Lateral area is the area of the sides of a three-dimensional shape, excluding the base and top.
Surface area is the area of all of the sides of a shape.
For example, a the formula for the surface area of a cube is [tex] 6s^2 [/tex], where [tex] s [/tex] is the length of an edge of the cube. However, the formula for the lateral area of a cube is [tex] 4s^2 [/tex], where [tex] s [/tex] is also the length of an edge of the cube.
