Estimate how many pounds of honey you may harvest from deep, medium, and shallow supers — including mixed stacks, partially filled boxes, 8-frame or 10-frame equipment, and extraction recovery.
Calculator + methodology reviewed September 19, 2026.
HONEY & EXTRACTION
Estimate honey by super size
Enter the number of supers you expect to harvest. Use fullness to account for boxes that are not capped edge-to-edge, then adjust the extraction recovery for your equipment and process.
Deep9 5/8 in box
Medium6 5/8 in box
Shallow5 11/16 in box
%
Adjust full-box honey assumptions
These are planning estimates for honey in a completely filled box, not total lifting weight. Change them to match your operation.
8 medium supers × 38 lb × 100% full × 95% recovery.
Planning estimate only. Actual recoverable honey varies with frame spacing, comb depth, uncapped areas, moisture, cappings, extractor performance, and honey left in equipment.
HARVEST PLANNING
How much honey is in a deep, medium, or shallow super?
There is no universal pounds-per-super number. Frame size, number of frames actually carried in the box, drawn-comb depth, how fully the cells are capped, honey moisture, and extraction losses all change the result. The calculator therefore starts with visible planning assumptions and lets you replace them with your own numbers.
Example:Eight completely full 10-frame mediums at the 38 lb planning assumption contain about 304 lb before extraction losses. At 95% recovery, the estimate is about 289 lb into the buckets.
Starting assumptions
10-frame box
Calculator default
Why it is editable
Deep
60 lb honey
A capped deep frame is commonly estimated near 6 lb of honey; ten full frames imply about 60 lb.
Medium
38 lb honey
Published field references commonly place recoverable honey from a full medium in the upper 30s.
Shallow
30 lb honey
Published field references commonly put a full shallow near 30 lb recoverable honey.
Formula
Box contribution = boxes × lb per full box × fullness % Estimated extracted honey = all box contributions × recovery %
The 8-frame option scales the 10-frame defaults to 80% as a simple planning shortcut. If your 8-frame supers regularly run heavier or lighter, edit the assumptions.
Full super weight is not the same as honey yield
Some references report how much a loaded wooden box weighs when you lift it; others report the honey contained in the comb. Those are different quantities. Betterbee, for example, lists approximate total weights for full wooden 10-frame boxes, while Dadant discusses honey weight by capped frame. This calculator is designed around estimated honey available for extraction, not total box weight.
How much honey is in a medium super?
Use 38 lb as a starting estimate for a completely full 10-frame medium, then adjust it from your own extraction records. A field reference from Basic Beekeeping Techniques reports roughly 38–40 lb of recoverable honey from a full 9-frame medium super.
How much honey is in a deep super?
Dadant uses approximately 6 lb of honey per capped deep frame when estimating stores. Ten full deep frames therefore give a useful 60 lb starting point for planning, although real crop yield can be higher or lower.
How much honey is in a shallow super?
A full shallow is often estimated around 30 lb of recoverable honey. The calculator uses 30 lb for a 10-frame shallow and leaves the value editable.
What should I use for extraction recovery?
If you do not have your own number yet, 95% is a reasonable planning placeholder. Replace it once you can compare estimated honey in comb with actual bucket weights after uncapping, extracting, draining, and straining.
References
Dadant — Assessing Hive Feeding gives approximately 6 lb of honey per capped deep frame and 3.5 lb per capped medium frame. Betterbee — Choosing Equipment compares the lifting weight of full wooden deep, medium, and shallow boxes. Basic Beekeeping Techniques by Buddy Marterre reports about 38–40 lb recoverable honey from a full 9-frame medium and 30–32 lb from a full 10-frame shallow. These figures are planning references, not guarantees.