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Mulch Calculator: How Many Yards or Bags of Mulch?

Work out how many cubic yards or bags of mulch your beds need from their size and depth, with coverage per yard and the cost. Add rectangles, circles and triangles, top up old mulch, and compare a bulk load with bags.

Your numbers

Beds to mulch

Bed 1
ft
ft

Up to 6 beds, added together. A triangle's height is measured square to its base; a ring round a tree is a circle.

Depth and material

Quick picks:
in
in

UF/IFAS Extension says to keep a 2 to 3 inch layer of mulch on plant beds, and to leave at least 2 inches clear around tree trunks.

Topping up? Enter the depth of old mulch still on the bed; the calculator orders only the difference.

Material:
lb/yd³

Empty uses 600 lb for shredded hardwood, a typical figure: edit it to your product. Wet mulch weighs more.

Bags, prices and delivery

$
$
$

Optional. Added to the bulk cost; bags are priced as bought.

Mulch to order

–

In cubic feet
–
Total area
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One yard covers, at 3 in
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Bags (2 cu ft bag)
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Weight (600 lb/yd³)
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Bulk cost
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Bagged cost
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How far one cubic yard of mulch goes

How far one cubic yard of mulch goes
Depthft² per yard2 cu ft bags per 100 ft²
1 in3244.2
2 in1628.3
3 in10812.5
4 in8116.7

An estimate for quoting and ordering, not a substitute for measuring on site. Round bulk orders up to what the yard sells.

Fresh mulch settles and breaks down over the season; order a little extra rather than come up short.

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 mulch do I need?

Mulch is sold by the cubic yard or by the bag, so the sum is area × depth. Measure each bed in feet and work out its square feet, multiply by the depth in inches and divide by 12 for cubic feet, then divide by 27 for cubic yards. A ring round a tree is a circle, π × (diameter ÷ 2)²; a corner bed is often a triangle, base × height ÷ 2.

Worked example: a bed 20 ft by 10 ft is 200 square feet. At 3 in deep that is 200 × 3 ÷ 12 = 50 cubic feet, or 1.85 cubic yards: 25 bags of 2 cubic feet or 17 bags of 3 cubic feet. Add a ring 8 ft across round a tree and the calculator adds 12.6 cubic feet more.

How deep should mulch be?

UF/IFAS Extension's Florida-Friendly Landscaping program says to keep a 2 to 3 inch layer of mulch on plant beds, so the quick picks are 2 in and 3 in and the calculator starts at 3. It also says to leave at least 2 inches of space around tree trunks to prevent rot, so do not pile mulch against the bark.

Measure the old layer before you quote a refresh. Most beds still have some mulch from last year; enter it under Mulch already there and the order drops to the top-up.

How far does a yard of mulch go?

A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. Spread 1 in deep, that is 27 × 12 = 324 square feet; at 2 in it covers 162 square feet, at 3 in 108 and at 4 in 81. For any depth, divide 324 by the depth in inches. The table under the result shows the same with bags of the size you picked.

Turn it round for a quick check on site: 1,000 square feet of beds at 3 in is 1,000 ÷ 108 = 9.3 yards.

Bulk or bags: which is cheaper?

A yard is 13.5 bags of 2 cubic feet or 9 bags of 3 cubic feet. Take example prices of $4.50 for a 2 cubic foot bag, $40 a yard loose and $75 for delivery: bags cost $60.75 a yard, $20.75 more than bulk, so the delivery pays for itself at about 3.6 yards. Under that, bags win; over it, order a load.

Enter your own prices and the calculator shows both totals side by side. Bagged mulch is easier to carry to a back garden; bulk needs somewhere to tip the load and a barrow.

Topping up old mulch

Mulch breaks down and thins out, so a yearly refresh is usually a top-up, not a full layer. If a 20 × 10 ft bed still has 1 in and you want 3 in, add 2 in: 200 × 2 ÷ 12 = 33.3 cubic feet, 1.23 yards or 17 bags of 2 cubic feet instead of 25.

Check the depth in a few places with a trowel: it is often thick in the middle and bare at the edges.

Tips for the walk-round

Measure every bed on its own, count the tree rings, and note the beds the customer wants left alone. Check access: where a truck can tip and how far the mulch has to be barrowed.

Then write down what the customer told you: the colour they want, edging, weeds to clear first, the budget and the date. Those notes decide the quote as much as the yards do.

Sources, checked October 2026. All figures are estimates; the supplier's product and local practice decide:

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

The yards are the easy part of the quote

The volume goes on the quote. What the customer said on the walk-round about colour, edging, weeds and which beds to leave alone goes in ParrotNotes: record the visit and get the summary and next steps.

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