Enter your body weight, choose a balloon size (from Mini 5" to Large 18"), and pick the gas type to find out exactly how many helium balloons it would take to lift you off the ground. You also get the lift per balloon and total balloon volume — just like the house from the movie Up!
Balloons Needed to Lift You
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Net Lift Per Balloon
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Volume Per Balloon
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Total Gas Volume Needed
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Total Weight of All Balloons
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Helium is lighter than air — its density is about 0.164 g/L compared to air at roughly 1.225 g/L. Because a helium-filled balloon displaces air that weighs more than the balloon + gas combined, the net buoyant force pushes the balloon upward. This is the same principle as a boat floating on water.
A standard 11" latex balloon has a volume of roughly 11–14 liters. After subtracting the weight of the balloon latex (~3 g) and the helium inside, it can provide a net lift of approximately 10–12 grams. So you need thousands of them to lift a person.
Using standard 11" helium balloons with a net lift of ~10 g each, you need roughly 100 balloons to lift 1 kilogram. For a 75 kg person, that comes to around 7,500 balloons — not counting the weight of the balloons themselves.
Attach the balloon neck securely to the nozzle of a helium tank or canister. Open the valve briefly to fill the balloon to the desired size, then pinch the neck tightly before removing it from the nozzle. Tie a knot close to the balloon opening to seal the gas inside.
Helium atoms are very small and gradually escape through the pores of the latex rubber. Most standard helium balloons lose enough gas to stop floating within 12–24 hours. Foil (Mylar) balloons float much longer — often several days to weeks — because the material is less permeable.
Hydrogen provides slightly more lift than helium because it is even less dense (about 0.082 g/L vs. 0.164 g/L for helium). However, hydrogen is highly flammable and poses a serious safety risk, which is why helium is the preferred choice for party balloons and events.
A small wooden house weighs roughly 50,000–100,000 kg. At ~10 g of lift per 11" balloon, you would need somewhere between 5 million and 10 million helium balloons. The movie Up! estimated about 9.4 million balloons — remarkably close to the physics!
Yes! This calculator shows the total gas volume needed. Most standard disposable helium tanks hold about 8.9 to 14.9 cubic feet (250–420 liters) of helium and inflate 30–50 standard 11" balloons. Divide your total volume by the tank capacity to estimate how many tanks you need.