Enter your area length, width and depth to get the topsoil volume in cubic yards and cubic feet - plus how many bags to buy. Ideal for new lawns, turfing and garden beds. Works in feet and inches.
Typical depths: 2–3 in (50–75 mm) for mulch, 1.5–2 in for decorative gravel, 4 in (100 mm)+ for new topsoil, deeper again to fill a raised bed. Each area can take its own depth.
Enter the delivered price per yd³ of bulk material to get the total.
Total bed area
104.0 sq ft
In cubic feet
17.3 cu ft
Topsoil is spread to an even depth, so the amount you need is the area times the depth:
volume = length × width × depth
The calculator reports that volume in cubic yards or cubic metres (and litres or cubic feet), then divides by the size of one bag to give the number of bags. Doing a lawn and a separate border? Add an area for each and the volumes pool into one order. All math runs in exact metric internally, so switching units never changes the answer.
This example follows the unit system you pick in the calculator above.
A 33 ft × 16 ft lawn levelled with a 1 inch topsoil layer, ordered in bulk:
| Job | Depth | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Levelling before turf | 1–2 in (25–50 mm) | Over an existing base |
| New lawn from seed | 4–6 in (100–150 mm) | Roots need depth |
| Top-dressing a lawn | ≈0.5 in (10–15 mm) | Thin layer, brushed in |
| Garden / planting beds | 6 in+ (150 mm+) | Deeper for vegetables |
Multiply the lawn area by the depth. For levelling before turf, 1–2 in is usual: a 33 ft × 16 ft lawn at 1 inch needs about 44 cubic feet (roughly 1.6 cubic yards). For a new lawn from seed, go deeper at 4–6 in. Enter your area and depth above for the exact volume and bag count.
For laying turf over an existing base, a 1–2 in levelling layer of quality topsoil is enough. For a brand-new lawn from seed, lay 4–6 in so roots have depth to establish. Garden beds for planting want 6 in or more. Set the depth in the calculator to match.
Topsoil weighs roughly 2,000–2,700 lb (about 1.0–1.35 US tons) per cubic yard depending on how wet and dense it is. It is sold both in bags (often 0.75 or 1 cubic foot, or large bulk bags) and loose by the cubic yard or ton. The calculator gives the volume in cubic feet and cubic yards plus a bag count so you can pick the cheapest format.
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so it is twenty-seven 1-cubic-foot bags or about fourteen 2-cubic-foot bags. For anything over about a cubic yard, loose bulk delivery is normally cheaper than bags.
Bags are convenient for small jobs - top-dressing a lawn or filling a few planters - and easy to store. For a new lawn or a large bed, bulk delivery by the cubic yard or ton is much cheaper per unit. The calculator returns both a bag count and a bulk volume so you can compare the two.
Soil volume and bags to fill one or more raised garden beds, with mix ratios.
Open calculator→Volume and bags to cover beds with mulch or bark at any depth.
Open calculator→Volume and bags of gravel for driveways, paths and drainage at any depth.
Open calculator→Pieces and pallets of sod, or pounds and bags of grass seed, from your lawn size.
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