Worldwide skip size estimator
Estimate the right skip size for your job from a waste breakdown - general, wood, metal, garden, soil/rubble, concrete or plasterboard. A live fill visual shows how close you are to the safe-fill line, with cautions for heavy waste and plasterboard segregation built in.
The filling skip visual on the Estimate tab, and the Skip Guide reference table.
The Estimate tab - waste items on the left, the filling skip visual and recommendation on the right
The Skip Guide tab - every size, capacity and typical use at a glance
Add waste items and watch a skip-shaped fill gauge rise toward a dashed safe-fill line - a genuinely different way to see a job's total volume, not just a number.
General/mixed, wood, metal, garden, soil & rubble, concrete & hardcore, and plasterboard - each item gets its own category and volume.
A high share of soil, rubble or concrete flags the weight-limit caution many providers apply; any plasterboard flags a segregation reminder, automatically.
Mini through to 40-yard RoRo, each with a typical use and a rough bin-bag equivalent, in a dedicated Skip Guide tab you can browse any time.
Enter and read every volume in cubic yards or cubic metres - the whole job recalculates instantly when you switch.
Copy a plain-text summary or export the whole job as a standalone HTML file, or load a rotating sample job to see the app in action. Light/dark theme remembers your choice.
HIPPO is a well-known national UK skip hire brand with a free online skip-size guide. It's built to lead into booking a skip through HIPPO rather than to be a neutral standalone calculator - here's how a dedicated estimator tool compares.
| Feature | Skip Size Estimator | HIPPO Waste |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free - no account, no subscription | Free guide, tied to booking a skip through HIPPO |
| Works fully offline | ✓ | ✕ |
| Neutral - usable whichever skip company you book with | ✓ | ✕ |
| Visual "filling" estimate reflecting your specific waste mix | ✓ | ✕ |
| Heavy waste/plasterboard segregation cautions | ✓ | ~ |
| Instant online quote and booking | ✕ | ✓ |
| Requires a postcode/personal details to get an answer | ✕ | ✓ |
| Sample jobs and copy/export summary | ✓ | ✕ |
Comparison based on HIPPO's publicly listed skip size guide as of August 2026 (hippowaste.co.uk) - pricing and availability change over time, so check hippowaste.co.uk for current details. HIPPO is a trademark of its respective owner; this comparison is for informational purposes and isn't sponsored by or affiliated with HIPPO.
A waste breakdown dominated by heavy material - the case where picking a skip by volume alone gets people into trouble.
Swap the same 6 yd³ for general waste, wood and metal and the warning goes away - the volume is identical but the weight is not. Units toggle between yd³ (how UK skips are sold) and m³ for anyone measuring the pile. Open the browser edition to try it with your own figures.
No - use it straight from your browser, on a phone, tablet or PC, with no sign-up. It works offline once it has loaded, and you can add it to your home screen or desktop like an app. There is also a Windows desktop version in the Microsoft Store if you prefer an installed app.
You don't need one. Install Skip Size Estimator from the Microsoft Store and start using it - there's no sign-up. If you'd like to hear about updates you can register your copy with a name and email, but nothing depends on it.
No - it's an approximate sizing guide based on commonly-used UK skip capacities and a standard safe-fill margin, not a booking service or a weight-limit guarantee. Actual sizes, fill rules and weight limits vary by skip hire provider and local council - always confirm with your chosen supplier before ordering.
Most UK skip hire firms require plasterboard to be segregated into its own skip, because it can release hydrogen sulfide gas in landfill if mixed with other waste. The app flags this automatically whenever a plasterboard item is added.
