Ice Calculator
How much ice do you need for your party? Cube ice for drinks and chilling, crushed ice for cocktails, and the freezers to store it all.
Ice
How much ice does an event really need?
Ice is the most underestimated purchase in event planning. The working rule this calculator uses comes from real event operations, not from theory:
For a 6-hour event, plan one 2 kg bag of cube ice per guest (it serves the drinks and chills the bottles) plus 0.3 bags of crushed ice per guest for cocktails. Shorter events scale down with a floor (a 3-hour party still needs about 60% — chilling bottles happens anyway), and longer ones grow: about ×1.1 at 8 hours, ×1.8 at 10, ×1.9 at 12, topping out around ×2.2. Heat and outdoor settings add a little more on top.
The part almost everyone forgets is storage. From about 100 guests you need a large freezer on site — roughly one per 100–120 guests — or a good share of your ice will be water before the peak of the party. The calculator recommends the freezers along with the bags, and every quantity rounds up to real 5-bag multiples so the number you get is the number you can order.
Frequently asked questions
How much ice do I need per person?
For a 6-hour event, plan one 2 kg bag of cube ice plus about 0.6 kg of crushed ice per guest — roughly 2.6 kg per person. Shorter events scale down with a floor (a 3-hour party still needs about 60%, because chilling bottles happens anyway), and longer ones grow: ×1.8 at 10 hours, ×1.9 at 12, topping out around ×2.2.
How much ice for 100 guests?
About 130 bags of 2 kg (260 kg) for a 6-hour event: 100 bags of cube ice plus 30 of crushed. A 3-hour party still needs about 60%, at 8 hours plan around 110 cube bags, and a 10-hour party almost doubles the base.
Do I need a freezer at my event?
From about 100 guests, yes: one large freezer per 100–120 guests keeps the ice solid until you need it. Two hundred kilos of ice on a hot day disappears fast without proper storage.
Should I buy extra ice as a buffer?
The quantities here already include a professional working margin, and each ice type rounds up to full 5-bag multiples. The calculator adds a little more for hot weather and outdoor events.
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