Parallel Plate Capacitor Calculator
Find the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor from its plate area, gap and dielectric material.
m²
m
Picofarads (1 pF = 1e-12 F)
- 1
Plate area ÷ gap (A/d)
0.01 ÷ 0.001 = 10 m - 2
Capacitance C = ε0 × εr × (A/d) in pF
8.854 × 1 × 10 = 88.5400ε0 = 8.854 × 10⁻¹² F/m; multiplying by 10¹² converts farads to picofarads.
How does this calculator work?
A parallel plate capacitor has capacitance C = ε0·εr·A/d, where ε0 = 8.854 × 10⁻¹² F/m, A is plate area in m², d is the gap in metres and εr is the dielectric constant. Larger area and higher εr raise capacitance; a wider gap lowers it. Results are given in picofarads and farads.
Formula
How this is calculated
A parallel plate capacitor stores charge on two conducting plates of area A separated by a distance d. Its capacitance is C = ε0·εr·A/d, where ε0 = 8.854 × 10⁻¹² F/m is the permittivity of free space and εr is the relative permittivity (dielectric constant) of the material filling the gap. Use εr = 1 for vacuum or air; common dielectrics range from ~2 (paper, Teflon) to thousands (ceramics).
Enter the plate area in square metres, the separation in metres and the dielectric constant (dimensionless). Capacitance grows with larger plate area and higher dielectric constant, and shrinks as the plates move farther apart. The result is shown in picofarads (1 pF = 10⁻¹² F) for readability and in farads in scientific notation.
This ideal formula assumes flat, parallel plates with d much smaller than the plate dimensions, so fringing fields at the edges are negligible and the field between the plates is uniform. It also ignores any conductor thickness and assumes a single homogeneous dielectric. Area, gap and εr must all be positive; a zero gap is non-physical and gives infinite capacitance.
Frequently asked questions
ε0 is the permittivity of free space, 8.854 × 10⁻¹² farads per metre. It sets the scale relating electric field to charge in a vacuum.
A dielectric polarises in the field, partly cancelling it, which lets the plates hold more charge at the same voltage. Capacitance rises by the factor εr.
Real capacitors use very thin gaps, large rolled-up areas and high-εr dielectrics. With modest area and a millimetre gap in air you only get a few picofarads.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Parallel Plate Capacitor Calculator [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/parallel-plate-capacitor-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Parallel Plate Capacitor Calculator." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/parallel-plate-capacitor-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Parallel Plate Capacitor Calculator," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/parallel-plate-capacitor-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_parallel_plate_capacitor_calculator, title = {Parallel Plate Capacitor Calculator}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/parallel-plate-capacitor-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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