Trade Show Carpet Calculator: How Much Aisle and Booth Carpet to Order
Enter your main aisles, cross aisles and perimeter aisle (or just the hall size), plus the booths that come with carpet. Get square feet of aisle and booth carpet, the total with overage, square yards and linear feet off a 12 ft roll to check against your general service contractor's order. Built for trade show, expo and exhibit hall managers.
Work Out the Carpet for Your Show
20,680 sq ft
Carpet to order
18,800 sq ft covered plus 1,880 sq ft overage. 2,298 sq yd.
13,800 sq ft
Aisle carpet
5,000 sq ft of booth carpet.
2,068
Linear ft, 12 ft roll
21 rolls of 100 ft.
0 sq ft
Padding
No padding selected.
| Carpet for | Sq ft | Linear ft |
|---|---|---|
| Main aisles | 12,000 | 1,200 |
| Cross aisles | 1,800 | 180 |
| Perimeter aisle | 0 | 0 |
| Booth carpet | 5,000 | 500 |
| With overage | 20,680 | 2,068 |
Linear feet assume one strip per aisle or booth up to the roll width, so narrow aisles still use a full strip. A rule of thumb, not your contractor’s cut plan.
The formula
Main aisles × length × width + cross aisles × (length − main aisle widths) × width + perimeter length × width = aisle carpet.
Booths × width × depth = booth carpet.
(Aisles + booths) × (1 + overage) = sq ft to order; ÷ 9 = sq yd.
Strip lengths × strips per piece × (1 + overage) ÷ roll length, rounded up = rolls.
Planning estimate, not a contractor quote. The overage, roll size and aisle share are editable rules of thumb; your general service contractor confirms the order. Setting aisle widths? See the trade show aisle width guide. Choosing carpet, tiles or padding? See the trade show flooring guide.
How the Trade Show Carpet Calculator Works
Worked through at the defaults: 6 main aisles and 2 cross aisles, all 10 ft wide, plus 50 packaged 10x10 booths with carpet.
1. Measure the main aisles
Six aisles, each 200 ft long and 10 ft wide: 6 x 200 x 10 = 12,000 sq ft. Take lengths and widths from your floor plan, wall to wall.
2. Add the cross aisles once
Each cross aisle is 150 ft long, but 60 ft of it (6 aisles x 10 ft) is floor already counted in the main aisles. That leaves 90 ft of run: 2 x 90 x 10 = 1,800 sq ft, for 13,800 sq ft of aisle.
3. Add the booth carpet
A 10x10 booth is 100 sq ft, so 50 carpeted booths are 5,000 sq ft. Count only booths whose package includes carpet; exhibitors ordering their own flooring aren’t in your order.
4. Add overage and convert
13,800 + 5,000 = 18,800 sq ft covered. With 10% overage for seams and cuts, that’s 20,680 sq ft to order, or 2,298 sq yd (sq ft divided by 9).
5. Count roll footage
A 12 ft roll covers a 10 ft aisle in one strip, so the aisles take 1,200 + 180 = 1,380 linear ft and the booths 500 ft. With 10% overage that’s 2,068 linear ft, or 21 rolls of 100 ft.
Still choosing aisle widths? The trade show aisle width guide covers common minimums, and the exhibit hall size calculator sizes the hall from the booths you plan to sell. Carpet usually comes from the same contractor as drape and furniture; see our questions to ask a general service contractor and the pipe and drape calculator.
Carpet for Common Booth Sizes
One booth of each size, with this calculator’s 10% overage and linear feet off a 12 ft roll. Booths wider than the roll in both directions take two strips. Rules of thumb; check the booth sizes on your own plan.
| Booth | Sq ft | +10% | Linear ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10x10 inline | 100 | 110 | 11 |
| 10x20 inline | 200 | 220 | 22 |
| 20x20 island | 400 | 440 | 44 |
| 20x30 island | 600 | 660 | 66 |
| 20x40 island | 800 | 880 | 88 |
Order Aisle Carpet Before the Contractor’s Deadline
Show management orders the aisle carpet; exhibitors order their own booth flooring from the service kit unless carpet comes with the booth. Send the contractor your floor plan with aisle widths marked, agree the color early so booth carpet can contrast with it, and confirm whether aisle carpet is already in your show contract. Our trade show flooring guide covers the exhibitor side: carpet, padding, tiles and what weight does to drayage.
Draw the Aisles and Sell Carpet as a Booth Service with Map D
Map D doesn’t rent or lay carpet. In Map D’s event floor plan software you draw booths and aisles to scale, so the lengths and widths you enter here come straight from the plan, and you can export it as a high-resolution PNG for the general service contractor. With trade show management software you can include carpet in a booth type or sell carpet and padding as booth services at checkout or in the exhibitor portal. You can build one event’s floor plan free; publishing it and selling booths needs a paid plan, with Basic starting at $3,499 (plus a one-time $250 onboarding fee).
Aisle Carpet per 100 Feet of Aisle
Square feet and linear feet of 12 ft roll for every 100 ft of aisle, before overage. Aisles up to 12 ft wide take one strip; wider aisles take two, which is why a 15 ft aisle uses twice the roll of a 12 ft one.
| Aisle width | Sq ft | Sq yd | Linear ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 ft | 800 | 89 | 100 |
| 10 ft | 1,000 | 112 | 100 |
| 12 ft | 1,200 | 134 | 100 |
| 15 ft | 1,500 | 167 | 200 |
| 20 ft | 2,000 | 223 | 200 |
Cross aisles, a perimeter aisle and carpeted booths change the totals; enter them in the calculator above.
What this assumes
Every figure the calculator starts with, and where it comes from. Where the honest answer is that a number depends on your venue, it says so rather than inventing one.
- Aisle area
- Main aisles are counted wall to wall at their full length. Cross aisles add only their runs between main aisles, so the floor where they cross is counted once. A perimeter aisle is its total length times its width. Use the aisle widths on your floor plan; the venue and fire marshal set the minimums.
- Aisle share of the hall
- Without a floor plan, the calculator takes 40% of the hall as aisle. That share is this calculator's planning rule of thumb, not a standard: tight layouts run lower and halls with wide cross aisles and lounges higher. Switch to the aisle layout as soon as the plan is drawn.
- Booth carpet
- Booth carpet is booth width times depth for each booth that gets carpet, usually packaged booths or every booth when carpet is part of the booth fee. Exhibitors who order their own flooring from the service kit aren't counted.
- Overage
- 10% overage covers seams, cuts around columns and floor boxes, and patching after move-in. This is this calculator's rule of thumb; your contractor may price on the covered floor and absorb the waste, so ask which way the quote works.
- Roll width and length
- Broadloom carpet is cut in strips off a roll, 12 ft wide as the common standard (some carpet comes 15 ft wide). A strip runs the length of an aisle or booth, so a 10 ft aisle still uses a full 12 ft strip, and a 15 ft aisle takes two. Rolls are counted at 100 ft long as a placeholder; check your contractor's roll length.
What it does not model
- No built-in price. Aisle and booth carpet rates vary by contractor, city and color, and many show contracts bundle aisle carpet in. Enter your own quote per square foot if you want a cost; leave it blank otherwise.
- Cut plans. Roll footage assumes straight strips along each aisle and booth. Columns, angled aisles, ramps and seams in odd spots change the real cut list, which the contractor draws from your floor plan.
- Feature areas. Registration, lounges, food courts and stages aren't counted here; add them as extra perimeter aisle footage or ask the contractor to quote them separately.
- Exhibitor flooring. Exhibitors who bring tiles or order upgraded carpet aren't sized here; see the trade show flooring guide for their side of the order.
- Fire and venue rules. Aisle widths, flame-retardant certificates and taping rules come from the venue and the local fire marshal.
Estimate only, from the figures you entered. Not a quote. Last reviewed November 2026.
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Frequently asked questions
How much aisle carpet do I need for a trade show?
Add up the aisles: main aisles at length times width, plus cross aisles for their runs between main aisles, plus any perimeter aisle. Then add about 10% for seams and cuts. At this calculator's defaults, 6 main aisles 200 ft long and 10 ft wide plus 2 cross aisles 150 ft long come to 13,800 sq ft of aisle, about 15,180 sq ft with 10% overage. Your general service contractor confirms the order.
How much carpet does a 10x10 trade show booth need?
Width times depth: a 10x10 booth is 100 sq ft, a 10x20 is 200 sq ft and a 20x20 island is 400 sq ft. With 10% overage, plan about 110, 220 and 440 sq ft. Fifty carpeted 10x10 booths are 5,000 sq ft, or 5,500 sq ft with overage.
How do I convert trade show carpet square feet to square yards or linear feet?
Divide square feet by 9. At this calculator's defaults, 20,680 sq ft of aisle and booth carpet with overage is 2,298 sq yd. For linear feet of roll, divide by the roll width: 20,680 sq ft over a 12 ft roll is about 1,723 ft, but because strips run the length of each aisle and a 10 ft aisle still uses a full 12 ft strip, the cut estimate here is 2,068 linear ft.
Should I order padding under trade show carpet?
Aisle carpet is commonly laid without padding. Padding is a common upgrade under booth carpet, where staff stand all day. Padding is ordered by the same area as the carpet above it: padding under the 50 default 10x10 booths is 5,000 sq ft, or 5,500 sq ft with 10% overage.
Can Map D help me plan trade show carpet?
Yes, for the plan and the booth services, not the carpet. Map D doesn't rent or lay carpet. In Map D's floor plan editor you draw booths and aisles to scale, so the aisle lengths and widths you enter here come from the plan; you can include carpet in a booth type or sell carpet and padding as booth services at checkout or in the exhibitor portal, post flooring rules on a Documents page and export the floor plan as a high-resolution PNG for the general service contractor. You can build one event's floor plan free; publishing and selling booths needs a paid plan, with Basic starting at $3,499.
Sources
- Map D help center: the free plan and how to upgrade · checked 2026-11-10
- Map D pricing · checked 2026-09-18