From a product idea to a cost you can inspect.

No packing list yet? Choose a home size or the goods you plan to buy

There are three starting points: a whole-home reference, selected goods, or known packed volume. Home-size and selected-item shortcuts automatically create an editable list and reference volume range, then calculate eligible DDP base-freight scenarios from available volume data. You do not need to select a lower, middle or upper volume first. Goods without usable packing volume remain on your list for follow-up; any priced subtotal covers only the items with usable volume. Reference rooms and goods are planning assumptions—not your confirmed design, actual packing or final shipping quote.

The original 200–300 m² reference describes two living rooms, one kitchen, 4–5 bedrooms and 4–5 bathrooms. It covers finished building materials, furniture, cabinetry, bathroom goods, lighting, appliances and soft furnishings—not cement, mortar, light-gauge steel framing or other basic construction supplies. Smaller-home shortcuts use editable room quantities and labelled item-specific assumptions, not one universal area-to-CBM formula.

Choose only the goods you intend to buy. The original 26 lines total 93.1–131 m³; adding the optional bathtub gives 94.6–133 m³. The separate 100–140 m³ early-planning experience band is not that arithmetic total. Tile's 20 m³ reference especially needs rechecking. Flat-packed and assembled cabinets can have very different packing volumes.

Every reference volume covers the complete quantity on its line. Editing a quantity uses a clearly labelled planning assumption; actual supplier or warehouse data replaces that line instead of adding to it. Check kitchen/island, dressing-room/wardrobe and table-with-chair overlaps. No package dimensions or gross weights are fabricated.

Changing the home configuration, selected goods or packing updates the reference range and clears earlier prices before recalculation. Unknown weight can raise the amount; these scenarios are not final-price limits. A large shipment still needs comparison with an individually quoted full container. Original reference: home-experience-20260930-v1, supplied 30 September 2026; final supplier and warehouse checks remain outstanding.

Documented packing examples are another starting point

Room size can help filter the available examples before you choose an individual product: enter length, width and optional height. This compares assembled size, not layout, walking space, door access or installation fit. You can also add your own finished building materials, furniture and home goods. These examples do not confirm room fit or final packing.

The selected model's complete package set—not the room area or assembled furniture volume—supplies the planning CBM. The sheet labels manufacturer reference, user estimate and final data separately. A reference is never represented as measured cargo.

Add material, quantity, package sizes, weight and customs information to the five sections of the planning workspace. The current sheet updates as you edit. Earlier prices clear before recalculation, and a late response cannot replace a newer revision. Copy, save and WhatsApp use the same current sheet.

15 manufacturer references, with the whole package set

The free library contains 15 specific models across 7 categories: sofas, bed frames, dining tables, freestanding bar furniture, dressing tables, desks and sideboards. Each uses the complete package set from official manufacturer records. These are planning references, not products we sell or your supplier's confirmed packing.

Choose a specific model close to your product's size and disassembly or packing method. Room dimensions do not convert into shipping CBM, and a flat-pack table is not a packing estimate for a fitted stone bar counter. Extra export crates, pallets and reinforcement are excluded. Check the selected model's inclusion list: mirrors are included in some dressing-table references; seats, mattresses, bed slats and chairs are not added unless expressly listed.

Every carton or component package for the chosen model is counted, including the larger bed frame's separate midbeam. Source records and review dates belong to each model; conflicting or unpublished weights remain unknown. Replace the reference with your actual supplier's complete packing list, then final warehouse measurements before confirming shipment. A reference weight or origin must not be copied into your goods declaration.

Five information groups. One live sheet.

Destination, products and materials, packing, weight and customs details appear in one continuous form. Add them in the order you know them; use Not sure when information is missing. A usable CBM can support a provisional freight calculation without gross weight. No CBM means a checklist, not an invented amount. The sheet shows what changed and what still needs checking.

Keep the weight you know, without pretending the list is complete

If some packages have weights and others do not, the sheet keeps the known gross-weight subtotal and marks the full total as unconfirmed. The provisional charging basis compares volume-based weight with that known subtotal. For example, a documented 500 kg subtotal must not disappear just because another package's weight is missing. This is an explanation of the rule, not a customer shipment or a final price.

Missing weight is not zero weight. Final packing, the remaining weights, route limits and surcharges still require review; a partial subtotal is not a complete shipment weight or a guaranteed price floor.

Optional image reading, with your confirmation

A free local reader can help find printed numbers in a JPG, PNG or WebP floor-plan screenshot. It runs in your browser; no cloud recognition is enabled and the image is not uploaded. It does not infer room boundaries, scale or real dimensions from pixels. PDFs are not accepted—take a screenshot of the relevant dimensions first.

Check the proposed length, width and unit against the image, then confirm before they are applied. You can correct or type the dimensions yourself. Reading an image does not verify the measurements or create supplier packing data.

A calculation you can repeat

Illustrative input: USA, postcode 90001, 1.760 m³ and no confirmed gross weight. This is a worked calculation, not a customer shipment or final quote.

The available service options are alternatives, not amounts to add together. Each uses the current matching route band. The sheet shows the rate-basis review date and marks unresolved extras separately.

The sheet explains what can change

• Product dimensions or estimated cartons: protection and final packing can increase the volume.
• Unknown gross weight: a dense shipment can cost more than the volume-only result.
• Oversize pieces, restricted components and delivery access: ask a specialist before relying on route eligibility.
• DDP base freight only: shipment-specific surcharges are excluded; the final payable amount can be higher.

What changed in one real shipment?

These records follow one historical U.S. doors-and-windows project handled by Buildcargo Logistics—not a customer of this calculator. The first quotation used supplier information. The revised warehouse record lists 8 packages, 5,612 kg, 37.66 m³ and a longest package of 5.36 m.

The point is the change of evidence: supplier information became a measured cargo record before the written scope was confirmed. The quotation amounts remain private; these documents do not establish a price difference, saving or accuracy percentage.

Packed volume was not the only question

One oversized package could not be loaded in its original orientation. The team rebuilt the support to hold it at an angle. This original photograph records that correction in the same U.S. project. It is not a packing design for other cargo or proof that repacking always reduces volume.

A single-enquiry item became a written charge

The same project's revised formal quotation lists oversize handling separately from freight, destination handling, delivery and other cost categories. That is what single enquiry is for: check the actual trigger and confirm its scope in writing, rather than hide it in a low starting number.

The historical price and tax scope do not transfer to your shipment. Do not add its import-tax category again to the calculator's DDP base amount. Your final cargo, route and agreed services still need their own written quote.

Checkability is not an accuracy claim

We do not publish an accuracy percentage or a count of successful calculator users. The published Buildcargo records show real operating work, not a statistical comparison between this new tool and final invoices. Compare your sheet with the final packing list and written quote before booking.

Customs has its own evidence threshold

The current version prepares classification questions and official-source lookups. It does not automatically produce a verified duty amount for every product. Where a reviewed tariff record or value basis is missing, the sheet says Not calculated yet. Any ordinary-duty reference is not added again to the DDP route estimate.