I Beam Weight Calculator

Introduction

The I Beam Weight Calculator tells you how much a steel I-beam weighs. Pick a standard profile like IPE, HW, HM, HN, HP, or a hot rolled I-beam, then enter the length. You can also type your own sizes: height (H), flange width (B), web thickness (t₁), flange thickness (t₂), and fillet radius (r).

The tool shows the total weight in kilograms, pounds, metric tons, and grams. It also gives you the weight per meter, the cross-sectional area, and the section perimeter. You can change the material too, from mild steel to aluminum, copper, brass, and more.

You get a scaled drawing of the beam cross-section, a step-by-step math solution, and charts that split the weight between the web, the flanges, and the fillets. Use it to plan steel orders, check shipping loads, guess crane lifts, or price a job before you buy.

How to use our I Beam Weight Calculator

Pick a standard beam or type your own beam sizes, add the length and material, and the calculator gives you the total weight in kg, lbs, metric tons, and grams, plus the weight per meter, cross-section area, perimeter, a scaled diagram, and the full math.

Standard Profile Lookup or Custom Manual Input: Use the top tabs. Choose "Standard Profile Lookup" to use a catalog beam size. Choose "Custom Manual Input" to type your own I beam dimensions.

Beam Category: Pick the beam family you are using, like IPE, H-beam (HW, HM, HN, HP), ordinary hot rolled, or light duty. This changes the list of profiles below it.

Profile / Specification: Pick the exact beam size. Each option shows the standard height, flange width, web thickness, flange thickness, and fillet radius in mm.

Height (H): In custom mode, type the total depth of the beam from the top flange to the bottom flange. Pick mm, cm, m, in, or ft.

Flange Width (B): Type how wide the top and bottom flanges are, and pick the unit.

Web Thickness (t₁): Type how thick the upright middle plate (the web) is. It must be smaller than the flange width.

Flange Thickness (t₂): Type how thick each flange plate is. Two flanges together must be smaller than the height.

Fillet / Root Radius (r): Type the curved corner size where the web meets the flange. Leave it as 0 for a plain welded beam.

Length (L): Type how long one beam is and pick mm, cm, m, in, or ft.

Material (density): Pick the metal, such as mild steel, stainless steel, or aluminum. The density in kg/m³ is used to work out the weight.

Number of Pieces: Type how many beams of this same size you need. The total weight is multiplied by this number.

Show dimensions in: Pick the unit used for the labels on the cross-section diagram and the read-only size boxes.

Chart weight unit: Pick kg, lbs, t, or g for the weight breakdown chart and the material comparison chart.

Calculate and Reset: Results update as you type, but you can press Calculate to refresh them. Press Reset to go back to the starting values.

I Beam Weight: What It Is and Why It Matters

An I beam is a steel bar shaped like the letter I. It has two flat plates called flanges (top and bottom) and a thin upright part in the middle called the web. This shape is strong but uses less steel than a solid block, so builders use I beams for floors, roofs, bridges, and frames.

The Parts of an I Beam

Height (H): how tall the beam is from the top flange to the bottom flange.
Flange width (B): how wide the top and bottom plates are.
Web thickness (t₁): how thick the middle upright part is.
Flange thickness (t₂): how thick each flat plate is.
Fillet radius (r): the small curved corner where the web meets each flange. Rolled beams have this curve, so it adds a bit of extra steel.

How I Beam Weight Is Found

Weight comes from three things: the shape of the cut end (the cross-sectional area), the length, and the density of the metal.

Area = H × t₁ + 2 × B × t₂ − 2 × t₁ × t₂ + (4 − π) × r²

The first part is the web, the second part is both flanges, and the third part is taken away so the spot where the web and flange meet is not counted twice. The last part adds the small fillet corners.

Weight = Area × Length × Density

Mild steel has a density of about 7850 kg/m³.¹ So a beam with an area of 0.0028 m², a length of 6 m, and steel density gives about 132 kg. Bending strength checks use a different property of the shape, the section modulus.

Weight Per Meter

Steel sellers often list beams by weight per meter (kg/m) or weight per foot (lb/ft). This number stays the same no matter how long the beam is, so it is an easy way to compare sizes. Multiply it by the length to get the full weight.

Common Beam Types

IPE beams are the European standard sizes. H-beams come in HW (wide flange), HM (medium flange), HN (narrow flange), and HP (steel piles) series. In China, hot rolled I-beams are made to the GB/T 706 national standard. The light hot rolled I-beams in the list use the GOST 8239 sizes.³ Each type has set dimensions listed in steel tables, so you only need the name and length to get the weight.

Why Beam Weight Is Useful

Cost: steel is sold by weight, so weight sets the price.
Shipping: trucks and cranes have weight limits.
Design: the beam's own weight is a load the structure must hold, so it belongs in your beam deflection checks.
Painting: the perimeter is the surface area per meter that paint or zinc has to cover.
Connections: the bolts and welds at each end must carry the beam's own weight along with everything else on it.

Different Metals, Different Weight

The same beam shape weighs very different amounts in other metals. Aluminum is about one third the weight of steel. Lead is much heavier. Only the density changes in the math. The shape stays the same.

Formulas used

Cross-sectional area of the I-beam (with fillet correction)

A = H t_1 + 2 B t_2 - 2 t_1 t_2 + (4-\pi) r^2

Section perimeter (surface area per unit length)

P = 4B + 2H - 2t_1 - (8-2\pi) r

Weight per metre

w = A \times \rho

Total weight of all pieces

W = A \times \rho \times L \times n

Component weights (web, two flanges, fillets)

W_{web} = (H - 2t_2) t_1 L \rho n,\quad W_{flanges} = 2 B t_2 L \rho n,\quad W_{fillets} = (4-\pi) r^2 L \rho n

Weight unit conversions ²

W_{lb} = \frac{W_{kg}}{0.45359237},\quad W_{t} = \frac{W_{kg}}{1000},\quad W_{g} = W_{kg} \times 1000

Length unit conversion to metres ²

x_{m} = x \times k,\quad k \in \{0.001,\ 0.01,\ 1,\ 0.0254,\ 0.3048\}

Frequently asked questions

Why is my answer slightly different from the steel mill's catalog weight?

Catalog weights come from rolling standards and are rounded. Some sections also have sloped inner flange faces and rounded flange tips, which a weight worked out from the main dimensions does not capture exactly.

Real beams also vary a little in thickness, so the shipped weight can differ from any theoretical number.

What does the spec notation like 200×100×5.5×8 mean?

It is a short way to write the beam size in millimeters. The order is height × flange width × web thickness × flange thickness.

Steel mills list H-beam sizes this way in their catalogs.

Does paint or galvanizing change the weight?

A little. Hot-dip galvanizing coats every face with zinc, so it adds a larger share of weight to thin sections than to thick ones.

Use the section perimeter result to work out the coated surface area per meter.

Which beam should I pick if I only know the depth, like 200 mm?

Many families have a 200 mm deep beam: IPE 200, HN 200×100, HW 200×200 and ordinary 20a. They all weigh different amounts.

Check your drawing or supplier note for the family name, then match the flange width to be sure.

Sources

IS 800: 2007 General Construction in Steel - Code of Practice (Third Revision). Bureau of Indian Standards. 2007;Clause 2.2.4.1(a). Accessed September 27, 2026.

NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C: General Tables of Units of Measurement. National Institute of Standards and Technology. 2026;Units of Mass, p. C-4; Length and Mass conversion tables, pp. C-9, C-17. Accessed September 27, 2026.

GOST 8239-89 Hot-rolled steel flange beams. Rolling products. Gosstandart USSR. 1989;Table 1 (h, b, s, t, R and mass of 1 m) and its notes. Accessed November 12, 2026.