wall: about 8–9 liters before waste.
One coat or two for interior walls?+
Two coats for any real color change or on new plaster. One coat is only realistic for maintenance when the existing paint is sound and you match the color. Dark-to-light jumps almost always need a primer coat too — the calculator assumes product coats only.
Does ceiling paint differ from wall paint?+
Ceiling paints are thicker and splatter less; coverage can be similar but application is slower. Add ceiling m² to your total area the same way — many people use the same calculator entry and buy a dedicated ceiling white.
What waste percentage should I use?+
10% is fine for rectangular rooms with a roller. Irregular shapes, lots of corners, or spraying push 15%. Buying an extra small can (0.75 L) for touch-ups is cheaper than a third trip to the store.
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