Enter your meeting room's dimensions and see how many people fit in boardroom, U-shape, classroom, theatre and cabaret layouts. Unlike a rule-of-thumb chart, Metis actually lays the furniture out — real table sizes, chair clearances and walkways — shows you the room plan, and lets you fly through it in 3D. Free, no sign-up.
Planning estimates only. These figures are generated with industry-standard furniture sizes and clearances, but your legal maximum occupancy is set by fire regulations, exit widths and your licence — always confirm with your local fire authority. Fixed features like pillars, credenzas and doors in your real room will also change the numbers: draw your actual room in Metis Room Planner to get exact, defensible layouts.
Most meeting room capacity charts divide your floor area by a number. This one builds the layout.
Length and width are enough — add a presenter area if the session has a speaker, screen or top table.
Real table and chair footprints, walkways, clear doorways and space in front of the screen — the same layout engine used by professional venues in Metis Room Planner.
Compare boardroom, U-shape, classroom, theatre and cabaret side by side, watch the plan redraw live, then take a 3D fly-through of the room.
Typical space-per-person planning figures used across the meetings industry
| Layout style | Space per person | Best for | Practical size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boardroom | 1.7–2.2 m² (18–24 sq ft) | Board meetings, negotiations, interviews — everyone facing everyone | Up to ~24 people |
| U-shape | 1.8–2.5 m² (19–27 sq ft) | Training and workshops with a presenter working the open end | Up to ~30 people |
| Classroom | 1.4–1.8 m² (15–19 sq ft) | Training, exams, note-heavy sessions — everyone gets a desk | Any size room |
| Theatre | 0.5–0.7 m² (5–8 sq ft) | Presentations, town halls, AGMs — maximum headcount | Any size room |
| Cabaret | 1.4–1.8 m² (15–19 sq ft) | Conferences mixing presentations with table work | Any size room |
Boardroom and U-shape stop scaling long before the room does: past roughly 24–30 people the table becomes so long that the far ends can't hear each other and the U's open end drifts out of the presenter's reach. For bigger groups, switch to cabaret (discussion) or theatre (presentation) — the calculator above shows the crossover for your exact room.
Planning ranges for typical meeting-room dimensions — then enter your exact size in the calculator above for a real laid-out plan.
| Room size | Floor area | Boardroom | U-shape | Classroom | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 × 3 m (13 × 10 ft) | 12 m² (130 sq ft) | 4–6 | — | 4–6 | 8–12 |
| 5 × 4 m (16 × 13 ft) | 20 m² (215 sq ft) | 8–10 | 6–9 | 10–14 | 18–28 |
| 6 × 5 m (20 × 16 ft) | 30 m² (320 sq ft) | 12–14 | 10–14 | 16–21 | 32–42 |
| 8 × 5 m (26 × 16 ft) | 40 m² (430 sq ft) | 14–18 | 14–19 | 22–28 | 45–60 |
| 10 × 6 m (33 × 20 ft) | 60 m² (645 sq ft) | 18–24 | 20–27 | 33–42 | 70–95 |
| 12 × 8 m (39 × 26 ft) | 96 m² (1,030 sq ft) | 20–24 (one table) | 26–30 (max practical) | 53–68 | 115–160 |
Ranges use the space-per-person figures above; small rooms sit at the low end because doors, screens and walkways take a bigger share of a small floor. A long thin room boards fewer than a squarer room of the same area — the table can only grow one way.
The quick method is floor area ÷ space per person: 1.7–2.2 m² for boardroom, 1.8–2.5 m² for U-shape, 1.4–1.8 m² for classroom, 0.5–0.7 m² for theatre. For a dependable answer you need the layout: tables have fixed sizes, chairs need pull-back space, and doors and screens must stay clear. This calculator generates that layout from just your room dimensions.
Boardroom: about 25–30 m² (a 6 × 5 m room is comfortable). U-shape: 25–30 m². Classroom: 17–22 m². Theatre only needs ~8 m², but nobody runs a 12-person session theatre style — give them a table.
In the same room they land close, but boardroom usually edges it: the U gives up its open end and its inside is unusable. Choose by function instead — boardroom for discussion between everyone, U-shape when a presenter needs to make eye contact with (and walk up to) every seat.
Allow about 75–80 cm of table edge per person. A 3 m table takes 10–12 (4 per side plus the ends); a 5 m table takes 14–16. Beyond ~24 the table stops working as one conversation — split to cabaret rounds instead.
No. Legal occupancy is set by fire safety regulations — exit count and widths, escape routes and your premises licence — and is often lower than what physically fits. Use these results for planning, and confirm limits with your local fire authority.
The free calculator uses a simple rectangular room and the layout is view-only. In Metis Room Planner you can draw your actual room — walls, doors, pillars, screens — then drag every table and chair, check fit and sightlines, and export professional plans. There's a 14-day free trial with no credit card.
Draw your real rooms, drag the furniture, check capacity and clearances, and share polished 2D & 3D plans with clients and colleagues — free for 14 days, no credit card.
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