How Much Stretch Wrap Do You Actually Need? A Pallet Coverage Guide

Guess at stretch wrap coverage and you'll usually land in one of two places: running out mid-pallet, or discovering six months later that you've been over-wrapping every load by 30%. Both cost money. The fix is running the numbers once for your typical load, then using that as your standing order quantity.

The four numbers you need before you calculate anything

Stretch wrap coverage comes down to four variables. Measure these once for a representative pallet and the rest of the math is fixed:

• Load girth - the perimeter of the pallet footprint. For a standard 48" x 40" pallet, girth = 2 x (48 + 40) = 176", or about 14.7 feet.
• Load height - how tall the wrapped portion of the load is, in inches.
• Film width - the roll width you're using (commonly 15", 17", or 18" for hand film).
• Pre-stretch ratio - how far the film stretches before it's applied. Unstretched cast film pulls to roughly 100-150%; pre-stretched hand film is built to pull 200-300%+ before it's wrapped around the load.

The calculation

Four steps get you from those numbers to a footage-per-pallet estimate:

1. Usable wrap height per pass = film width x (1 - overlap %). Most operators run 50% overlap, so an 18" roll covers about 9" of height per pass.
2. Revolutions needed = load height divided by usable wrap height, plus 2-3 reinforcing wraps each at top and bottom.
3. Total film length consumed = revolutions x girth.
4. Actual footage pulled from the roll = total film length divided by pre-stretch ratio - this is the number that matters for ordering, since pre-stretch film covers more load per foot of material used.

Worked example

Take a 48" x 40" pallet with a 60" tall load, wrapped with 18" film at 250% pre-stretch: girth = 2 x (48+40) = 176" = 14.7 ft. Usable wrap height = 18" x 0.5 = 9". Revolutions = 60" / 9" is about 6.7, rounded up to 7, plus 4 reinforcing wraps top and bottom = 11 total. Total film length consumed = 11 x 14.7 ft, about 162 ft. Actual footage pulled at 250% pre-stretch = 162 / 2.5, about 65 ft per pallet.

On a 1,500 ft roll, that's roughly 23 pallets per roll. On a 2,000 ft roll, about 30 pallets. Heavier, taller, or less stable loads will pull more film per pallet than this example - treat it as a starting point and adjust based on what your team actually uses on the floor for a shift or two before locking in an order quantity.

Gauge and pre-stretch move the number more than width does

A heavier gauge film (65-80ga) holds up on sharp edges and irregular loads but pulls less pre-stretch than a lighter, high-performance film built specifically for pre-stretching (down in the 29-47ga range). If your film runs out faster than the math above suggests, gauge or pre-stretch ratio is usually the reason - see our cast vs. blown stretch film guide for how film type factors into that.

Machine-applied film changes the math

Pallet wrapping machines run pre-stretch levels of 250-300%+ consistently, which is higher and more repeatable than most operators achieve by hand. If you're wrapping high pallet volumes, that consistency is usually where the real savings shows up, not necessarily the price per roll.

Buying to match your actual usage

• Standard hand film in 15"-18" widths and 1,000-2,000 ft rolls covers most manual wrapping - browse the full range in Stretch Wrap.
• Case and pallet quantities are already set up for volume buyers in Bulk / Pallet Quantities - per-roll cost drops meaningfully once you're ordering by the case or pallet instead of by the roll.
• Custom widths, gauges, or volumes outside what's listed can go through Bulk & Case Pack Ordering for a freight-inclusive quote.

Quick reference checklist

• Measure girth (perimeter) and height of your actual load, not a generic pallet assumption
• Confirm your film's pre-stretch ratio - it changes footage-per-pallet more than width does
• Add 2-3 reinforcing wraps top and bottom regardless of load height
• Re-check the math whenever you switch gauge, width, or hand vs. machine application
• Order in cases or pallets once usage is consistent - the per-roll cost is meaningfully lower