How much does a sheet of plywood weigh?
A 4x8 sheet of 3/4" softwood plywood weighs about 72 lb. MDF the same size is 96 lb. Weights for every sheet material and thickness, and what each one means for getting it up the stairs.
A 4' × 8' sheet of 3/4" softwood plywood weighs about 72 lb.
The same sheet in MDF is 96 lb — 33% heavier, and the reason shop-built cabinets get hard to lift.
How that is worked out
- A 4x8 sheet really is 48" × 96", which is 32 ft² of face. At 3/4" thick that is 2.0 ft³.
- Plywood runs about 36 lb/ft³, so 2.0 ft³ × 36 lb/ft³ = 72 lb.
- Per square foot of face that is 2.3 lb — the figure that matters when you are working out what a shelf or a cabinet back adds to a load.
Weight of a full 4' × 8' sheet, lb
| Material | 1/4" | 1/2" | 3/4" |
|---|---|---|---|
| MDF | 1024 | 2048 | 3072 |
| Melamine-faced particleboard | 1003 | 2005 | 3008 |
| Particleboard | 960 | 1920 | 2880 |
| Baltic birch plywood | 917 | 1835 | 2752 |
| Hardwood plywood | 853 | 1707 | 2560 |
| OSB | 853 | 1707 | 2560 |
| Softwood plywood (CDX) | 768 | 1536 | 2304 |
| MDO plywood | 811 | 1621 | 2432 |
| Hardboard (Masonite) | 1280 | 2560 | 3840 |
Worth knowing
- Panel densities are nominal and vary by mill more than wood varies by tree. Two sheets of MDF with the same label can differ by several pounds.
- Nominal 3/4" plywood is usually 23/32" and nominal 1/2" is usually 15/32". This table uses the nominal thickness throughout, so it reads a few pounds heavy for the plywoods and right for MDF, which really is made to its stated thickness. That is the direction you want an error in when you are deciding whether to carry something.
- Anything over about 50 lb in a 4x8 sheet is a two-person lift whatever your back thinks. It is not the weight that hurts you, it is the weight at arm's length on a sheet that wants to fold.
Work out your own numbers
- Weight calculator
What a board or a stack of sheet goods weighs — for shelf brackets, a car boot, or a freight quote.
- Sheet layout calculator
How many same-size panels fit on a sheet of plywood in a plain grid, turned 90° if that fits more.
- Cut list optimizer
Lay your parts out on a sheet of plywood and get the cuts in order. Accounts for blade kerf and keeps the grain running the right way.
Related questions
- How much does a 4x8 sheet of 3/4 inch plywood weigh?
- About 72 lb reckoned on the nominal 3/4" thickness — 32 square feet of face at roughly 2.25 lb per square foot. You will also see 60–62 lb quoted, and both are right: a sheet sold as 3/4" is usually milled to 23/32", and a light sheathing sheet can run under the 36 lb/ft³ used here. Treat 72 lb as the cautious figure to plan a lift around, and expect the sheet in your hands to be a little under it.
- Is MDF heavier than plywood?
- Considerably. A 3/4" sheet of MDF is 96 lb against softwood plywood's 72 — a third more again, and against a light sheathing sheet the gap is wider still. MDF is wood flour and resin pressed to a uniform density with no voids and no lighter core, so there is simply more material in the same volume. It is the single biggest reason a run of shop-built cabinets is harder to move than it looks.
- How many sheets of plywood can a pickup carry?
- Fewer than the bed suggests. Twenty sheets of 3/4" is around 1,400 lb, which is past a half-ton truck's payload before you get in it. By geometry, a 4x8 sheet does not fit between the wheel wells of most modern beds, so it rides on top of them with the tailgate down. Strap it properly: a sheet of plywood at highway speed is a wing.