Landscaping & Outdoor Calculators
Mulch, gravel, topsoil, sod and other bulk materials.
Bulk landscape materials are sold by the cubic yard or the ton, and delivered by the truckload. The calculators here convert an area and a depth into cubic yards, then into tons using the typical density of each material, and into bags when a small job is easier to carry home.
One cubic yard covers 108 square feet at 3 inches deep, and that single fact settles most mulch, gravel and topsoil orders. Density is what changes the weight: mulch is about 0.4 tons per yard, topsoil 1.1, sand 1.3, crushed stone 1.4, asphalt almost 2.
How much material do I need
Quantities to order, in the units a supplier sells them in. 26 calculators.
Mulch CalculatorCalculate how many cubic yards or bags of mulch you need for a garden bed. Enter the bed size and mulch depth to get cubic yards, 2 cu ft bags and 3 cu ft bags.Gravel CalculatorCalculate how much gravel, crushed stone, pea gravel or sand you need in cubic yards and tons for a driveway, path, patio base or drainage bed.Topsoil CalculatorCalculate how much topsoil you need in cubic yards, tons and 40 lb bags for a new lawn, raised bed or top-dressing. Enter the area and soil depth.Sod CalculatorCalculate how much sod you need for a new lawn in square feet, rolls or slabs and pallets. Enter the lawn size, waste allowance and pallet coverage.Grass Seed CalculatorCalculate how many pounds of grass seed you need for a new lawn or overseeding. Uses standard seeding rates for fescue, bluegrass, ryegrass, Bermuda and zoysia.Asphalt CalculatorCalculate how many tons of hot-mix asphalt you need for a driveway, parking pad or overlay. Enter the area and thickness to get tons, cubic yards and cost.Pool Volume CalculatorCalculate how many gallons of water your swimming pool holds. Works for rectangular, round and oval pools with a shallow end and a deep end.Sand CalculatorCalculate how much sand you need in cubic yards, tons and 50 lb bags for a paver base, sandbox, pool base or fill layer from the length, width and depth of the area.Fill Dirt CalculatorCalculate how many cubic yards of fill dirt to order for grading or a pad, with a compaction allowance added, plus the weight in tons and the number of dump truck loads.Pond Volume CalculatorCalculate how many gallons a garden pond holds, the liner size to buy including depth and overlap, the pump size in GPH and how many goldfish it can support.Sprinkler CalculatorCalculate how many sprinkler heads and zones a lawn needs from its size, head type and the flow at the hose bib, plus the run time per zone to apply 1 inch a week.Artificial Turf CalculatorCalculate how much artificial turf to order from a 15, 12 or 13 ft roll, plus seam tape, infill, crushed rock base and turf nails for a synthetic lawn or putting green.Raised Bed Soil CalculatorCalculate how much soil fills a raised garden bed in cubic feet, cubic yards and bags, with the compost, peat and vermiculite breakdown for a square foot garden mix.French Drain CalculatorCalculate the gravel, perforated pipe and landscape fabric for a French drain from the trench length, width and depth, plus the soil to haul away and the minimum slope.Lawn Fertilizer CalculatorCalculate how many pounds of lawn fertilizer to apply from the lawn size, nitrogen rate per 1,000 sq ft and bag analysis, plus bags to buy and the spreader rate.Pea Gravel CalculatorCalculate pea gravel by cubic yard, ton and 50 lb bag for a walkway, patio, dog run or playground. Pick the use and the calculator checks the depth for you.River Rock CalculatorCalculate how much river rock you need in cubic yards and tons. Pick the stone size and the calculator sets the layer depth and shows the square feet one ton covers.Rubber Mulch CalculatorCalculate rubber mulch by cubic feet, pounds and 0.8 cu ft bags for a playground or a landscape bed, with the playground depth set from the CPSC fall height table.Plant Spacing CalculatorCalculate how many plants a bed needs at a given spacing on center, in a square grid or staggered rows, with plants per square foot, rows and flats to buy.Tree Spacing CalculatorTree spacing calculator for a block or an acreage: trees per acre, rows, square against triangular layout, and the order quantity once first-year losses are counted.Pool Chemical CalculatorCalculate the dose that moves a pool reading to its target: chlorine, pH, alkalinity, calcium or stabilizer, scaled from your pool volume in gallons.Crushed Stone CalculatorThis crushed stone calculator works from the ASTM size number, giving loose cubic yards, tons and the spread depth that settles to the compacted depth you want.Decomposed Granite CalculatorThis decomposed granite calculator gives the tons, cubic yards and loose spread depth for a DG path, patio or driveway, plus the stabilizer a bound surface needs.Compost CalculatorSize a compost application by rate, not by fill depth: this compost calculator gives cubic yards, cubic feet, bags and the nitrogen and phosphate the load supplies.Drip Irrigation CalculatorUse this drip irrigation calculator to size emitters and zone flow in gallons per hour. It gives the weekly run time in minutes for a set depth of water on a bed.Potting Soil CalculatorThis potting soil calculator turns container size, depth and count into quarts, cubic feet and bags of mix for round pots, planters, window boxes and baskets.
What size do I need
Sizing and specification, against the code or standard that governs it. 1 calculator.
What will it cost
Line item budgets built from current US material and labor rates. 5 calculators.
Gravel Driveway Cost CalculatorEstimate what a gravel driveway costs to build or resurface. Prices the three stone layers by the ton, adds delivery by the truckload, and gives cost per square foot.Landscaping Cost CalculatorEstimate a whole landscape project: lawn, planting beds, trees, shrubs, a paver patio and mulch, priced as a low-to-high range at typical 2026 installed rates.Pool Cost CalculatorEstimate what an inground pool costs by type, size and extras: vinyl, fiberglass or concrete shell plus decking, code barrier fence, heater and yearly upkeep.Lawn Mowing Cost CalculatorEstimate what lawn mowing costs per cut and per season by lawn size and trimming, or price your own route from deck width, minutes on site and your hourly rate.Sod Cost CalculatorA sod cost calculator that prices a new lawn by grass type: sod by the pallet, delivery, ground prep, labor and first-season water, with DIY and pro totals.
A typical project, in order
Carry each result into the next tool.
- 1Square Footage CalculatorMeasure the bed, lawn or patio
- 2Fill Dirt CalculatorFill low spots before finish grading
- 3Topsoil CalculatorGrowing layer for lawn or beds
- 4Sod CalculatorRolls and pallets for an instant lawn
- 5Grass Seed CalculatorOr pounds of seed by grass type
- 6Mulch CalculatorYards or bags to dress the beds
- 7French Drain CalculatorGravel and pipe if water collects
Landscaping & Outdoor questions
How many square feet does a cubic yard cover?
324 square feet at 1 in deep, 162 at 2 in, 108 at 3 in, 81 at 4 in and 54 at 6 in. Divide 324 by the depth in inches for any other depth.
How many tons is a cubic yard of gravel or soil?
Crushed stone and gravel about 1.4 tons, sand 1.3, topsoil 1.1, fill dirt 1.2, and mulch only 0.4 tons per cubic yard.
Should I buy bags or bulk?
Bulk delivery is usually half the price per yard once you need more than about 2 cubic yards, which is 27 bags of 2 cubic feet.