Metal density chart
16 materials, lightest to heaviest, in kg/m³ and lb/in³. The relative column is against carbon steel at 7,850 kg/m³ — the value that stands in for "steel" in every quotation in the industry, and the wrong one for a fifth of the metals listed here.
| Material | Density kg/m³ | lb/in³ | vs 7,850 kg/m³ | Typical spread | Specification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDPE (PE 100) | 960 | 0.0347 | -87.8 % | ±2 % | ISO 4427 / ASTM D3350 (PE 100 black) |
| Rigid PVC (Type I) | 1,400 | 0.0506 | -82.2 % | ±3 % | ASTM D1784 Cell Classification 12454 |
| Aluminum 5052-H32 | 2,680 | 0.0968 | -65.9 % | ±1 % | ASTM B209 (H32 temper) |
| Aluminum 6061-T6 | 2,700 | 0.0975 | -65.6 % | ±1 % | ASTM B221 / B209 (T6 temper) |
| Aluminum 7075-T6 | 2,810 | 0.1015 | -64.2 % | ±1 % | ASTM B211 / B209 (T6 temper) |
| Titanium Grade 2 | 4,510 | 0.1629 | -42.5 % | ±1 % | ASTM B265 / B348 (UNS R50400) |
| Gray Cast Iron | 7,200 | 0.2601 | -8.3 % | ±3 % | ASTM A48 Class 30 / ISO 185 |
| Stainless Steel 430 | 7,700 | 0.2782 | -1.9 % | ±1 % | ASTM A240 (UNS S43000) |
| Carbon Steel | 7,850 | 0.2836 | +0.0 % | ±1 % | ASTM A36 / AISI 1018 / EN 10025 S275 |
| Stainless Steel 304 | 8,000 | 0.2890 | +1.9 % | ±1 % | ASTM A240 / A276 (UNS S30400) |
| Stainless Steel 316 | 8,000 | 0.2890 | +1.9 % | ±1 % | ASTM A240 / A276 (UNS S31600) |
| Stainless Steel 316L | 8,000 | 0.2890 | +1.9 % | ±1 % | ASTM A240 / A276 (UNS S31603) |
| Brass C36000 | 8,500 | 0.3071 | +8.3 % | ±2 % | ASTM B16 (UNS C36000, free-cutting) |
| Bronze C93200 | 8,800 | 0.3179 | +12.1 % | ±3 % | ASTM B505 (UNS C93200, bearing bronze) |
| Copper C11000 | 8,940 | 0.3230 | +13.9 % | ±1 % | ASTM B152 / B187 (UNS C11000, ETP) |
| Lead | 11,340 | 0.4097 | +44.5 % | ±1 % | ASTM B29 (UNS L50049, chemical lead) |
Densities are nominal values from the listed specifications, not mill certificates. Where a grade family genuinely varies, the spread column says by how much — see the material page for what that means in practice.
Reading the chart
Three things are worth knowing before you take a number off this page.
- The relative column is the useful one. For a fixed section, mass scales exactly with density — so the percentage against carbon steel is the immediate answer to "what happens if I change material?" without any geometry involved. Switching carbon steel for 304 stainless is +1.9 %; switching for 6061 aluminium is −65.6 %.
- Two materials can share a density and nothing else. 304, 316 and 316L are all 8,000 kg/m³, so a weight take-off never has to be redone when a client upgrades to the welded grade. That does not make them interchangeable: the molybdenum in 316, and the low carbon in 316L, are about corrosion and weldability, and neither shows up in a mass figure.
- Density is not strength. The lightest material here (HDPE at 960 kg/m³) is also by far the weakest; lead, the heaviest, is one of the softest. There is no relationship between the two columns, and a chart that put them side by side would imply one.
Each density is the nominal engineering value published by the specification named in the material’s own entry — ASTM A36 and EN 10025 for carbon steel, A240/A276 for stainless, B209/B211/B221 for aluminium, B152/B16/B505 for the copper alloys, B265/B348 for titanium, A48 for cast iron, B29 for lead, D1784 and D3350 for the polymers. None is a measured value from a specific heat of material.
By material family
| Family | Materials | Density range kg/m³ | Lightest | Heaviest | vs 7,850 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon steel | 1 | 7,850 – 7,850 | Carbon Steel | Carbon Steel | 0 % to +0 % |
| Stainless steel | 4 | 7,700 – 8,000 | Stainless Steel 430 | Stainless Steel 304 | -2 % to +2 % |
| Aluminium | 3 | 2,680 – 2,810 | Aluminum 5052-H32 | Aluminum 7075-T6 | -66 % to +-64 % |
| Copper alloys | 3 | 8,500 – 8,940 | Brass C36000 | Copper C11000 | 8 % to +14 % |
| Other metals | 3 | 4,510 – 11,340 | Titanium Grade 2 | Lead | -43 % to +44 % |
| Polymers | 2 | 960 – 1,400 | HDPE (PE 100) | Rigid PVC (Type I) | -88 % to +-82 % |
Grouping follows how materials are actually bought and specified, not a chemistry taxonomy: the stainless grades share a supply chain and a price mechanism even when their densities differ.
Where a single number is not good enough
5 of the 16 materials carry a spread wider than ±1 %. For those, the nominal value on this page is a starting point rather than an answer:
| Material | Nominalkg/m³ | Typical spread | Effect on a 1,000 kg order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brass C36000 | 8,500 | ± 2 % | ± 2 kg |
| Bronze C93200 | 8,800 | ± 3 % | ± 3 kg |
| Gray Cast Iron | 7,200 | ± 3 % | ± 3 kg |
| Rigid PVC (Type I) | 1,400 | ± 3 % | ± 3 kg |
| HDPE (PE 100) | 960 | ± 2 % | ± 2 kg |
The last column is the plain reading of the spread: on a tonne of material, a ±3 % density uncertainty is a ±30 kg uncertainty. That is the point at which a nominal table stops being an estimating aid and starts being a reconciliation problem.
Nominal density is not a mill certificate. Wrought material varies; cast material varies more.
Download the density chart
Densities as CSV
Every material with its density in both unit systems, the relative figure against carbon steel, the spread and the specification it represents.
The same file is linked from the downloads page, along with the full metal weight and pipe dimension datasets.
Frequently asked questions
What is the density of steel?
7,850 kg/m³ (0.2836 lb/in³) is the value used for carbon and low-alloy structural steel, and it is the baseline every relative figure on this site is measured against. It covers A36 plate, 1018 shaft and S275JR section: carbon content moves density so little across the 0.05–0.60 % range that one figure serves the family. Note that printed mill charts often use a rounded 0.2833 lb/in³, which is about 7,844 kg/m³ — a 0.08 % difference that shows up in the last digit of a weight table.
How much lighter is aluminium than steel?
Aluminium 6061-T6 is 2,700 kg/m³, which is 66 % lighter than carbon steel for the same volume — a factor of 2.91. What that comparison hides is stiffness: aluminium's elastic modulus is about a third of steel's, so a straight substitution cuts mass by 66 % and roughly triples deflection for the same section. To match steel's stiffness in bending you need a deeper or thicker section, and much of the weight saving goes back.
Why do you give a spread instead of a single density for some materials?
Because for those materials a single number is a fiction. Gray cast iron varies with graphite content and section thickness, bearing bronze varies with chemistry, and flexible PVC varies with plasticiser content — the honest band is several percent wide. The 5 materials with a spread wider than ±1 % are flagged here and on their own pages. For a large casting or an extrusion, ask the producer for the actual figure rather than using the nominal value.
Is density affected by temperature?
Yes, but not enough to matter for weight take-off at ordinary temperatures. Thermal expansion of steel is around 12 × 10⁻⁶ per °C, so the volume change is about 3 times that — roughly 0.04 % between 0 °C and 100 °C, which is far below the spread between grades. Where temperature genuinely matters is in the fluid in a pipe, not the pipe: the water capacity figures elsewhere on this site use 1,000 kg/m³, and water at 100 °C is 958 kg/m³, a 4 % difference that does affect a hydrostatic test mass.
Which is heavier, brass or bronze?
Bronze. Bearing bronze (C93200) is 8,800 kg/m³ and free-cutting brass (C36000) is 8,500 kg/m³, so bronze is about 3.5 % heavier. Both are heavier than steel, and both vary more than a wrought metal: brass spans roughly 8,400–8,700 kg/m³ with composition, bronze 8,700–9,000 kg/m³. If the difference matters to your order, it matters enough to get the certificate.
Reference data and tools
Density is one input to a weight; the geometry is the other.
- Metal weight overview — how the calculation works
- All 16 materials — densities and specifications
- All 10 sections — formulas and size series
- Density chart — lightest to heaviest
- Metal weight calculator — any size, any material
- All calculators — metal weight and pipe weight
- Download the data — CSV, generated from the same source
- Cross-reference tables — DN / NPS / material equivalents
- Methodology and sources — where every number comes from
One nominal density per material grade. The lb/in³ column and the relative percentage are derived at build time from the kg/m³ value — never hand-typed — so a change to a density propagates to every page and every download.
- ASTM material specifications for each grade named in the material entry (A36, A240/A276, B209/B211/B221, B152/B16/B505, B265/B348, A48, B29, D1784, D3350).
- ISO 4427 / ASTM D3350 — polyethylene pipe compounds (PE 100 material classification).
- BIPM / NIST definitional constants: international inch = 25.4 mm, foot = 0.3048 m, pound = 0.45359237 kg.
Dataset version 2026.09.1 · dimensions last verified against source 2026-09-21. Found an error? Report it — corrections are issued with a version bump.