It’s easy to visualize how large a 10-inch pizza is. Just imagine two soda cans lying on their side, end-to-end. That’s pretty much the diameter of the pizza.
The hard part is trying to visualize how the chef is going to slice this pizza.
While I can’t speak for the chef at your favorite pizzeria, I do know a thing or two about the usual slicing standards. So, let’s get to it and find out how many slices are in a 10-inch pizza!
Your Typical 10-Inch PizzaBase Is Sliced Into…
Six pieces. Yup, the average 10-inch pizza is sliced into six equal wedges.
I have two important notes here, though.
Image source: Google
The first is that these aren’t the hilariously small slices you’d expect in a fourth-grade pizza party. We’re talking about six substantial slices here.
The second point is that this six-way cut is popular, but it’s definitely not the only way to slice a 10-inch pizza. Let’s look at a couple of other scenarios that would result in six, nine, or even 12 equal slices.
What If It’s a 10-Inch Square Pizza?
Suppose your hypothetical 10-inch pizza is square rather than round. In this case, you could go for six or nine squares.
Image source: Google
I’d go with the six-slice option. But that’s just because I love a high corner-to-center ratio in my pizza bites. And yes, I eat the four corner slices first.
What If You Want to Get Creative With Your Cuts?
Maybe you’re a bit bored of traditional triangular wedges and grid cuts. Well, I have a nifty mathematics-based slicing recipe for you: Monohedral disc tiling.
Don’t worry, though. You don’t have to be good at math to try this method.
Just cut six curved lives, each starting from the center. Now, you’ll work on one slice at a time. Put your pizza cutter at the middle point of the “concave” side of the slice and cut all the way to the outer corner on the “convex” side.
Repeat these steps for all the remaining pieces, and you’ve got 12 identical slices out of a 10-inch pizza!
This method can be great if you’re feeding kids. They’ll find the shapes interesting, and you’ll be able to give them smaller portions.
What If You Ask for a Double Cut?
Considering that the six-slice cut is the default for 10-inch pizzas, asking for a double cut means that you want 12 smaller slices. They won’t look as fun and unique as the disc tiles, though.
How Many People Would Six Slices of a 10-Inch Pizza Feed?
Many restaurants and pizzerias consider the 10-inch pizza to be a small and maybe even personal pizza.
From my experience, this size feeds 1–3 people. If it’s only a snack between meals, I could share a 10-inch pizza with one or two friends, which means I’ll end up eating 2–3 slices. If, however, I’m hungry, I eat the whole thing myself.
How many calories would you be consuming in one sitting if you followed in my footsteps and ate all six slices? That’s a good question, but the answer depends on the toppings and the crust thickness you picked for your pizza.
For instance, a hand-tossed 10-inch Domino’s cheese pizza has about a little over 1,100 calories, but a thin-crust one has only 800 calories. Meanwhile, the calorie count of a 10-inch plain pizza is around 970 calories.
Image source: Dominos
To put things into perspective, I want to point out that the typical cheeseburger has somewhere around 585 calories.
10-Inch Pizza vs. Other Sizes: Which Gives You the Most Slices?
Okay, a 10-inch pizza has six slices. But maybe you’re having friends over and need a bit more than six slices to split between you.
If you’re in a rush to order a pizza, check out this quick comparison to help you choose a size:
| Pizza Size | Usual Diameter | Usual No. of Slices | Servings |
| Small | 10–12 inches | 6 | 1–3 |
| Medium | 12–14 inches | 8 | 2–3 |
| Large | 14–16 inches | 8–12 | 3–4 |
| Extra-Large | 16–18 | 12 | 4–6 |
| Party | 18+ | 12+ | 6+ |
Here are more details about the different sizes:
Small(er) Pizza
A 10-inch pizza is already considered small. However, some restaurants serve an even smaller base, at an 8-inch or even a 7.5-inch diameter.
That’s what I’d call a true personal pizza. After all, I think it’s pretty hard to get full eating only 1–2 slices of a 7.5-inch pizza.
Side Note: Some pizzerias don’t call their smallest size “small” at all, presumably for marketing reasons. So, expect to see something like the 7.5-inch base called a “regular” pizza now and then.
Medium Pizza
If you only need a slightly bigger option than the 10-inch pizza, medium is the way to go. Its diameter should be around 12–14 inches, which creates enough room for two slices more than the small 10-inch pizza.
Large Pizza
The diameter of a large pizza tends to be 14–16 inches, and it can easily serve three moderately hungry folks.
It’s possible to cut a large pizza into eight, ten, or 12 slices. The eight-slice cut is perfect if you prefer more filling wedges. Meanwhile, the 12-slice pattern works best for gatherings. The ten-slice option, however, is sort of a middle ground between the two sizes.
Side Note: Cutting a pizza into ten equal slices is trickier than you think. The key is to cut at 36°.
Image source: Google
Extra-Large (XL) Pizza
A pizza with a 16-inch or 18-inch diameter is usually called an XL pizza. This size is ideal for families because its 12 slices can feed 4–6 people. Hey, you might even end up with some leftover slices for tomorrow!
Getting More Bang for Your Buck: Is the 10-Inch, Six-Slice Pizza Worth Your Money?
At a glance, it might seem like an XL pizza has double the slices of the 10-inch size. But that’s not how comparing pizza values works. The gap between the two sizes is way bigger than that.
Believe it or not, a 16-inch pizza has two and a half more pizza goodness than a 10-inch one!
What about an impressive 20-inch pizza? Well, it has an area four times larger than that of a 10-inch base. It’s rarely four times more expensive, though.
All in all, you can get more bang for your buck when you order larger sizes. So, if you’re with friends, you might want to consider getting one large pizza instead of two small ones. You can get a half-and-half pizza if you want different toppings, too.
And even if you’re ordering pizza for one, you can still opt for something bigger than 10 inches. You can revamp the leftovers to eat them the next day. You’d be surprised at what you can make out of leftover pizza slices—pudding, casseroles, croutons, or fries!
Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m not saying that the 10-inch size is worthless or that you should never buy it. These are just tips for people trying to eat on a budget.
Plus, if we go by the price-per-inch logic, the 10-inch pizza is still better than a 7-inch or an 8-inch one. In fact, a 7-inch pizza isn’t even half as large as the 10-inch base. The former has an area of 38.5 square inches, while the latter has an area of 78.5 square inches.
Image source: Mirror
Final Thoughts
To recap, the average 10-inch pizza is cut into six substantial slices. However, the cut can still change from one place to another.
So, if the number of slices really matters to you, it’s better to call your local pizzeria and ask them about their slicing standards for 10-inch bases. Even if their standards don’t match your preference, they might be able to customize the cut for your order.
Of course, you can always ask for your pizza uncut. This way, you can go to town and slice it the way you want once it’s delivered.
Bonus point: An uncut pizza is less likely to lose heat on the drive home, and its crust remains crispy longer!
