Badminton vs Volleyball Court: Size, Net Height and Layout Compared

If you've ever walked into a multi-sport hall and seen a confusing mess of different-coloured floor lines, you've seen the badminton-versus-volleyball comparison in real life. They're both indoor net sports, but on size they genuinely aren't in the same league. A volleyball court is 18 metres long by 9 metres wide; a badminton doubles court is 13.40 metres by 6.10 metres. And the volleyball net — 2.43 metres for men — towers over badminton's 1.55-metre net like basketball next to a kid's hoop. They share sports halls constantly, which is why the question matters in practice rather than just trivia: the numbers determine how many courts fit, which lines to follow, and whether your high clear will hit the ceiling.

Court dimensions side by side

• Badminton: 13.40 m long × 6.10 m wide for doubles (5.18 m wide for singles). Floor area around 82 m² (doubles).
• Volleyball: 18 m long × 9 m wide, split into two 9 m × 9 m halves by the net. Floor area 162 m² — roughly double a badminton doubles court.

So a volleyball court is longer and wider. In a shared hall you'll often see a single volleyball court occupying the space of two or more badminton courts laid side by side. The lines overlap in a glorious tangle that confuses every newcomer.

Net height: volleyball is much higher

This is the big one. A badminton net is 1.55 m at the posts (1.524 m at the centre) — about chest-to-shoulder height. A volleyball net is set at 2.43 m for men and 2.24 m for women — well above head height, because the whole sport is built around spiking down over a high barrier. Badminton's net is low enough to hit over from below; volleyball's is high enough that you jump to attack above it.

Why they share a hall (the practical reality)

Here's the bit that actually matters to anyone running or booking a venue, and it's rarely spelled out. Most multi-sport halls are sized and marked for several sports at once, and badminton plus volleyball is the classic pairing because both are indoor net games with broadly similar ceiling needs. A standard sports hall will fit one volleyball court down the middle or several badminton courts across the width — and the floor tape shows all of them in different colours.

The practical headache is the net posts and heights. Volleyball needs sturdy centre posts and a 2.43 m net; badminton needs lighter posts and a 1.55 m net, and crucially more of them (multiple courts across a hall). Switching a hall from volleyball to a badminton club night means dropping and repositioning several nets, and that's exactly the kind of changeover where things get messy. Clubs running a busy multi-court badminton night on a shared floor often lean on a peg board or an app like BadmintonClub.cc to manage which of the marked courts are in play and keep the rotation fair across them. The ceiling matters too: badminton needs serious clear height (a high clear or a lobbed serve goes up), so a hall built only for low-ceiling sports won't suit it — another reason the two sports, both needing height, end up sharing the same big rooms.

A quick reference table (in words)

• Length: volleyball 18 m vs badminton 13.40 m.
• Width: volleyball 9 m vs badminton 6.10 m (doubles).
• Net height: volleyball 2.43 m (men) / 2.24 m (women) vs badminton 1.55 m.
• Per-side area: volleyball 81 m² vs badminton ~41 m² (doubles half).
• Players per side: volleyball 6 vs badminton 1 (singles) or 2 (doubles).

FAQ

• Q: Is a volleyball court bigger than a badminton court? Yes, substantially. A volleyball court is 18 m × 9 m (162 m²); a badminton doubles court is 13.40 m × 6.10 m (about 82 m²) — roughly half the area.
• Q: How does the net height compare? Volleyball's net is much higher: 2.43 m for men and 2.24 m for women, versus badminton's 1.55 m at the posts. Volleyball is built around attacking above a high net; badminton is hit over a lower one.
• Q: Can badminton and volleyball share the same court? They share the same hall rather than the same court. Multi-sport halls are marked for both, but you reposition nets and posts to switch between them — volleyball uses one big court, badminton several smaller ones.
• Q: How many badminton courts fit in a volleyball court space? Roughly, the footprint of a single volleyball court can accommodate a couple of badminton courts side by side, though exact fit depends on run-off margins and hall layout.
• Q: Why do both sports need high ceilings? Badminton sends the shuttle high on clears and serves, and volleyball is played with high arcs and spikes, so both need generous clear height — one reason they're paired in tall multi-sport halls.
• Q: How many players are on each court? Volleyball is six per side. Badminton is one per side in singles or two per side in doubles — far fewer players on a smaller court.