How Many Pizzas Do I Need? A Chart for 8 to 60 People

For a group of average adults, order 4 large pizzas for 10 people, 8 for 20 people, and 12 for 30 people. Each of those counts comes from 3 slices per person divided by 8 slices per pizza, rounded up.

The chart below covers 8 to 60 people. Each column uses a different appetite level, so pick the one that matches your crowd.

Every number in the chart uses the same formula: guests × slices per person ÷ 8 slices per large pizza, rounded up. Use Young kids for elementary-age children and younger, Light for lunches or events with plenty of other food, Average for adults at a dinner where pizza is the main dish, and Hungry for teenagers, athletes, or any event where pizza is the only food. Our guide to how much pizza per person explains how to choose between them and how to count a mixed crowd.

The chart assumes a large pizza is cut into 8 slices. Some shops cut theirs into 6, so ask before you order. If yours does, divide your total slices by 6 instead.

10 people

Ten average adults need 30 slices, so 4 large pizzas cover them with 2 slices to spare. Light eaters also need 4, a hungry group needs 5, and 10 young kids need 3.

That 2-slice cushion is thin. If two guests take a fourth slice, the boxes are empty. In a small group, a single big eater can use up the whole margin, so order a fifth pizza if you know someone in the group eats a lot.

A group of 10 also forces a choice between variety and value. Four large pizzas means four flavors at most, and the default split of 40% cheese, 30% pepperoni, and 30% a third choice gives you 2 cheese, 1 pepperoni, and 1 of the third choice. If you want more kinds, mediums are the obvious move. Ten average adults need 30 ÷ 6 = 5 medium pizzas, which gives you five flavors instead of four.

The mediums hold less pizza, though. A 12-inch pizza has about 113 square inches of surface, and a 14-inch pizza has about 154. Five mediums add up to roughly 565 square inches, while four larges add up to roughly 616. The mediums also give you exactly 30 slices, so nothing is left to spare. Compare the price of five mediums with four larges on your shop's menu, and see our pizza size comparison guide for more on value by size.

15 people

Fifteen average adults need 45 slices, so order 6 large pizzas. Light eaters need 5, and a hungry group needs 8.

The gap between a light crowd and a hungry one is three whole pizzas at 15, compared with one pizza at 10. A wrong guess about appetite costs more here, so think about who is actually coming. Fifteen middle schoolers after a game and fifteen coworkers at a lunch meeting belong in different columns.

Six pizzas split evenly under the default percentages. Cheese works out to 2.4, pepperoni to 1.8, and the third choice to 1.8. The whole numbers add up to 4, and the two leftover pizzas go to the two largest fractions, so you get 2 cheese, 2 pepperoni, and 2 of the third choice.

Watch for exact results with mixed groups. Ten adults and five young kids need 30 + 10 = 40 slices, and 40 ÷ 8 = 5 exactly. Five large pizzas feed them with zero slices left over. For a group you know well, an order with no spare slices works. If anyone is bringing a guest, order a sixth.

Fifteen is also the point where extra-large pizzas start to make sense. The same 45 slices only take 5 extra-large pizzas at 10 slices each, so you get one fewer box to carry and one fewer to fit on the counter.

20 people

Twenty average adults need 60 slices. 60 ÷ 8 = 7.5, so order 8 large pizzas. Light eaters need 7, a hungry crowd needs 10, and 20 young kids need 5.

At 20, the ages in the group can move the order more than the headcount does. Take a youth sports party with 12 players and 8 parents.

• If the players are young kids: 12 × 2 + 8 × 3 = 48 slices, so order 6 large pizzas.
• If the players are teenagers: 12 × 4 + 8 × 3 = 72 slices, so order 9 large pizzas.

The first result lands exactly on 6.0, so a seventh pizza is cheap insurance if siblings come along.

Family gatherings of 20 often include every age at once. Nine adults, five teens, and six young kids need 27 + 20 + 12 = 59 slices, which rounds up to 8 large pizzas. When relatives bring side dishes, move the adults down to the light eater number of 2.5 and recount. The new total is 22.5 + 20 + 12 = 54.5 slices, which rounds up to 7 large pizzas.

Eight boxes make a tall, wobbly stack for one person to carry. If you are picking up, bring a second person, keep the boxes flat, and set them in short stacks on the floor of the car so they cannot slide off a seat.

25 people

Twenty-five average adults need 75 slices, so order 10 large pizzas. Light eaters need 8, a hungry crowd needs 13, and 25 young kids need 7.

Ten pizzas is a big order for one shop, especially on a Friday or Saturday evening. Call ahead, ask how much lead time the shop needs, and set a pickup or delivery time that matches when your guests will eat.

Table space becomes a real problem at 25. A large pizza box is a little over 14 inches on each side, and an open lid doubles the depth it takes up. A standard 6-foot folding table fits about four or five open boxes in a single row. Ten open boxes need two tables. The other option is to open half the boxes when the food arrives and keep the rest closed until the first round is gone. Keep the stacks of closed boxes short so the bottom pizzas do not get crushed.

Extra-large pizzas help with both problems. The same 75 slices take 75 ÷ 10 = 7.5, so 8 extra-large pizzas cover the group. Switching to extra-large means two fewer boxes for the shop to make and two fewer to find room for.

Ten pizzas also splits cleanly under the default percentages, so the order is 4 cheese, 3 pepperoni, and 3 of the third choice. With ten boxes, you have room to turn that third share into two different toppings, such as 2 sausage and 1 veggie.

30 to 50 people

Average adults need 12 large pizzas for 30 people, 15 for 40, and 19 for 50. For a hungry crowd, those numbers climb to 15, 20, and 25. For light eaters, they drop to 10, 13, and 16.

Delivery and pickup need a plan at this size. Nineteen pizzas from one kitchen at one time means the first pizzas out of the oven sit in boxes while the last ones bake. Two approaches work better.

The first is to split the pickup. Order part of the pizzas from one location and the rest from a second location, or send two people to pick up at the same shop. If you use two shops, confirm how each one cuts its pizzas. One shop's large may have 8 slices while the other's has 6, so run the math for each order separately.

The second is to stagger the delivery. For an event that runs from noon to 2 PM, have the first batch arrive at noon and the second batch around 1 PM. Make the first batch the bigger one, since most people eat as soon as food appears. The late arrivals and the second-slice crowd will get hot pizza instead of pizza that has sat out for an hour.

Church suppers and other mixed-age community events usually belong in the Light column, because seniors and kids eat less and other dishes share the table. For 50 people at a potluck, 16 large pizzas is a reasonable ceiling. A banquet for 30 athletes sits at the other end and calls for 15 large pizzas from the Hungry column.

For toppings, 19 pizzas at 40% cheese, 30% pepperoni, and 30% a third choice works out to 7.6, 5.7, and 5.7. The whole numbers add up to 17, and the two leftover pizzas go to the two largest fractions, so the order is 7 cheese, 6 pepperoni, and 6 of the third choice. Split those six across two or three toppings so guests have real choices.

A few setup habits keep a group this size moving:

• Line up the open boxes along one side of a table with plates at the start and napkins at the end, so people move in one direction.
• Label each box with a sticky note so nobody has to open every lid to find the veggie pizza.
• Set vegetarian and gluten-free pizzas in their own spot, and ask the shop how it prepares gluten-free crusts if any guest has celiac disease.
• Bring foil or zip-top bags so guests can take leftovers home.

If you would rather plug in your exact headcount, the pizza calculator handles any number and splits the order by topping. For events above 50, our guide to pizza for 100 people covers the logistics of catering-size orders.