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Landscaping calculators

Mulch, topsoil, garden soil, compost and fill dirt are all sold by the cubic yard and all weigh something completely different. These tools give you the volume to order, the bag count if you are buying retail, the weight the truck will carry and what the load should cost.

Landscape supply yard piles of shredded hardwood mulch, black dyed mulch and screened topsoil beside a wheelbarrow and a freshly mulched garden bed — Mulch, topsoil and compost are all sold by the cubic yard from the same yard — but a yard of bark weighs 600 lb and a yard of topsoil 2,200, which is why volume, not weight, is the number to order by.

Mulch, soil and compost

Bed area and depth in, cubic yards, bags, weight and delivered cost out.

Mulch calculatorMeasure the bed, choose the depth, and get the mulch order in cubic yards, bags and dollars — including the point where bulk delivery beats bagged.
Topsoil calculatorEnter the area and the depth of soil you are placing, and get the order in cubic yards, tons and bags — plus what a delivered load should cost.
Soil calculatorSize the bed, pick the mix, and get the soil volume in cubic feet, cubic yards and bags, split into the topsoil, compost and aeration components of a proper raised bed blend.
Fill dirt calculatorEnter the area and the depth of fill, and get loose cubic yards, compacted volume, weight in tons and the number of truckloads to book.
Compost calculatorWork out how much compost the job takes, whether you are topdressing a lawn at a quarter inch or amending a bed to a full two inches.

Volume and unit conversions

The two units every supplier quotes in, from any measurements you took.

How bulk landscape material is sold

Everything soft — mulch, compost, topsoil, fill — is quoted by the cubic yard, delivered by the load rather than the yard, and placed by depth. That means three numbers decide your order: the area, the finished depth, and how much the material settles. Mulch settles very little and is priced by product; topsoil settles 10-20% once watered and is priced by screen size; fill dirt is bought loose and compacted 15-30% denser than it arrives. Every calculator here works in that order, and shows cubic feet alongside cubic yards so a bag count is always one line away.

Frequently asked questions

+How much does a cubic yard of mulch cover?

About 108 square feet at 3 inches deep, 162 at 2 inches and 324 at 1 inch. One cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, or thirteen and a half 2 cu ft bags.

+How do I convert square feet to cubic yards?

Multiply the area in square feet by the depth in inches, then divide by 324. That single step replaces the usual convert-to-feet-then-divide-by-27 routine.

+Which is heavier, mulch or topsoil?

Topsoil, by a factor of three to four. A cubic yard of bark mulch weighs around 600 lb; the same volume of screened topsoil is about 2,200 lb, and fill dirt heavier still.

+When is bulk cheaper than bagged?

At roughly two cubic yards for mulch and one cubic yard for soil. Below that the delivery fee outweighs the per-yard saving; above it, bags cost two to four times as much for the same volume.