Beam Load Calculator
Maximum bending moment and shear for the four standard beam load cases.
What is Beam Load?
A beam's worst bending moment and its worst shear are what decide its section, and for the standard statically-determinate cases they follow from the span and the load alone — no material property is involved. This calculator covers the four cases a first course builds everything else from: a simply supported beam with a point load at midspan, a simply supported beam under a uniform load, and the same two loads on a cantilever.
How it works
For a simply supported beam with a point load P at midspan, the moment is P·L ÷ 4 and each reaction is P ÷ 2. Make the load uniform at w per metre and the moment becomes w·L² ÷ 8 and each reaction w·L ÷ 2. On a cantilever the moment peaks at the wall instead: P·L for a tip load, w·L² ÷ 2 for a uniform one, with a single reaction equal to the total load. The page prints the formula it applied so the result can be checked by hand.
- Enter your input. Type or paste your input into the field above — the tool responds instantly.
- Review the result. Output updates live as you type. Everything runs entirely in your browser.
- Copy or download. Use the Copy button to grab the result, or Download to save it as a file.
Examples
Realistic sample
Type or paste any realistic input — the tool computes the result locally and instantly.
Common mistakes
Expecting a server round-trip
Nothing is uploaded — every tool in this category runs entirely in your browser.