Mulch & Gravel Calculator
Cubic yards, bags and tons for mulch, topsoil, gravel or sand at any depth.
Mulch depth is the variable everyone gets wrong. Three inches suppresses weeds and holds moisture; one inch does nothing but look tidy for a month. Measure the depth you actually want, not the depth of the bag you happen to have.
Bulk material is priced by the cubic yard and delivered by the truckload, so the practical question is whether you need enough to justify delivery. As a rule, under 3 cubic yards you are better off with bags, even at a higher unit price.
How this calculator works
Every field is editable and the result updates as you type — nothing is submitted anywhere, all the maths runs in your browser. That matters for a number you are about to spend money on: you can see exactly which input moved the answer, and by how much.
What this calculation assumes
Assumes a flat bed of even depth. The density figures are dry-weight averages: wet gravel, compost and soaked mulch weigh meaningfully more, which matters if you are loading a trailer yourself.
Treat the result as an order-of-magnitude check rather than a final quantity. Product packaging changes, regional labour rates vary by a factor of two, and no calculator has seen your actual site.
Frequently asked questions
How deep should mulch be?
2 to 3 inches for established beds. 3 to 4 inches to smother existing weeds. Never pile mulch against trunks or stems — keep a 2 inch gap, because wet mulch held against bark rots it and invites pests.
How many bags equal a cubic yard?
13.5 bags of 2 cubic feet, or 9 bags of 3 cubic feet. Bags are convenient for small beds and touch-ups; above about 1 cubic yard the bag count gets unwieldy and bulk delivery wins on both price and effort.
Does the weight estimate matter?
It does if you are hauling it yourself or loading a trailer. Mulch is light at about 800 lb per cubic yard, but gravel runs near 2,800 lb — a single yard can exceed a half-ton pickup payload once you add the driver.
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