For a full organic garland, plan on 8–12 × 12" balloons, 10–15 × 5" minis and 2–3 × 18" per metre, plus one 36" every 2–3 metres. A balloon arch uses the same counts per metre of arch length — so a 4-metre arch (about 1.5m wide and 2.2m tall) is roughly 45 × 12", 55 × 5", 10 × 18" and two 36". The tables below give you the numbers for the common garland lengths and arch sizes, and how that converts into packs so you order once instead of twice.
These are the counts I use on real jobs, and they're deliberately a little generous — running out of 5" minis halfway through an install is worse than having a few left in the bag.
How many balloons per metre of garland?
A standard organic garland is about 40–50cm deep. Use these per-metre counts and multiply by your length:
| Size | Per metre (full) | Per metre (slim) | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12" (30cm) | 8–12 | 6–8 | Body of the garland |
| 5" (12cm) | 10–15 | 8–10 | Fills gaps, adds second colour |
| 18" (45cm) | 2–3 | 1–2 | Shape and depth |
| 36" (90cm) | 1 per 2–3m | 1 per 3–4m | Statement piece |
How many balloons for a 2, 3, 4 or 5 metre garland?
Worked out for a full garland. Pack sizes are in brackets so you can see where one pack covers it.
| Garland length | 12" (pack 100) | 5" (pack 100) | 18" (pack 25) | 36" (pack 2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 metres | 20 | 25 | 5 | 1 |
| 3 metres | 30 | 40 | 7 | 1–2 |
| 4 metres | 40 | 50 | 10 | 2 |
| 5 metres | 50 | 65 | 12 | 2–3 |
| 8 metres | 80 | 100 | 20 | 3–4 |
So one pack each of 12", 5" and 18" plus a pack of 36" covers anything up to about 4 metres in a single colour, with 5s and 12s to spare. For a three-colour garland, split the counts roughly 60 / 30 / 10 across the colours — the 5" minis are where the third colour lives.
How many balloons for a balloon arch?
An arch is a garland bent over a frame, so the per-metre counts are the same — you just need to know the arch's total length. Measure up one side, across the top and down the other (or, for a half-arch, the length of the curve). The common sizes:
| Arch | Approx. length | 12" | 5" | 18" | 36" |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half arch (one side of a doorway) | 2.5m | 25 | 30 | 6 | 1 |
| Doorway / backdrop frame | 4m | 45 | 55 | 10 | 2 |
| Full standing arch, 2m wide | 5.5m | 60 | 70 | 14 | 2–3 |
| Large entrance arch, 3m wide | 7.5m | 80 | 100 | 18 | 3 |
Two things that catch people out on arches. First, the top of an arch is where everyone looks, so put your 18s and the 36" there and keep the sides slightly slimmer — it reads as fuller than it is. Second, a free-standing arch needs a base or sandbags; the balloons are light but the frame plus wind isn't. On arches over 3 metres, a few 24" (60cm) balloons at the shoulders stop the 18s looking small.
What's in a balloon arch kit, and do I need one?
A "kit" is just the balloons above plus the hardware: garland tape or strip, glue dots, a hand pump or electric inflator, and a frame if it's free-standing. If you're buying balloons wholesale you're better off building your own kit from the counts in the tables — kits sold to the public are usually a fixed mix of colours and sizes in retail quantities, which is the opposite of what a stylist needs.
Our version is simple: pick your colours from any family (neutrals, pinks, greens, blues, chromes), then order the pack counts from the tables through the Quick Order Form, which lists every colour across every size on one page. If you're matching a client's colour brief, the Sample Bag gives you one 12" of every colour to hold up against the swatch first.
How do I work out counts for a mixed-colour design?
Use the per-metre totals, then split by colour weight. For a 4-metre garland in Blush / White Sand / Chrome Rose Gold:
- Main colour (60%): Blush — 25 × 12", 30 × 5", 6 × 18", the 36"
- Supporting colour (30%): White Sand — 12 × 12", 15 × 5", 3 × 18"
- Accent (10%): Chrome Rose Gold — 5 × 12", 8 × 5"
Round each up to the next sensible number. Chromes are usually the accent, so a single pack of 50 covers several jobs.
How much helium for a floating garland or ceiling install?
Most organic garlands are air-filled and mounted, so helium isn't needed. If the design floats, budget roughly 0.5 cubic feet of helium per 12" balloon, 0.4 per 18" and 15 per 36" — and expect 12–18 hours of float from untreated latex, longer with a float treatment. For a 3-metre floating garland that's about a quarter of a standard cylinder.
Quick answers
How many balloons for a 3-metre garland?
About 30 × 12", 40 × 5", 7 × 18" and one or two 36".
How many balloons for a standard balloon arch?
A doorway-sized arch (about 4m of garland) is roughly 45 × 12", 55 × 5", 10 × 18" and two 36".
Is it cheaper to buy a kit or the balloons separately?
Separately, by a long way, once you have a trade account — and you choose the colours.
What if I under-order?
Orders in before 1pm Monday–Friday leave Sydney the same day, and there's no minimum, so a top-up pack of 5s is a quick fix.
For the build itself — the order to inflate, how to cluster and where the 18s go — read How to build an organic balloon garland.
Evra is a Sydney balloon stylist and the founder of Stylex Balloons, a wholesale latex balloon range made for organic decor.