How many people fit at a table?
Most venues stock 60 in rounds, and how many people fit around one depends entirely on how much table edge you give each guest. Caterers routinely lay eight. Allow everyone a full 24 in, which is what this planner does, and the honest answer is seven.
| Table | Size | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Round | 48 in (4 ft) | 6 |
| 54 in (4.5 ft) | 7 | |
| 60 in (5 ft) | 7 | |
| 66 in (5.5 ft) | 8 | |
| 72 in (6 ft) | 9 | |
| Square | 36 in (3 ft) | 6 |
| 48 in (4 ft) | 8 | |
| 60 in (5 ft) | 10 | |
| Rectangular banquet | 72 in (6 ft) | 8 |
| 96 in (8 ft) | 10 | |
| 120 in (10 ft) | 12 | |
| Head table (one side) | 96 in (8 ft) | 4 |
| 144 in (12 ft) | 6 | |
| 192 in (16 ft) | 8 |
The number everything rests on
A place setting needs about 24 in of table edge: the width of a chair plus the elbow room to use it without knocking the person beside you. Banqueting guides run from 20 in for a tight service to 30 in for a long formal dinner. The chart below uses 24 in, and so does the planner when it sizes a table for you - which is why its numbers come out one below the figure a venue will quote you. Eight around a 60 in round is 23.6 in each; it fits, but nobody has a spare inch.
Reading the chart
For a round table, divide the circumference by 24. For a square, divide the four sides. For a banquet or head table, only the run counts - widening a rectangular table adds no places, because the extra depth is space people reach across rather than sit at. That is why a long room of banquet rows seats more than the same room in rounds.
When to seat fewer than the maximum
The chart shows what fits at 24 in a head, not a ceiling. Venues go tighter all the time and it works fine. Go the other way and drop a place if there's a centrepiece people need to see past, if the service is plated rather than family style, or if the evening runs long enough that your guests will want to push their chairs back.
Sizing the room, not just the table
Capacity per table is only half the problem. Each round also needs about 5 ft of clearance to the next table edge for chairs and service, so a 60 in round really occupies a circle closer to 10 ft across. Multiply that out before you promise a venue a headcount, because the tables almost always fit before the aisles do.