Landscaping & Garden Calculators
Gravel, mulch, soil, sand, sod and seed.
One ton of crushed stone covers about 52 ft² at 4 inches deep, and 100 ft² of bed at 3 inches of mulch takes 1 cubic yard. These fourteen calculators turn an area and a depth into tons, cubic yards or bags, in imperial or metric.
All 14 landscaping & garden calculators
Depth is the number that decides everything
Area is the easy half of a landscaping order and rarely the thing people get wrong. Depth is where the money is: going from 2 inches of mulch to 3 is a 50% larger order, and it is the same bed either way. Before ordering anything on this page, settle the depth first.
| Material | Typical depth | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mulch, beds | 2 to 3 in | Deeper smothers roots and holds damp against stems |
| Gravel, paths | 2 to 3 in | Over a weed membrane |
| Gravel, driveways | 4 to 6 in | In two compacted layers, not one |
| Paver base | 4 to 6 in | More under a driveway than a patio |
| Topsoil, new lawn | 4 to 6 in | Enough for roots to establish |
| Raised bed soil | 10 to 12 in | Fill dirt below, good soil on top |
Tons or cubic yards: they are not interchangeable
This is the single most common confusion in a landscaping order, because suppliers sell stone by weight and soil by volume, and the two do not convert without knowing the material's density.
A cubic yard is a fixed volume — 27 cubic feet, always. A ton is a fixed weight. How much space a ton fills depends entirely on what it is: a ton of crushed stone at about 105 lb/ft³ is roughly 0.7 cubic yards, while a ton of dry mulch is several times that. Order 3 tons when you meant 3 yards of stone and you will receive well over the material you needed.
Bulk stone, sand and gravel are normally priced by the ton; mulch, compost and topsoil by the yard. Each calculator here reports both, so you can order in whichever unit your supplier quotes.
Compaction, settling and the allowance
Loose material does not stay at its delivered volume. Gravel driven on settles, which is why every gravel figure on this site already includes a 10% compaction allowance — order the loose volume and the finished depth comes up short. Soil and compost settle too, by rather more, so a raised bed filled level on day one will be noticeably low by the end of the first season. Overfill it slightly and top it up.
Sod is the exception: it is a fixed area of a fixed product, so the allowance is for cuts around curves and beds rather than for settling. Grass seed is priced by weight per area and varies sharply by species, so check the rate on your own bag.
Ordering without over-ordering
- Bulk beats bags fast. A cubic yard is 13.5 bags of 2 ft³ mulch or 36 bags of 40 lb topsoil. Past about half a yard, delivery is usually both cheaper and far less work.
- Measure the bed, not the garden. Irregular beds are the norm; split them into rectangles and add, or approximate a curve with its average width.
- Ask what the supplier's yard actually weighs. Density varies with stone type and moisture, and a wet yard of soil is heavier than a dry one.
- Spread gravel in two layers on a driveway, compacting each. One 6 inch layer never compacts properly through its full depth.
Landscaping & Garden Calculators: common questions
How much does a ton of gravel cover?
About 52 ft² at 4 inches deep, 69 ft² at 3 inches and 104 ft² at 2 inches, for typical crushed stone at around 105 lb/ft³ with a 10% compaction allowance included. Enter your own area in the gravel calculator for tons and cubic yards.
Is a ton the same as a cubic yard?
No, and confusing them is the most expensive mistake in a landscaping order. A cubic yard is a volume of 27 ft³; a ton is a weight. A ton of crushed stone is roughly 0.7 cubic yards, but a ton of mulch fills several times that space.
How deep should mulch be?
2 to 3 inches. Less does not suppress weeds or hold moisture; more smothers roots and traps damp against stems and trunks. Going from 2 to 3 inches increases the order by 50%, so decide before you buy.
How much topsoil do I need for a new lawn?
4 to 6 inches of good soil, which is 1.23 to 1.85 cubic yards per 100 ft². Existing subsoil can count toward that if it is not compacted, so you may need less than the full depth brought in.