Topsoil Calculator - Cubic Yards, Bags, Tons & Cost

How to use it

1. Pick how you are measuring: a lawn or area, a raised bed, a circle, or a triangle.
2. For a lawn or area, enter length and width in feet, or type a square footage you already know.
3. For raised beds, enter one bed's length, width and fill height, then set how many identical beds you are filling.
4. Set the depth in inches. Use a preset, 0.5 in to topdress a lawn, 5 in for a new lawn, 7 in for a garden bed, 10 in for a raised bed, or type your own.
5. Choose the soil type. It sets an approximate density so the tool can give tons and pounds as well as cubic yards.
6. Leave the overage at 10 percent or adjust it. Topsoil settles, so a small buffer keeps you from a second trip.
7. Pick a bag size if you plan to buy bags, and optionally add a bulk price per cubic yard with a delivery fee, or a price per bag.
8. Read the paired headline, cubic yards and bags, then the full breakdown of tons, coverage, leftover and cost below.

At a glance

• Raised bed, one 4 ft x 8 ft bed filled 10 in with garden mix: About 32 sq ft, 26.7 cu ft, 0.99 cubic yards with overage, roughly 18 bags at 1.5 cu ft, and about 0.69 tons of blended mix.
• New lawn, 1,000 sq ft of screened topsoil spread 4 in deep: About 12.3 cubic yards with 10 percent overage, roughly 13.5 tons, or two to four supplier truckloads. Far past the point where bags make sense.
• Topdressing, 1,000 sq ft lawn at 0.5 in with a $35 per yard soil: About 1.7 cubic yards, roughly $59 in bulk plus delivery. Keep topdressing thin so you feed the grass without smothering it.

How the math works

The footprint comes from the shape you pick: a lawn or area is length times width (or a square footage you enter directly), a circle is pi times the radius squared, a triangle is half the base times the height. A raised bed is one bed's length times width, then multiplied by the number of identical beds. Depth, or fill height for a bed, is converted from inches to feet by dividing by 12, and volume in cubic feet is the footprint times that depth in feet. Cubic feet divided by 27 gives cubic yards, because a cubic yard is 3 ft on every side. Overage multiplies the volume by one plus the waste percent, 10 percent by default, because topsoil settles and works into the ground below it. Bags are the final cubic feet divided by the bag size, rounded up, with the leftover in the last bag shown. Weight in tons is cubic yards times the soil density in tons per cubic yard, which is approximate and swings widely with moisture and organic content, so light garden mixes weigh half what dense fill dirt does. Coverage is 324 square feet per cubic yard at 1 inch deep, scaled down for a thicker layer. Cost matches how you buy: bulk is cubic yards times the yard price plus a flat delivery fee, or bagged is the bag count times the bag price.

1. 1. Find the footprint in square feet

   Measure the ground you are covering. A lawn or area is length times width, so 20 ft by 10 ft is 200 sq ft. A circle is pi times the radius squared, so a 15 ft wide low spot is about 176.7 sq ft. For a raised bed, work out one bed (4 ft by 8 ft is 32 sq ft) and the tool multiplies by how many beds you have.

2. 2. Convert the depth to feet

   Depth is measured in inches but volume needs feet, so divide the inches by 12. A 4 in lawn layer is 0.333 ft; a 10 in raised-bed fill is 0.833 ft; a 0.5 in topdressing is 0.0417 ft. Skipping this conversion, and multiplying square feet straight by inches, overstates the volume twelvefold and is the single most common topsoil mistake.

3. 3. Multiply to cubic feet

   Volume in cubic feet is the footprint times the depth in feet. 200 sq ft at 4 in is 200 x 0.333 = 66.7 cubic feet. For raised beds the tool has already summed every bed into the footprint, so one multiplication covers the lot.

4. 4. Divide by 27 for cubic yards

   Bulk topsoil is sold by the cubic yard, and a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet (3 ft on each side). So 66.7 cubic feet is 66.7 / 27 = 2.47 cubic yards. As a rule of thumb, one cubic yard covers about 100 sq ft at 3 in, or 324 sq ft spread just 1 in deep.

5. 5. Add overage for settling

   Order a little more than the bare volume. Fresh topsoil is fluffy and settles as it takes on water and knits into the soil below, and some works down into loose ground. Ten percent is a sensible default, so 2.47 cubic yards becomes 2.47 x 1.10 = 2.72 cubic yards. Raise it on very loose or uneven ground.

6. 6. Turn cubic feet into bags

   Bagged soil is sold in cubic feet, most often 1.5 cu ft. Divide the final cubic feet by the bag size and round up: 73.3 cubic feet at 1.5 cu ft is 49 bags, with a little left over in the last bag. The tool shows that leftover so you know the fit is not exact.

7. 7. Convert cubic yards to a weight

   If you need the weight, tons are cubic yards times the soil density in tons per cubic yard. Screened topsoil runs about 1.1, moist unscreened soil about 1.35, a garden or raised-bed mix about 0.7, compost about 0.5, and dense fill dirt about 1.3. So 2.72 cubic yards of screened topsoil is about 2.72 x 1.1 = 3.0 tons. These densities are approximate and rise sharply when the soil is wet.

8. 8. Work out cost and truckloads

   Bulk cost is the final cubic yards times the price per cubic yard, plus a flat delivery fee. Bagged cost is the bag count times the price per bag. If you enter a truck capacity (a small dump or pickup carries roughly 1 to 3 cubic yards), the tool divides the yardage by it and rounds up to whole loads. Confirm the real capacity with your supplier.

Worked scenarios, start to finish

Real jobs with the numbers carried all the way through, so you can see how the estimate is built and check your own figures against them.

The judgement calls a pro makes

Decisions the tool cannot make for you, and how someone who does this for a living thinks them through.

Screened or unscreened topsoil

Screened topsoil is run through a mesh so rocks, roots and clumps are taken out, which makes it easy to rake level and ideal for seeding a lawn or filling a bed. Unscreened soil is cheaper and fine for bulk filling or under sod, but it is lumpy and heavier. For a finished surface you plant into, pay for screened.

Topsoil, fill dirt or a garden mix

These are three different products. Fill dirt is dense subsoil for raising grade and leveling; nothing much grows in it. Topsoil is the living, screened upper layer for lawns and general planting. A garden or raised-bed mix is topsoil cut with compost and peat for growing vegetables. Match the product to the job, and layer them (fill low, topsoil or mix on top) rather than paying topsoil prices to fill a deep hole.

Allow for settling

Loose topsoil arrives fluffy and drops as it takes on water and knits into the ground. A bed filled dead level will sink an inch or more in the first few weeks. Order the 10 percent overage, fill raised beds slightly proud, and keep a little soil back to top up after the first watering.

When bulk beats bags

Bags avoid a delivery fee and suit a single small bed, but they cost far more per cubic foot and are heavy to carry and cut. A cubic yard is 18 bags of 1.5 cu ft. The rough crossover is around 10 to 12 bags: past that, a delivered bulk yard almost always costs less and saves a lot of lifting, even with the delivery fee added.

Delivery minimums and moisture

Bulk yards usually set a minimum load and charge a flat delivery fee, so a tiny order can cost more per yard than a big one. Wet soil also weighs a lot more than the dry estimate here, which matters if the supplier bills by the ton, so ask whether the yard sells by volume or weight and whether the material has been rained on.

How deep to go

Depth is set by the use. Topdressing a lawn is about half an inch. A new seeded lawn wants 4 to 6 in of topsoil over the subgrade. A garden bed is 6 to 8 in, a raised bed 8 to 12 in of fill. Deeper is not automatically better: too much topdressing smothers established grass, and beds do not need to be bottomless because roots mostly work the top foot.

Common mistakes, and the fix

• × Confusing cubic feet with cubic yards.

  ✓ Divide cubic feet by 27 to get cubic yards. A bed that needs 54 cubic feet is only 2 cubic yards, not 54. Order 54 yards and a mountain of soil turns up.

• × Ignoring settling and ordering the bare volume.

  ✓ Keep the 10 percent overage and fill beds slightly proud. Fresh topsoil settles as it wets and compacts, and coming up short means a second delivery fee for a fraction of a yard.

• × Buying bags for a large job.

  ✓ Switch to bulk once you pass about 10 to 12 bags. A new lawn or a run of beds is dozens of sacks, far more money and lifting than one delivered load.

• × Topdressing a lawn too deep.

  ✓ Keep topdressing to about half an inch per pass. A thick layer buries and smothers the existing grass instead of feeding it, and you undo the good you meant to do.

• × Forgetting the walls of a raised bed bow outward.

  ✓ Long unbraced bed walls bulge once filled, so the real volume is a little more than length times width times height. Add a cross-brace on beds over about 4 ft wide, and keep the overage in.

• × Filling a deep hole entirely with topsoil.

  ✓ Bring the grade up with cheaper fill dirt and cap it with 2 to 4 in of topsoil. Paying topsoil prices to fill a foot-deep low spot is money into the ground for no benefit.

Material and unit specifics

Screened topsoil

Native soil sifted through a screen to pull out rocks, roots and clumps, so it rakes flat and seeds evenly. About 1.1 tons per cubic yard dry, and light and workable. The default for a new lawn or a finished bed. Bulk runs roughly $20 to $50 per cubic yard; a 1.5 cu ft bag is about $3 to $6.

Topsoil, moist or unscreened

Soil straight from the pile, with clumps and moisture and no screening. Heavier at about 1.35 tons per cubic yard, and cheaper. Fine for bulk filling, grading, or as a base under sod, but lumpy to level and not ideal to seed directly. Wet loads weigh well over the dry figure.

Garden soil / raised-bed mix

Topsoil blended with compost, peat and sometimes sand for growing vegetables and flowers. Light at about 0.7 tons per cubic yard because of the organic content. The right choice to fill raised beds. Usually the priciest by the yard, and commonly bagged in 1.5 or 2 cu ft sacks.

Compost

Decomposed organic matter, about 0.5 tons per cubic yard, so it is the lightest material here. Used to amend and enrich soil rather than as the whole fill, typically mixed in at 25 to 50 percent or spread as a thin top layer. Too much pure compost holds water and slumps.

Fill dirt

Dense subsoil and clay with little organic matter, about 1.3 tons per cubic yard. Cheap and heavy, used to raise grade, level low spots and backfill. Nothing much grows in it, so it goes underneath, capped with topsoil. Rarely bagged; order it by the yard.

Bag sizes and coverage

Bagged soil comes in 0.75, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 cu ft sacks, with 1.5 cu ft the most common. It takes 18 of the 1.5 cu ft bags to make a cubic yard (27 cu ft). One cubic yard covers 324 sq ft at 1 in deep, 108 sq ft at 3 in, or 81 sq ft at 4 in, so coverage halves as you double the depth.

Density is approximate

Every tons-per-cubic-yard figure here is an approximation, because soil weight swings with moisture, texture and how much organic matter it holds. A wet load can weigh a third more than a dry one. For a large order billed by weight, confirm the density with your supplier or use the custom option to enter theirs.

Reading your result

Read the paired headline first: cubic yards and bags are the same soil described two ways, so you can order in whichever your supplier uses. The cubic-yard figure already includes your overage. Bags are rounded up, and the leftover line shows how much of the last bag you will not use, which is useful when the fit is awkward. Tons come from an approximate density that swings with moisture, so treat the weight as a rough guide rather than a scale reading, especially for the light garden and compost mixes. Coverage tells you how far a yard stretches at your chosen depth. Cost is only ever the price you enter, so the estimate is as good as your quote, and delivery is a flat line added to bulk orders only.

Limitations

• This is an estimate, not a quote. It does not know your supplier's exact density, load minimum, or delivery pricing.
• Densities are approximate and mostly for dry material. Moisture and organic content move the real delivered weight, sometimes by a third or more.
• It assumes a uniform depth over the whole footprint. For a sloped or dished area, average the depth or split it into sections.
• Raised-bed volume is length times width times height. Bowed walls, liners and drainage layers change the real fill slightly.
• It sizes one soil at a time. For a layered job, such as fill dirt capped with topsoil, run each layer separately and add the orders.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a yard of topsoil cover?

One cubic yard of topsoil covers about 324 square feet spread 1 inch deep, 162 square feet at 2 inches, 108 square feet at 3 inches, or 81 square feet at 4 inches. Coverage halves each time you double the depth, because a cubic yard is a fixed 27 cubic feet of soil. So a new lawn at 4 inches uses roughly one cubic yard for every 80 square feet.

How many bags of topsoil are in a cubic yard?

A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. At the common 1.5 cubic foot bag size that is 18 bags, at 1.0 cubic foot it is 27 bags, at 0.75 cubic foot it is 36 bags, and at 2.0 cubic feet it is about 14 bags. Because bags cost far more per cubic foot than bulk, most people switch to a delivered yard once they need more than about 10 to 12 bags.

How much topsoil do I need for a raised bed or a new lawn?

For a raised bed, multiply length by width by fill height in feet: a 4 ft by 8 ft bed filled 10 inches deep needs about 27 cubic feet, or one cubic yard, of mix. For a new lawn, spread topsoil 4 to 6 inches deep over the subgrade, so 1,000 square feet at 4 inches is about 12 cubic yards. Add roughly 10 percent in both cases for settling.

How much does a yard of topsoil weigh?

A cubic yard of screened topsoil weighs roughly 2,200 pounds (about 1.1 tons) when dry, and noticeably more when wet. Moist unscreened soil runs about 2,700 pounds, a light garden or raised-bed mix around 1,400 pounds, compost about 1,000 pounds, and dense fill dirt about 2,600 pounds. These are approximate, since moisture and organic content move the real weight a lot.