Pizza Value Calculator (Price per Square Inch or cm²)
Which of two pizzas is better value: area from the diameter, price per square inch or cm², and how much bigger the large really is.
Inputs
- Working
- area = π(d ÷ 2)²: pizza 1 491 cm², pizza 2 707 cm²; price ÷ area gives 0.0204 and 0.0184 per cm²
- Cost/cm² (pizza 1)
- 0.0204
- Cost/cm² (pizza 2)
- 0.0184
- Pizza 2 is
- 1.44× the pizza for 1.30× the price
- Cheaper per bite by
- 9.7%
Use this calculator on your own site
Free embed
- Two lines of HTML, unlimited views
- Shows a small CalculateEveryday bar, with a credit link under the calculator
What each Pizza Value input means
- Pizza 1 diameter
- The first pizza's size — its diameter across the middle, in cm or inches, as on the menu.
- Pizza 1 price
- The first pizza's price, in any currency, as long as both prices use the same one.
- Pizza 2 diameter
- The second pizza's diameter.
- Pizza 2 price
- The second pizza's price. For a two-for-one or a meal deal, enter what each pizza actually costs you.
- Units
- Metric (cm) or US units (inches). Switching converts the sizes already entered.
Pizza Value formula
area = π × (diameter ÷ 2)² · price per unit area = price ÷ area · a pizza twice the diameter has four times the area
Pizzas are sold by diameter but eaten by area, and area grows with the square of the diameter. A 12-inch pizza is not 50% bigger than an 8-inch one — it is 2.25 times bigger, because (12 ÷ 8)² = 2.25. That is why a large is almost always the better deal: its price rarely rises as fast as its area. The page computes each pizza's area, divides the price by it, names the better value, and says how many times bigger the second pizza is and for what multiple of the price. Enter diameters in inches or centimetres; the comparison is the same in either.
Pizza Value worked example
A 25 cm pizza at 9.99 and a 30 cm pizza at 12.99. Areas: π × 12.5² = 491 cm² and π × 15² = 707 cm². Price per cm²: 9.99 ÷ 491 = 0.0203 and 12.99 ÷ 707 = 0.0184. The 30 cm pizza is 1.44 times the pizza for 1.30 times the price — about 10% cheaper per bite. Two 25 cm pizzas (982 cm² for 19.98) are worse value than one 35 cm pizza (962 cm²) at any price below 19.57.
More Pizza Value examples
A 12-inch pizza at 14.99 against a 16-inch at 21.99: 113.1 against 201.1 square inches, so the 16-inch is 1.78 times the pizza for 1.47 times the price. The result reads Better value: Pizza 2 — 17.5% cheaper per bite.
Where the Pizza Value calculator can give the wrong answer
- Diameters on menus are nominal. A '12-inch' pizza that measures 11 inches has 16% less area; measure the box if it matters.
- Crust counts as area here but not as topping. Thick crusts and wide rims mean the topped area grows slower than the whole area.
- Price per area is one measure of value; a pizza too big to finish is not a bargain, and toppings, delivery and deals change the arithmetic.
- Rectangular pizzas: enter an equivalent diameter, d = √(4 × width × length ÷ π), or compare areas directly.
- Ties are reported as ties when the cost per unit area is equal to four decimals.
Spotted a mistake? Tell us
Pizza Value reference table
| Diameter | Area | Compared with a 12-inch |
|---|---|---|
| 8 in | 50.3 sq in | 0.44× |
| 10 in | 78.5 sq in | 0.69× |
| 12 in | 113.1 sq in | 1× |
| 14 in | 153.9 sq in | 1.36× |
| 16 in | 201.1 sq in | 1.78× |
| 18 in | 254.5 sq in | 2.25× |
Pizza Value FAQ
- Usually. An 18-inch pizza has 254 in² of pizza; two 12-inch pizzas have 226 in² between them and typically cost more. Because area goes with the square of the diameter, one big pizza beats two smaller ones unless the price gap is large.
- 44% bigger: (12 ÷ 10)² = 1.44. A 14-inch is 96% bigger than a 10-inch, and a 16-inch is 2.56 times — more than two and a half 10-inch pizzas.
- Divide the price by π × (diameter ÷ 2)². A 14-inch pizza at $16: area 153.9 in², so $0.104 per square inch. Enter two pizzas and the page does both and picks the cheaper.
- Because the pizzeria's fixed costs — the box, the labour, the oven slot — are similar for every size, while the ingredients scale with area. The price of a small covers mostly the fixed part, so its price per square inch is high.
- Yes: one 18-inch pizza is 254.5 square inches, two 12-inch pizzas 226.2 — the single large one has 12.5% more pizza, often for less money.
- The page compares whole areas, crust included. A rim is a bigger share of a small pizza: a 2 cm crust is 29% of a 25 cm pizza's area but 25% of a 30 cm one, so the bigger pizza's advantage in topping is larger still.
- Not on this page, which takes diameters. A square pizza's area is its side squared — a 12-inch square is 144 square inches, more than a 12-inch round's 113.1.