Cake Serving Chart & Calculator — How Many People Does a Cake Feed?

Cake Serving Calculator & Chart

How many people will your cake feed? Pick a size — or stack tiers for a wedding cake — and get the serving count, drawn to scale. Counts are Wilton's two-layer figures; a single 2-inch layer serves about half.

Serving style

Tier 1 (or single cake)

+ Add tiers for a tiered or wedding cake

Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4

Serves about

party slices (1½ × 2 in)

Counts are for two layers about 4 in tall (3–6 in serves the same). One 2-inch layer per tier? About 10 (Wilton: under 3 in yields half).

Your cake, tier by tier

Next: how much frosting for this cake? →

Or plan backwards — how many guests?

We'll find the smallest two-layer cake that seats them, using the party/wedding slice size selected above.

Guests

A 2-tier round (14" + 12") seats about 103 party servings — enough for 100.

Data & method: Serving counts from the Wilton cake serving chart (party 1½×2 in, wedding 1×2 in slices; two-layer cakes about 4 in tall, and Wilton's rule that cakes under 3 in tall yield half). Sheet-cake size names from WebstaurantStore's sheet cake size guide. The calculations are covered by automated tests. How we calculate →

Quick answers: how many people each cake feeds

Two-layer cakes about 4 inches tall, party slices / wedding slices, from the Wilton chart. A single 2-inch layer serves about half (in brackets). Each question opens that size's own page.

How Many Servings Is Your Cake?

Cake serving counts come down to one thing: how big a slice you cut. The baking industry works from two standards — party servings, cut about 1½ × 2 inches, and wedding servings, cut slimmer at 1 × 2 inches. Because the slices are smaller, a cake's wedding count runs higher than its party count on every size except the very smallest. This cake serving calculator uses the published Wilton chart, written for two-layer cakes about 4 inches tall — the same reference professional bakeries plan with.

Pick a single cake to feed a party, or stack up to four tiers to plan a wedding or celebration cake — the calculator adds the tiers together and draws them to scale so you can see the shape you're building. A classic three-tier of 10-inch, 8-inch and 6-inch rounds serves about 74 wedding portions; add a 12-inch tier underneath and the four tiers serve about 130.

Cake servings by size — the full Wilton chart

Cake size	Party servings (1½×2"), two layers	Wedding servings (1×2"), two layers	Single 2-in layer (party / wedding)
6" round	12	12	6 / 6
8" round	20	24	10 / 12
9" round	24	32	12 / 16
10" round	28	38	14 / 19
12" round	40	56	20 / 28
14" round	63	78	31 / 39
16" round	77	100	38 / 50
6" square	12	18	6 / 9
8" square	20	32	10 / 16
10" square	30	50	15 / 25
12" square	48	72	24 / 36
14" square	63	98	31 / 49
16" square	80	128	40 / 64
7×11" sheet	24	32	12 / 16
9×13" sheet	36	50	18 / 25
11×15" sheet	54	74	27 / 37
12×18" sheet	72	98	36 / 49

Two-layer columns: the Wilton chart (Wilton: cakes 3–6 in tall in the same pan serve the same). Single-layer column: Wilton's rule that cakes under 3 in tall yield half, rounded down. Every size above links to its own page — the full comparison, both slice sizes, and the calculator preset to that cake.

Round vs. square vs. sheet

Square and sheet cakes serve more than rounds of the same width because they have no wasted corners — an 8-inch square yields about 32 wedding servings versus 24 for an 8-inch round. Sheet cakes are a popular pick for office parties and large events, but they aren't the highest-yield pan on the Wilton chart: a 16-inch square serves 80 party slices, against 72 for a 12x18 sheet. Also remember that the chart's sheet counts assume two stacked layers, so a single-layer sheet serves about half. If you're deciding how much batter each tier needs, the pan volume calculator gives every pan's capacity at the standard two-thirds fill.

Single-layer cakes serve about half

Wilton's figures for 2-inch-deep pans are based on a two-layer cake about 4 inches tall, and Wilton says cakes shorter than 3 inches yield half the servings listed for that pan. A cake baked once in a 2-inch-deep pan — the usual home 9x13 — is a single layer under 3 inches, so it serves about half the chart: a single-layer 9x13 serves about 18 party slices, not 36, and a single-layer 8-inch round about 10. The calculator shows the single-layer figure under every result.

Does a taller cake serve more?

Not on the Wilton chart. Wilton says cakes 3 to 6 inches tall baked in the same size pan yield the same number of servings, because they're cut the same way across the top. A 6-inch-tall cake gives each guest a taller slice, not extra slices — so size the cake by its pan, not its height.

Plan with a little margin

These counts are a reliable planning guide, but real life is messier than a chart: end pieces, uneven cuts, and guests who come back for seconds all eat into the total. Round up rather than down — it's far better to have a few extra slices than to run short. If you're matching a cake to a recipe written for a different pan, our cake pan converter handles that side of the math.

Sheet cake sizes: quarter, half and full

Bakery sheet sizes confuse everyone because the names aren't standardized — WebstaurantStore notes that no industry standard exists for full, half or quarter sheet cakes and that sizes differ by bakery, so always ask for the dimensions in inches. Common conventions: a quarter sheet is often 9x13 (about 36 party servings as two layers on the Wilton chart, about 18 as one layer), a half sheet is often 12x18 (about 72 as two layers, about 36 as one), sometimes 13x18, and a full sheet is anywhere from 16x24 to 18x26 depending on the bakery. Full sheets aren't on the Wilton chart, so we don't quote a Wilton count for them; cut into 2 × 3-inch pieces, an 18x26 gives 78 by straight grid arithmetic. For a crowd, two half sheets are usually easier to transport, cut and serve than one full sheet. The sheet cake sizes guide has every size side by side.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many people does an 8-inch cake feed?

An 8-inch round cake feeds about 20 people with party slices (1½ × 2 in) or 24 with wedding slices (1 × 2 in) as a two-layer cake about 4 inches tall, per the Wilton chart. A single 2-inch layer feeds about half — 10 party or 12 wedding — because Wilton says cakes under 3 inches tall yield half the servings.

How many servings are in a 10-inch round cake?

A two-layer 10-inch round cake serves about 28 party slices (1½ × 2 in) or 38 wedding slices (1 × 2 in); a single 2-inch layer serves about 14 party or 19 wedding. Wedding portions are cut smaller, so the same cake serves more people.

What's the difference between party and wedding servings?

It's the slice size. Party servings assume a 1½ × 2 inch piece; wedding servings a slimmer 1 × 2 inch piece. That's why a cake's 'wedding' count runs higher than its 'party' count on every size except the smallest — on a 6-inch round the chart lists 12 either way, because the cutting patterns converge on so small a cake.

How do I calculate servings for a tiered or wedding cake?

Add up the servings for each tier. A classic three-tier cake of 10-inch, 8-inch and 6-inch rounds, each tier two layers tall, serves about 74 wedding portions (38 + 24 + 12). This calculator totals the tiers for you — add up to four.

How many does a 9x13 sheet cake serve?

Per the Wilton chart, a 9x13 sheet that's two layers tall (about 4 inches) serves about 36 party portions (1½ × 2 in) or 50 wedding portions (1 × 2 in). A typical home 9x13 is a single 2-inch layer, and Wilton says cakes under 3 inches tall yield half the listed servings: about 18 party or 25 wedding portions.

What size cake do I need for 50 guests?

For 50 party servings, the smallest single round is a 14-inch (63); a two-layer 11x15 sheet (54) also covers it, and a two-tier 12-inch + 6-inch round totals 52. A 12-inch square (48) falls just short. For wedding portions a 12-inch round alone serves 56. These are two-layer counts — single 2-inch layers serve about half. Always round up a little for second helpings and cutting loss.

What size cake do I need for 20 or 30 guests?

For 20 party servings: an 8-inch round (20 servings) is the exact fit; a 9-inch round (24) gives a little margin, and a 10-inch round (28) leaves plenty. For 30: a 12-inch round (40), a two-tier 6+10 (40), or a two-layer 9x13 sheet (36) — a single-layer 9x13 serves only about 18. Round up — leftover cake has never been a problem.

How many people does a half sheet cake feed?

It depends on the bakery's size: WebstaurantStore notes there's no industry standard for half, quarter or full sheet cakes. A half sheet is often 12x18 (some bakeries use 13x18). On the Wilton chart a two-layer 12x18 serves about 72 party portions (1½ x 2 inches) or 98 wedding portions (1 x 2 inches); as a single 2-inch layer, about 36 party or 49 wedding. Cut into 2x2-inch squares, a 12x18 gives 54 pieces. A quarter sheet (often 9x13) serves about 36 party as two layers, or about 18 as one.

Does a taller cake serve more people?

No. The Wilton chart is written for a two-layer cake about 4 inches tall, and Wilton says cakes 3 to 6 inches tall in the same pan yield the same number of servings, because they're cut the same way — a taller cake gives taller slices, not more of them. A cake under 3 inches tall yields about half the chart count.

Are these serving counts exact?

They follow the published Wilton serving chart — the standard most bakeries plan with — for two-layer cakes about 4 inches tall, and Wilton's rule that cakes under 3 inches tall yield half. They're a reliable planning guide, but your exact yield depends on how precisely the cake is cut, so it's wise to plan for a few servings of margin.