Moisture Content Calculator
Calculate the moisture content of a material – grain, soil, wood, or food – from its wet mass and dry mass, on both a wet-basis and dry-basis percentage.
What moisture content is
Moisture content is the amount of water in a material, expressed as a percentage of the material’s mass. It is used across agriculture, food science, construction, and forestry to judge whether grain, soil, wood, or other materials are dry enough for storage, processing, or use.
The formula
This calculator reports both common conventions. Wet-basis moisture content, the most widely used, is MC(wet) = (wet mass − dry mass) / wet mass × 100%. Dry-basis moisture content, common in agricultural science, is MC(dry) = (wet mass − dry mass) / dry mass × 100%.
To measure the two masses yourself, weigh the sample before and after fully drying it (for example, in an oven until the weight stops changing). This calculator is intended for general educational and planning purposes.