Half and quarter pallets: how many fit, and why they beat full pallets

Half and quarter pallets never give fewer positions than the full pallets they divide, and often more: 55 EUR6 half pallets fit in a 40ft container against 50 for the same footprint in EUR1 pallets. Five 48×20 pallets fill the 2,540 mm width of a 53 ft van exactly, covering 99.3% of its floor.

By Oliver Bennett · Published 29 October 2026 · Data as of 27 October 2026, from spec sheets retrieved that day

Retailers like half and quarter pallets because a whole display unit can go from the truck to the shop floor without being broken down. For the person planning the load they have another advantage: small footprints fill awkward floors better. This guide looks at the three on PalletSpec, the EUR6 half pallet (800×600 mm), the 48×20 half pallet (1220×508 mm) and the 600×400 quarter pallet, against the full pallets they divide.

The fair comparison is by footprint. Two EUR6 pallets cover one EUR1, two 48×20 pallets cover one 48×40, and four 600×400 pallets cover one EUR1. If the small pallets only ever matched those multiples, there would be nothing to gain. They do better in many units, and never worse.

Counts against the full pallet

The EUR6 gains in 13 of the 20 units and matches two EUR1 pallets exactly in the other 7. Its largest gain is six positions, in the 45ft high cube and 40ft high cube reefer. On the European trailers there is nothing to gain: three EUR1 pallets already fill the width, and the half pallet simply splits each of them in two.

Why small pieces fill the gaps

Containers are 2,350 mm wide inside on their smallest published figure. The sides of a EUR1, 800 and 1,200 mm, can be combined to cover at most 2,000 mm of that width, leaving a 350 mm strip that runs the length of the box. The EUR6 brings a 600 mm side into play, and 800 + 800 + 600 covers 2,200 mm. The strip shrinks to 150 mm, and in a 40ft container that is worth five extra half pallets.

The 20ft container shows it most plainly. It takes 11 EUR1 pallets, covering 76.2% of the floor, and 25 EUR6 pallets, covering 86.6%. In EUR1 terms the half pallets carry the footprint of 12.5 full pallets.

The 48×20 in North American vans

The 48×20 is 508 mm wide, and five of those sides make exactly 2,540 mm, the inside width of the 53 ft dry van in our data. Nothing is left at the walls. A 48×40 can cover at most 2,438 mm of the same width. In the 53 ft van the half pallet reaches 65 positions, 5 more than two per 48×40, and covers 99.3% of the floor, the highest share of any pairing on PalletSpec.

The quarter pallet

At 600×400 mm the quarter pallet is a quarter of a EUR1, and its sides are short enough to fill almost any width. It gains up to 14 positions over four per EUR1 footprint, in the 45ft high cube. On the loading-metre count it costs 0.10 m per pallet, a quarter of a EUR1 (see loading metres explained).

Where each one fits best

By share of floor covered, the EUR6 and the quarter pallet both do best in the EU box trailer (97.4%), and the 48×20 in the 53 ft van. The counts for every pallet in every unit are in the pallet count chart.

The extra positions are real floor, but they are also more pallets to handle, label and secure. Whether that trade is worth it depends on the goods. Try a half pallet against its parent in the load planner.

More guides: EUR1 vs 48×40 pallets: which fits more? · Pallet sizes by region · UK pallet vs Euro pallet: 1200×1000 against 1200×800 · Square pallets in containers and trailers · How many pallets fit: every pallet in every container and trailer · Mega trailer vs standard trailer · 20ft vs 40ft vs 40ft high cube containers · All guides