Measure your plate rim to rim and type the size. You get the name it is usually sold under, whether it fits a dishwasher, a kitchen cabinet and a microwave, and which charger goes under it. Below, every standard plate size in inches and centimetres. No sign-up.
10½ in (26.7 cm) across
Dinner plates run 10 to 12 in (25 to 30 cm), most often 10½ in (27 cm). The main course.
Printed sizes are rounded: a plate can measure up to about ½ in (1.5 cm) off its label.
Stands upright in the lower rack of a standard 24 in dishwasher.
Stands upright in the lower basket of a standard 60 cm machine.
Compact 18 in and 45 cm models take the same plate as full-size ones of the same height. The rack table in your manual is the final word.
Overhangs the shelf of a standard 12 in wall cabinet; whether the door shuts depends on how it is built. Measure inside yours.
Lies flat in a standard 300 mm wall unit.
IKEA SEKTION and METOD wall cabinets are deeper and take plates up to about 13¾ in (35 cm) lying flat.
Turns freely in microwaves from 1.0 to 1.3 cu ft up. Smaller ones down to 0.7 cu ft may take it: measure the glass tray.
Turns freely in microwaves from 28 to 32 L up. Smaller ones down to 17 to 20 L may take it: measure the glass tray.
The plate should be at least ½ in (1.3 cm) smaller than the glass tray. Over-the-range models take plates up to about 13 in (33 cm).
Makers pair chargers that show about ¾ to 1¼ in a side, so a 12 to 13 in charger. Chargers are most often 13 in (33 cm).
Leave about 24 in (61 cm) from one plate's centre to the next; 20 in (51 cm) is the least most guides allow.
No etiquette source sets a charger size rule; the pairs are what makers sell together. How chargers are paired
| Plate | Usual range | Most common | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charger | 11 to 14 in (28 to 36 cm) | 13 in (33 cm) | Under the dinner or first-course plate |
| Dinner plate | 10 to 12 in (25 to 30 cm) | 10½ in (27 cm) | The main course |
| Luncheon plate | 8½ to 9½ in (21.5 to 24 cm) | 9 in (23 cm) | A lighter main course |
| Salad plate | 7 to 8½ in (18 to 22 cm) | 8¼ in (21 cm) | Salad or a first course |
| Dessert plate | 6 to 8½ in (15 to 22 cm) | 8 in (20 cm) | Dessert; in most sets the same plate as the salad plate |
| Bread and butter plate | 5 to 7 in (13 to 18 cm) | 6¼ in (16 cm) | Bread and butter, set above the forks |
| Saucer | 4½ to 6½ in (11 to 16 cm) | 6 in (15 cm) | Under a teacup or coffee cup |
Ranges overlap, and a plate is named by what you serve on it as much as by its size: an 8 in plate is sold as a salad plate and as a dessert plate, and 11 to 12 in plates as dinner plates and as chargers. "Most common" is the size that turns up most in current place settings from Lenox, Noritake, Mikasa, Corelle, Wedgwood, Villeroy & Boch, IKEA and other makers. The types of plates guide covers every plate, bowl and serving piece by name.
A square plate is measured edge to edge, not corner to corner. A scalloped plate is measured across its widest point. Expect your number to differ from the label by up to about half an inch: printed sizes are rounded.
Across the sources we read, a dinner plate is anywhere from 8 to 13 inches: KaTom gives 8 to 11 in, Lenox and WebstaurantStore 10 to 12 in, and Wikipedia, citing the tableware historian Suzanne von Drachenfels, 9 to 13 in. Nisbets, a UK catering supplier, notes that more restaurants now use 11 and 12 in plates with wider rims, which keep the same eating area and frame the food.
The same size also goes by different names. Williams Sonoma sells a 9 in plate as a salad plate, while Lenox and Fiesta call a 9 in plate a luncheon or accent plate. Corelle's 6¾ in plate is an appetizer plate on its own site and a bread and butter plate in shops.
And labels are rounded. Portmeirion catalogues a plate as 20 cm that measures 21.5 cm. Rimmed and coupe (rimless) plates of one line are usually given the same nominal size, though Denby's coupes run 1 to 1.5 cm smaller.
The cut-offs are ours, drawn from what manufacturers publish:
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Most dinner plates are 10 to 12 in (25 to 30 cm) across, and 10½ in (27 cm) is the size most sets use. Some sets, often older or European ones, use a 10 in (25 cm) dinner plate.
Usually 7 to 8½ in (18 to 22 cm); 8¼ in (21 cm) is the size most sets use. Brands sell plates from 6¾ to 9½ in under the name.
In most sets, yes: one plate of about 8 in (20 cm) serves both. Some makers sell a separate dessert plate a little smaller, and UK dessert plates run 20 to 23 cm.
In most US dishwashers, yes, standing in the lower rack with the upper rack raised: 12 in is the largest plate most manuals list. A standard-height European machine usually stops at 31 cm (12.2 in).
A standard 12 in wall cabinet takes plates up to about 10.4 in lying flat; an 11 in plate is tight and a 12 in plate does not fit. A UK maker of 300 mm units gives 270 mm (10.6 in) as its limit. IKEA's deeper wall cabinets take up to about 13¾ in (35 cm).
For a 10½ in (27 cm) plate: Turns freely in microwaves from 1.0 to 1.3 cu ft up. Smaller ones down to 0.7 cu ft may take it: measure the glass tray. In Europe it turns freely in microwaves from 28 to 32 L up. Smaller ones down to 17 to 20 L may take it: measure the glass tray. The plate should be at least ½ in smaller than the glass tray.
Chargers are most often 13 in (33 cm). No etiquette source sets a size rule; the pairs makers sell together show about ¾ to 1¼ in of charger on each side, so a 10½ in dinner plate takes a 12 to 13 in charger.
Lay it face up, put a ruler straight across the middle and read from the outside edge of the rim to the outside edge opposite. The rim counts: that is the size makers print. Measure a square plate edge to edge, not corner to corner.
Every plate, bowl and serving dish by name, with its size and what it is for.
What a charger is for, the sizes makers sell, and when to clear it.
Where each plate, fork and glass goes, drawn for your menu.
Every classic cut drawn at actual size, with the same bank-card calibration.
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