How much meat fits in 7, 15, 20 cubic feet — sized to half beef, whole pig, whole lamb.
Total capacity
15.0 cu ft × 30 lb/cu ft
450 lb
Half beef equivalent
~300 lb take-home per half
1.50×
Whole pig equivalent
~175 lb take-home per whole
2.57×
Whole lamb equivalent
~50 lb take-home per whole
9.00×
Whole chickens
~4 lb each
113
Pack density varies a lot. Loose roasts and irregular cuts fill space poorly (~30 lb/cu ft). Vacuum-sealed ground beef in tidy rectangles can hit 40 lb/cu ft. Leave ~10% air for circulation.
A standard half beef is ~300 lb take-home. Pair with the Half or Quarter Beef calculator to plan your order.
capacity_lb = cubic_feet × density_lb_per_cuft
Meat Per Person Per Year
Household planning math — servings, ounces, and species mix into an annual pounds target.
Half or Quarter Beef
Buying a share of beef? See the weight you'll take home and the cut-category breakdown.
Hanging → Take-Home Weight
From hanging carcass to packaged meat in your freezer — bone-in vs boneless yield by species.
Enter your freezer size in cubic feet (the spec sticker on the back, or the model name — a "Frigidaire 7" is 7 cu ft) and the calculator multiplies by a packing density to give pounds of usable storage. Defaults to ~35 lb per cubic foot for vacuum-sealed cuts and ~28 lb per cubic foot for irregular wrapped packages. The result also shows whether your freezer fits a typical half pig (~120 lb), whole lamb (~50 lb), or half beef (~225-250 lb), so you can plan a purchase against the box you already own.
The most common reason a bulk-meat purchase goes wrong is the buyer thought their kitchen freezer would hold it. A side-by-side fridge-freezer holds maybe 40-60 lb of meat after you take out frozen vegetables and ice cream — nowhere near a half-beef share. Knowing capacity before you buy means you order the right size chest freezer at the same time as the meat (or split the share with a neighbor whose freezer fits the gap).
Density assumes ~95% usable space — the calculator subtracts a small allowance for air around irregular packages. Stand-up freezers waste more space (shelves) than chest freezers (open well); the calculator uses average packing for both. Frost-free units lose a few percent of usable volume to the cold-air channels along the back wall. For long-term storage plan to hit ≤80% full so air can circulate. Vacuum-sealed cuts pack denser than butcher paper-wrapped product, so adjust the density slider if you know which you are getting.