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Gravel Calculator: Cubic Yards, Tons and Bags

Work out how much gravel, mulch, topsoil or sand a job needs in cubic yards and tons, and what it will cost. Add rectangles, circles and triangles, pick the material and the bag size, and use the number for an order or a landscaping quote.

Your numbers

Areas to cover

Area 1
ft
ft

Up to 6 areas, added together. A triangle's height is measured square to its base.

Depth and material

in
%

Optional. Add a margin when the base will be compacted or the ground is uneven.

t/yd³

A typical dry weight from published tables (see the sources). Use your supplier's figure when you have it.

The depth after spreading. Measure it in a few places.

Bags and cost

$

Gravel to order

–

In cubic feet
–
Total area
–
Weight (1.42 t/yd³)
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Bags (0.5 cu ft bag)
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Material cost (cubic yard)
–

An estimate for quoting and ordering, not a substitute for measuring on site.

Tons use a typical dry weight; wet material weighs more. Bulk yards are often sold loose, so ask the yard how it measures.

The calculation runs in your browser and ParrotNotes does not store your numbers. They sit in the page address so you can bookmark or share the result.

How much gravel do I need?

Gravel is ordered by the cubic yard, so the sum is area × depth. Measure each area in feet, work out its square feet, then multiply by the depth in inches and divide by 12 to get cubic feet. Divide cubic feet by 27 for cubic yards. A circle is π × (diameter ÷ 2)²; a triangle is base × height ÷ 2, with the height measured square to the base.

Worked example: a path 30 ft long and 4 ft wide at 3 in deep is 120 square feet × 3 ÷ 12 = 30 cubic feet, or 1.11 cubic yards. At a typical 1.42 tons a yard that is about 1.58 tons, or 60 bags of 0.5 cubic feet. A path with a round patio at the end is two areas: add a circle row and the calculator adds them up.

Mulch calculator: how much mulch for a bed

Pick Mulch above and enter the beds. UF/IFAS Extension's Florida-Friendly Landscaping program says to keep a 2 to 3 inch layer on plant beds, so the depth starts at 3 in. One cubic yard covers 324 square feet at 1 in deep, 162 at 2 in and 108 at 3 in.

A 10 × 20 ft bed at 3 in needs 200 × 3 ÷ 12 = 50 cubic feet, or 1.85 cubic yards. Bagged mulch commonly comes in 2 cubic foot bags, which makes 25 bags; a 3 cubic foot bag makes 17. Bulk mulch is sold by the yard; put the bag price and the yard price in the calculator to compare.

Topsoil calculator: yards for a lawn or a garden bed

Topsoil works the same way. Spreading 2 in over a 1,000 square foot lawn is 1,000 × 2 ÷ 12 = 166.7 cubic feet, or 6.17 cubic yards. Bagged topsoil often comes in 0.75 cubic foot bags, so a job that size is a bulk delivery: 6.17 yards would be 223 bags.

Topsoil is heavy. Dry loam is about 80 lb per cubic foot in the Engineering ToolBox tables, about 1.08 tons a yard, so 6.17 yards is roughly 6.7 tons, and wet soil weighs more. Check what the truck can carry and where it can tip before you promise a single delivery.

Tons, yards and bags: what each material weighs

Quarries and landscape yards sell stone by the ton or the yard; the calculator converts with a weight per cubic yard you can change. Its starting values: gravel 1.42 tons a yard (dry gravel, 105 lb per cubic foot), sand 1.31 (dry sand, 97 lb), topsoil 1.08 (loam, 80 lb), all from the Engineering ToolBox density tables; pea gravel 1.35, from a 50 lb bag of 3/8 in gravel that QUIKRETE lists at 0.5 cubic feet.

Crushed stone (1.40) and mulch (0.30, about 600 lb a yard) are typical values, not published figures: they change with the rock, the grading and how wet the material is. When the supplier gives a weight for the product you are buying, type it in.

Tips for the walk-through

Measure every area on its own and check the depth in several places; low spots take more than the plan shows. Note how the truck gets in, where it can tip, and whether the material has to be barrowed round the house.

Then write down what the homeowner told you: the colour and size of stone they like, drainage problems, what they expect to spend and when they want it done. Those notes decide the quote as much as the yards do.

Sources, checked October 2026. All figures are estimates:

More for building-materials and home-services sales: Building materials sales, Door-to-door sales, Construction daily report.

The yards are only part of the quote

The volume goes on the quote. What the homeowner said on the walk-through about access for the truck, drainage, the look they want and the budget goes in ParrotNotes: record the visit and get the summary and next steps.

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Gravel calculator FAQ