What is sprint capacity?
Sprint capacity is the realistic amount of work the team can complete in the next sprint, given PTO, holidays, on-call rotations, and your focus factor. Capacity is a planning input; velocity is a historical output.
How to calculate sprint capacity
- Multiply team size × sprint working days × hours per day = raw person-hours
- Subtract PTO hours (PTO days × hours per day)
- Multiply by your focus factor (usually 60-70%)
- Divide by your hours-per-point ratio to get a story-point ceiling
Run the numbers in 30 seconds with our free Sprint Capacity Calculator.
Capacity vs Velocity
| Metric | What it tells you | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | What the team can do this sprint | Planning |
| Velocity | What the team has done historically | Forecasting + sanity-checking capacity |
Common capacity mistakes
- Ignoring PTO — one person on holiday is 10% of a five-person sprint.
- Skipping focus factor — assumes 100% of working hours are sprint hours. They're not.
- Treating capacity as a target — capacity is a ceiling, not a quota.
- Different units — measuring capacity in hours and velocity in points without converting.
Related
- Velocity
- Focus Factor
- Story Points
- Deep dive: Sprint Planning Guide