Read This Blog to Know How to Measure Milk Carton Box Dimension
Waqas Khan Pitafi 2025-08-12 13:36:27

Read This Blog to Know How to Measure Milk Carton Box Dimensions
To ensure your product’s safety, you must pack it in high-quality and the right sizes of boxes, regardless of the industry. This is why it is important to know the milk carton dimensions when placing an order. Read this blog to find out the standard sizes and their dimensions in inches and cm.
History of Milk Cartons
Milk cartons were primarily introduced in the early 1900s. The design of those cartons was simple yet easy to use. It was a simple, yet effective design made from paperboard. One of the shocking facts is that the style of those boxes was gable-top, which we still see today. The reason is that such box cartons are convenient to use by the users.
As time went on, a need for more durable and reliable packaging emerged. To meet that requirement, Tetra Pak packaging for milk was created and introduced in the 1950s. This packaging is still famous for keeping milk fresh for a long time, as it resists heat, sunlight, and other environmental factors.
Decide on the Material
The first step is to decide which material is suitable for your product: milk. There are two different types of eco-friendly materials available in the market. Each material uses a thin line of plastic to ensure the milk remains fresh inside the box and does not spill. Here are the two materials used for milk cartons:
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Paperboard
Paperboard is one of the most common packaging materials that is used in different industries. This material is natural, lightweight, and cost-effective. You can use paperboard packaging for packing half-pint milk to ensure it reaches the customers safely.
Paperboard packaging is not used alone when it comes to manufacturing milk carton boxes. A thin layer of food-grade plastic is added inside to ensure the milk’s safety. The plastic keeps the milk safe from external factors such as heat, punctures, and moisture.
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Cardboard
Cardboard is a sturdy material and can keep the product protected from external factors such as dust and moisture to some extent. Brands use cardboard packaging for their milk cartons as it is lightweight and cost-effective as well.
Cardboard milk cartons use a layer of LDPE or other food-grade plastic to ensure the milk’s safety. The thickness of the plastic film depends on the product’s needs. You can use custom thicknesses for both the cardboard and plastic layers as per your brand’s needs.
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Plastic
Plastic is another common material used to pack and ship milk. Plastic can keep the milk safe from external factors such as pressure, dust, water, heat, and bacteria to a large extent. However, it is important to know that not every plastic type is food-safe.
There are three common types of plastic used to make milk cartons, such as LDPE, HDPE, and PP. These three materials offer great protection against external factors and keep the milk fresh during transit. You can customize the size and thickness of your milk carton plastic boxes as per the brand’s needs.
How Many OZ in a Carton of Milk?
Let’s have a look at how many oz in a carton of milk. Each size offers different ounces of milk. Whether you need milk carton dimensions in inches or cm, the names remain the same. Here are a few standard sizes with the amount of milk they carry:
Standard Size |
Ounces |
Half Pint |
8 oz |
Quart |
32 oz |
Half Gallon |
64 oz |
Gallon |
128 oz |
Customize Milk Carton Sizes in Inches
There are different sizes of milk cartons, and each size offers a different amount of liquid. You can have the standard four sizes to attract more customers. Each size comes in a standard size, but with a custom packaging manufacturer, you can change the thickness and other dimensions of the boxes. With custom packaging for milk, you can also design these cartons the way to enhance the visibility of your brand. Here are four standard carton sizes available in the market:
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Half Pint
Half-pint is the smallest size of a milk carton box, best for a single serving. Get the half-pint milk carton in different sizes to satisfy your customers' needs. You can add a custom handle for easy handling since it is a small size. The half-pint milk carton usually holds up to 12 ounces of milk. Here are a few standard sizes:
- 2.25" x 2.25" x 2.75”
- 2.8" x 2.8" x 4"
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Quart
The quart-size milk carton is best for people living alone. This size is best for those with limited fridge space. This milk carton holds up to 32 ounces of milk and is perfect for people who like to use the milk within two days of purchase. Here are a few standard sizes for a quart size milk carton:
- 2.75" × 2.75" × 7.5"
- 3.6" x 3.6" x 8.3"
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Half Gallon
Half-gallon milk cartons are suitable for small families. The box style is sleek and does not take up too much space in the fridge. You can customize the half-gallon milk carton sizes as per your brand’s needs. Here are a few standard sizes available in the market:
- 5.06" x 4" x 5.12"
- 6" x 4" x 8"
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Gallon
A gallon is perfect for families with more than 6 people. It is the largest standard size in milk cartons and occupies a lot of fridge space. Customers choose this size to never run out of milk too fast. You can customize the sizes and shapes of the milk cartons to attract more customers. Here are a few standard sizes you can get for a gallon milk carton box:
- 7" x 4" x 7.5"
- 7.5" x 4.5" x 8"
Let’s have a look at the standard milk carton dimensions chart in inches:
Size |
Thickness Inches |
Half Pint |
2.8" x 2.8" x 4" |
Quart |
3.6" x 3.6" x 8.3" |
Half Gallon |
5.06" x 4" x 5.12" |
Gallon |
7.5" x 4.5" x 8" |
Customize Milk Carton Sizes in Centimeters
Once you have the dimensions in inches, you can convert these into centimeters by multiplying the numbers by 2.54. Most customers measure the dimensions in centimeters, so it’s important to know what a standard size in inches will be in centimeters. If you are wondering how to measure milk carton size accurately, get a ruler and a pen to write down the numbers. Here are the four standard sizes when measured in centimeters:
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Half Pint
You can get different sizes for your milk carton boxes as per your brand’s needs and customer demand. Half-pint milk carton boxes, when measured in centimeters, will give these two standard sizes:
- 5.7 cm x 5.7 cm x 7 cm
- 7.1 cm x 7.1 cm x 10 cm
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Quart
Convert the standard sizes of quart milk carton boxes available in inches to centimeters to find your desired dimensions. Here are two standard sizes in cm:
- 7 cm x 7 cm x 19 cm
- 9.1 cm x 9.1 cm x 21 cm
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Half Gallon
To add more than 64 ounces of milk but less than 100, you can get custom sizes for half-gallon milk boxes. Here are two standard-size options for a half-gallon milk carton box in centimeters:
- 12.8 cm x 10 cm x 13 cm
- 15.2 cm x 10 cm x 20. 3 cm
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Gallon
Customize the size of a gallon milk carton to attract more customers and stand apart from the competition in the market. Get these two standard sizes in centimeters for a gallon milk carton:
- 17.8 cm x 10 cm x 19 cm
- 19 cm x 11.4 cm x 20 cm
Size |
Thickness cm |
Half Pint |
5.7 cm x 5.7 cm x 7 cm |
Quart |
7 cm x 7 cm x 19 cm |
Half Gallon |
12.8 cm x 10 cm x 13 cm |
Gallon |
19 cm x 11.4 cm x 20 cm |
Milk Carton Boxes Based on Different Shapes
There are two famous shapes for milk cartons that different sellers are using in the US. And for each of these, the milk carton volume calculator varies. Let’s have a look at these shapes and how you can calculate the volume of milk for these shapes:
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Square Gable Cartons
Usually, when packing quart or half pint milk, sellers use square gable cartons. These cartons have a square shape with a gable top. But an important thing to remember is that it's not identical to the gable box, as it does not provide a handle to easily carry the box. To calculate the volume of square-shaped gable-top milk cartons, use the following formula:
Volume = side x side x side or V = s3
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Rectangle Gable Cartons
Rectangular milk cartons are used when selling half-gallon or gallon milk. These boxes are sleek and long and thus can easily be placed inside the fridge door. These boxes also have the gable top as the roof-like structure allows more milk to be added inside. You can calculate the volume of the rectangular gable-top milk carton as follows:
Volume= Length x Width x Height
Attract More Customers with Custom Box Dimensions
Gone are the days when brands used to pack their products in brown boxes with no designs or colors. Today, there are millions of brands competing against each other, and they need more than just good quality products. Before placing your order, check the half pint, quart, half gallon, gallon milk carton measurements accurately to avoid any discrepancies. You can create a unique brand identity and attract more customers to your products. If you want to get high-quality boxes with beautiful designs and colors, contact OXO Packaging today.
To measure the milk carton box, take the readings of the length, width and height of the box. and by multiplying these values together you can get the volume of the box.
Some standard milk carton sizes are 2.8" x 2.8" x 4" for half-pint, 3.6" x 3.6" x 8.3" for quart, 5.06" x 4" x 5.12" for half-gallon, and 7.5" x 4.5" x 8" for gallon.
No they don’t. When measuring the dimensions, you usually just cover the area where the milk is to be added. The spout is added a bit higher so the milk doesn’t spill as soon as you open the carton.
Yes, you can customize the sizes of milk crates and even design them by contacting OXO Packaging. We also offer perks like free design support, free delivery in the US, and a low MOQ of 100 boxes.
13” x 13” x 11” is one of the standard sizes that most sellers are using for the milk crate. However you can customize the sizes as per your needs.