Topsoil Calculator

Get the soil a lawn, a planting bed or a raised bed needs, by the bag or the yard.

Your measurements

The area you are filling

Measure the finished area you want covered, not the excavation. If the shape is irregular, split it into rectangles and add the results together.
Both measurements are in feet. For anything measured in inches, divide by twelve first. A 30 inch path is 2.5 feet wide.
In inches, because that is how depth is specified on site. What counts as usual depends on the material: an inch of bedding sand under pavers, 2 to 3 inches of gravel or mulch over a prepared bed, 4 inches for a concrete patio slab, 5 or 6 for a driveway carrying vehicles, and 6 to 12 inches of topsoil depending on what has to grow in it.
Use this when the same measurement repeats, such as four identical pads or three beds of the same size. Leave it at one for a single area.
Ten percent is the usual allowance, and what running short actually costs is rarely the material. On a bulk delivery it is a second haulage charge for a part load. On a concrete pour it is worse, because a slab finished in two goes has a cold joint through it. 5.00%
Material and price
Bags are sold by weight but used by volume, and the two do not track each other. An 80 lb bag of concrete mix yields about 0.6 cubic feet; mulch and soil are labeled in cubic feet directly.
Weight per cubic foot varies by material and with how wet the load is. Loose gravel and crushed stone run about 100 to 110, dry concrete sand near 100, screened topsoil nearer 74, and compacted hot mix asphalt about 145. Ask the supplier if the load matters, because the same volume weighs more after rain.
Enter the price and then say what it is per, below. Delivery and any minimum load charge are not included here.
Bagged material is priced per bag, delivered aggregate per ton, and ready-mix per cubic yard. Pick whichever matches the quote you are working from.
Material to order
1.24 cu yd
5%
is spare
The job itself 1.19 cu yd
Waste allowance 0.06 cu yd
Order this much 1.24 cu yd
Area covered
32 sq ft
Same in cubic feet
33.6 cu ft

What to buy

Bags to buy 34 bags
Weight 1.24 tons
Material cost $37
Works out per cubic yard $30.00

Every figure here is a planning estimate, not a professional takeoff. Yields, waste factors and code requirements vary by product, supplier and jurisdiction, so confirm quantities against the manufacturer’s data and your local building department before you order.

Generated by Mathterial

Topsoil is the easiest material on a site to under-order, because depth is specified in inches and volume is sold in cubic yards, and there are thirty-six inches in a yard. This topsoil calculator closes that gap, in bags or by bulk, and shows the weight so you know what is arriving.

Depth is set by the job, not by preference

Getting the depth right is most of the accuracy on this page, and the correct figure varies by an order of magnitude across the three common jobs.

  • Topdressing an existing lawn: a quarter to a half inch. Over 1,000 square feet at half an inch that is 1.62 cubic yards. Any more smothers the grass you are trying to feed.
  • Establishing a new lawn: 4 to 6 inches over the subgrade. The same 1,000 square feet at 4 inches is 12.96 cubic yards, eight times the topdressing order.
  • Planting beds: 8 to 12 inches, since this is the depth roots will actually occupy.

A raised bed is simpler: it wants filling to the depth you built it. An 8 by 4 foot bed filled 12 inches deep takes 1.24 cubic yards once 5 percent is added for settling, which is about 1.24 tons, or 34 bags at a cubic foot each. At roughly a ton to the yard those two figures track each other, which makes a handy sanity check. Worth knowing before you fill one: Rutgers Cooperative Extension warns in its fact sheet on soil for raised beds that beds filled with organic growing media alone lose productivity after a few seasons, which is what the mineral fraction of topsoil is there to prevent.

Soil settles, so order above the line

Screened topsoil consolidates once it is placed and watered in, typically by 5 to 10 percent. A bed filled exactly level on delivery day sits visibly low two weeks later, and topping it up afterwards means a second delivery for a fraction of a yard.

The allowance above starts at 5%. That covers a screened, relatively dry soil placed carefully. Raise it toward 10% for a bulk load, a deep fill, or anything being placed wet, since those settle harder. This allowance is doing structural work here, not just covering spillage.

Bags or bulk

Bags make sense for a single raised bed or a container job, where a delivery fee would dominate and there is nowhere to tip a pile. Past roughly a cubic yard the arithmetic turns: that raised bed is 34 bags to carry, open and empty against one small delivery.

Bulk soil also tends to be better material. Bagged topsoil is frequently a peat or compost blend rather than screened mineral soil, which behaves differently in a bed and is worth reading the label for.

Weight is the constraint people forget

Topsoil runs about 74 pounds per cubic foot, so a cubic yard is roughly 1 ton. Establishing that 1,000 square foot lawn at 4 inches means moving close to 13 tons of material.

Treat that as a working figure rather than a measured one, because nobody publishes a density for screened topsoil as it is actually delivered. What is published is the bracket around it. The Federal Highway Administration puts topsoil at 1,620 pounds per cubic yard loose, freshly dug and carrying 56 percent swell, and 2,430 pounds in situ, undisturbed in the ground. Screened product that has been stockpiled, handled and loaded sits between the two, and a ton to the yard is where the supply trade prices it. Wet soil goes heavier, fresh and fluffy goes lighter, and a yard can swing several hundred pounds either way.

If the weight matters, and it usually matters for a trailer or a tailgate, get the number from the yard you are buying from. They weigh their own material.

That figure decides your plant, your access and your labor before it decides anything else, which is why the weight is shown above rather than buried. For the mulch layer that goes over a finished bed, the mulch calculator handles that separately.

Topsoil calculator FAQ

How much topsoil do I need for a raised bed?

An 8 by 4 foot bed filled 12 inches deep takes about 1.24 cubic yards, which is roughly 34 one-cubic-foot bags or about 1.24 tons. Add 5 to 10 percent for settling, since the fill will drop noticeably after watering.

How deep should topsoil be for a new lawn?

Four to six inches over the prepared subgrade. Over 1,000 square feet, 4 inches is about 12.96 cubic yards. Topdressing an existing lawn is entirely different at a quarter to a half inch, since more than that smothers the grass.

How many bags of topsoil are in a cubic yard?

Twenty-seven, at one cubic foot per bag, since a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. Bags suit a single bed or a container job; past about a cubic yard, bulk delivery is usually cheaper and the material is often better.

How much does a cubic yard of topsoil weigh?

Roughly 1 ton at 74 pounds per cubic foot, though wet or unscreened soil weighs more. Weight is usually what limits access and handling on site, so check it before booking a delivery.