How Many Chairs Fit Around a Round Table?

The short answer

Table	In cm	Guests (source 1)	Guests (source 2)
36" round	91 cm	4	4–5
48" round	122 cm	5–6	4–6
60" round	152 cm	8	8 (many rental companies say 8–10)
66" round	168 cm	–	8–10
72" round	183 cm	10	10–12

Both guides plan for standard adult banquet or folding chairs. The most common question is the 60 inch table: 8 is comfortable, 10 is a squeeze.

Why 8 or 10? Do the maths at the table edge

A round table has no corners, so the only thing that limits the number of chairs is the length of the edge. The edge of a round table is its diameter × 3.14.

Divide the edge by the number of guests and you get the space each guest has:

Table	Edge	8 guests	10 guests	12 guests
152 cm (60")	479 cm	60 cm each	48 cm each	40 cm each
168 cm (66")	527 cm	66 cm each	53 cm each	44 cm each
183 cm (72")	575 cm	72 cm each	57.5 cm each	48 cm each

Our calculation from the diameter. Chairs splay out from a round table, so there is a little more room at the backs than at the table edge.

The comfortable numbers in both guides (4 at 91 cm, 6 at 122 cm, 8 at 152 cm, 10 at 183 cm) all give each guest about 57 to 72 cm. Restaurant designers use a similar rule: about 60 cm per guest at a casual table (source 3).

At 10 guests on a 60 inch table, each guest has about 48 cm. That is less than the width of many dining chairs.

The chair decides

So the real question is: how wide is your chair? Here is what is left between chairs at 10 guests on a 152 cm table, or 12 on a 183 cm table (both about 48 cm per guest), for our banquet chairs (source 4):

Chair	Width	Left over per guest
Bonita, Emotion	380 mm	about 10 cm
Athena Sunrise, Michelle folding, Optima Sunrise	400 mm	about 8 cm
Chivari UK, Chivari USA, Opera	410 mm	about 7 cm
Ballroom, Evelyn, Napoleon	420 mm	about 6 cm
Medallion	450 mm	about 3 cm
Maximus	490 mm	does not fit

This is why narrow chairs, such as Chiavari-style chairs, make 10 at a 60 inch table possible. A wide, upholstered banquet chair turns the same table back into a table for 8 or 9.

If you want 10 per table and some elbow room, use a 66 inch (168 cm) table. Each guest then gets about 53 cm, and even a 45 cm chair leaves about 8 cm.

And rectangular banquet tables?

The same logic works along a straight edge. Source 1 seats 6 to 8 at a 6 ft table (183 × 76 cm) and 8 to 10 at an 8 ft table (244 × 76 cm). Divide the long side by the guests on it:

Table	3 per side	4 per side	5 per side
6 ft (183 cm)	61 cm each	46 cm each	–
8 ft (244 cm)	81 cm each	61 cm each	49 cm each

Our calculation. A chair at each end adds two more guests.

So a 6 ft table seats 6 comfortably (3 per side), or 8 with a chair at each end. Four per side gives each guest 46 cm, which only works with narrow chairs.

Other things that take space

Place settings and centrepieces. A large centrepiece or charger plates make a full table feel smaller.
Chair covers. A cover with a bow adds width to every chair.
Space between tables. WebstaurantStore suggests 18 to 20 inches (46 to 51 cm) between occupied chairs (source 1).
Guests' age. Children take less space: source 2 seats up to 14 children at a 60 inch table.

To work out how many tables and chairs your whole event needs, use our seating planner. For choosing chairs for a rental fleet, read banquet chairs for a rental fleet.

Where RikoStyle fits

We make 14 banquet and event chairs in solid beech, from 380 to 490 mm wide, most of them stacking, plus the Michelle folding chair and Romance round and rectangular folding tables (source 4). The frames come in 8 finishes, so a narrow chair for full tables and a wider one for head tables can match.

We offer these chairs to event rental companies and wedding venues, hotels with function rooms, interior designers, furniture retailers and importers, and we are looking for long-term partners in each of these groups.