Pizza Box Sizes and Dimensions

Which box fits each pizza, how deep it should be, auto corner versus lock corner, round fiber boxes, and the extras that ride along

A pizza box is named for the pizza it carries: a 12-inch box holds a 12-inch pie, and a 16-inch box holds a 16-inch pie. Square corrugated boxes run from small personal sizes up to extra large, in two depths, and round molded fiber boxes add a plastic-free option for the most common sizes. The chart below lists every size on our listings with its inside dimensions, depth and corner style, followed by how much pizza each size really holds and how to pick the boxes for a menu.

Pizza Box Size Chart

Square pizza boxes are listed by length, width and depth in inches. The length and width match the diameter of the pizza, with the corners of the square giving the pie room so it can be lifted out without tearing.

Size names are not a standard. One pizzeria's large is another's medium, and chains publish their own numbers. The "often sold as" column is the common reading, not a rule, so order boxes by the inch measurement on your menu and never by the word.

Measure the baked pie, not the dough ball. The pizza that matters is the one coming off the pan or the deck, edge to edge, crust included. A pie that spreads past its pan in the oven may need the next box up, so it is worth boxing a few real pies before ordering cases.

How Much Pizza Each Size Holds

Pizza grows with the square of its width, so a few inches across adds a lot of pizza. The figures below are plain geometry for a round pie at each size, not a recipe or a portion rule.

The jump from medium to extra large surprises people: a 16-inch pie carries close to twice the pizza of a 12-inch pie, and two 12-inch pies together are only slightly more pizza than one 16-inch. That math is why the biggest box on the shelf often moves the most product for catering orders and office lunches, and why the smallest sizes earn their spot as single-serve and lunch-special boxes rather than as a cheaper way to feed a group.

How a shop slices each size is its own call. Most cut the smaller pies into fewer slices and the larger ones into more, and some cut extra-large pies into squares for parties, which fits the same box.

Box Depth: Shallow or Deep

The square boxes on our listings come in two depths, and the depth decides what toppings and crusts travel well.

The shallower boxes suit thin and hand-tossed pies with a normal load of cheese and toppings. They take less room in a delivery bag and on the storage shelf, and on our listings every shallow box is an auto corner box, so the shallow depth and the quick-folding corner come as a pair.

The deeper boxes leave headroom for thick crusts, pan pizza, stuffed crusts and heavy topping loads, where a lid that sits too close lifts the cheese off the pie when the box opens. Depth also helps when a stacker sits in the middle of the pizza, since the stacker needs room under the lid to do its job. The deeper boxes on our listings are the lock corner and heavy lock corner styles.

If a menu runs both thin and deep pies at the same diameter, it is common to carry one depth for each, or to standardize on the deeper box so one box covers every pie in that size.

Auto Corner and Lock Corner Boxes

The difference is how the box goes together, and it shows up most on a busy Friday night when the prep crew is folding boxes between orders.

Auto corner boxes are built with four automatic corners, so the flat box pops up into shape in one motion. They are the fastest to set up, which is why many shops keep a stack of them pre-folded near the oven.

Lock corner boxes start as a single flat piece that folds up, with corner tabs that lock the walls in place. They take a little longer to fold, the locked corners give the walls a firm hold, and they are the style that comes in the deeper size on our listings.

Heavy lock corner boxes use a heavier board for big, loaded pies and for orders that stack several boxes high in a delivery bag. The rectangular heavy box on our listings is a two-piece build for oblong items.

The square boxes on our listings are white boxes made from 100 percent recycled cardboard, and a plain white lid takes a shop's own stamp or sticker.

Round Molded Fiber Pizza Boxes

Round fiber boxes are pressed from bamboo and unbleached plant fiber rather than folded from corrugated board, and they follow the shape of the pie instead of a square. On our listings they come two ways: a tray with a separate lid, and a one-piece hinged clamshell.

Trays stand about an inch and a half tall with lids about an inch tall, and the clamshells about two inches tall. Lids are sold separately from the trays, so order them in matching sizes.

Plan for the wider footprint. A round fiber box runs a couple of inches wider than the pizza inside it, because of the rim. A 14-inch pie in a fiber tray takes up about the same width as a 16-inch square box, which matters when sizing delivery bags and warming shelves.

What the listings say about the material. The fiber boxes contain no wax or plastic lining, resist grease and moisture, are freezer safe and are certified compostable in commercial composting facilities. That last point matters: they are made for a commercial compost stream, so check that your area has one before promising guests the box can be composted at home. The maker also notes the trays work as entree platters, not just for pizza.

Stackers, Slice Holders and Pizza Circles

The box is only part of the order. Three small items on our listings keep pizza looking right when it arrives.

Pizza box stackers. These small plastic stands sit in the center of the pie and hold the lid up. The listings describe them as keeping boxes from collapsing during transport, which protects the cheese and toppings when boxes are stacked in a bag or on a car seat. They are sold in large case counts, since every delivery pie takes one.

Pizza slice holders. Laminated paperboard holders carry a single slice, made for food trucks, concession stands, pizzerias and quick-serve counters selling by the slice. They keep the slice flat and the customer's hands clean without a full box.

Pizza circles. Silicone pizza circles round out the list in medium and large sizes.

Our insulated food delivery bags keep boxes hot on the way to the door; check the inside dimensions of a bag against your largest box, and remember that round fiber boxes need extra width.

Choosing Box Sizes for a Menu

Start with the menu, not the box catalog. Every pizza size on the menu needs one matching box size, in a depth that suits the thickest pie made at that size.

Match one box to each menu size. If the menu offers small, medium, large and extra large, that is four box sizes, ordered by inches. Adding a box size the menu does not use only takes up shelf space.

Pick a depth per size, not per shop. Thin-crust shops can run the shallow box across the board. Shops with pan or stuffed pies at one size often carry the deeper box at that size only.

Decide on corners by labor and load. Auto corner boxes save time at the line, while lock corner boxes give a firm, deeper box for heavy pies. A shop with steady volume may fold lock corner boxes ahead each afternoon, while a high-volume delivery kitchen may want auto corners stacked and ready.

Plan for slices and personal pies. A by-the-slice counter needs slice holders more than small boxes, and a lunch special built around a personal pie needs the small square box sized to that pan.

Add the extras. Count one stacker per delivery pie, a case of circles for the sizes that use them, and lids for every fiber tray.

Store them flat and dry. Corrugated boxes soften with moisture and steam, so keep the case off the floor and away from the dish area, and fold only what the next rush needs.

Shop Pizza Boxes

Carry one box per menu size in the depth your thickest pie needs, a case of stackers for delivery and slice holders if you sell by the slice. Our pizza boxes and accessories cover square boxes from personal to extra large, round fiber trays and clamshells, stackers, slice holders and pizza circles, and insulated food delivery bags keep them hot on the way out the door. For the pans the pies bake on, see our pizza pans.

Related Guides & Resources

• Commercial Pizza Oven Guide - Deck, conveyor and wood-fired ovens and the equipment around them.
• Eco-Friendly Food Packaging Guide - Where corrugated and molded fiber sit among the other takeout materials.
• Concession Equipment & Supplies Guide - Setting up a stand that sells pizza by the slice.
• Food Truck Equipment Checklist - Equipment and supplies for a mobile pizza menu.
• Aluminum Foil Pan Sizes - Foil pizza pans and catering trays for take-and-bake and party orders.

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