Helium Cost Per Balloon: Fill Volumes & Real Numbers by Size
Helium is one of the few materials that quietly eats your profit, because most of us never actually work out what a single filled balloon costs. Once you know the fill volume of each size and your own cost per litre, costing helium takes seconds — and you stop giving gas away for free.
Every size needs a different amount of helium
The amount of gas a balloon swallows depends on its size and whether it's latex or foil — and the differences are bigger than most people expect. A small party latex needs just a few litres, a standard 11" latex takes several times that, and a single 3ft giant can drink hundreds of litres — more than a whole bag of small balloons put together.
That spread is exactly why guessing doesn't work: price every balloon as if it were "about the same" and the big statement pieces quietly eat your margin. You need the fill volume for each size you use — Quote Your Balloons has the full latex and foil volumes built in, so you never have to look them up.
Working out your cost per balloon
Two steps. First, find your cost per litre; then multiply by the balloon's fill volume.
Or skip the maths entirely
In Quote Your Balloons it takes two inputs: pick your tank (the common tank sizes are already built in) and enter what you paid for it. The app does the rest — your cost per balloon for every latex and foil size, and the helium total for any order, instantly.
Fill a whole arch or bouquet order and the gas alone can quietly run to tens of pounds before a single balloon is counted. That's exactly the number people forget to charge for — and exactly what the app makes impossible to miss.
How many balloons will my tank fill?
Flip the maths: divide your tank's litres by the fill volume of the size you're using. The answer surprises most people — a tank that fills a big batch of small balloons manages only a handful of the large ones. Big balloons are deceptively thirsty, and it's why quoting a giant balloon at "a bit more" than a standard one loses money.
Two inputs. Every helium cost handled.
Pick your tank, tell the app what you paid, and Quote Your Balloons prices every latex and foil size and totals the gas for any order — then rolls it straight into your quote. No spreadsheet, no forgotten cost.
Cost your next order — £12.99/mo