Topsoil Calculator: How Much Soil Do You Really Need? (Yards, Tons & m³)
Topsoil Calculator
Find out how much soil you need for a garden bed, raised bed or lawn. Results in cubic yards, cubic feet, cubic metres, tons, tonnes, trailer loads and bags.
Each one uses the size entered above. Keep it at 1 for a single bed.
Volume
Weight
Ordering guide
Estimates only. Soil weight changes with moisture, so check the density with your supplier. Quick reference: 1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet = 0.765 m³, and 1 m³ = 1,000 litres. Bulk bag and trailer sizes vary by supplier.
Ordering soil by guesswork usually ends one of two ways: a mountain of dirt blocking the driveway, or a half-filled bed and a second delivery fee. The calculator above takes the guessing out of it. Enter the size of your lawn, garden bed or raised bed, pick a depth, and it gives you the amount in cubic yards, cubic feet, cubic metres, tons, tonnes, trailer loads and bags.
Whether you call it a topsoil calculator, a top soil calculator, a garden soil calculator or simply a soil calculator, the job is the same: turn your measurements into a number a supplier can actually deliver. This one works in feet and inches for US readers and in metres and centimetres for UK readers, and you can switch between the two at any time.
If you would rather see the maths, check a supplier’s quote, or just want a quick chart, the rest of this guide covers the formulas, depth recommendations, coverage tables and worked examples.
How to use this soil calculator, step by step
Think of it as the “how much soil do I need” calculator you were searching for: measure, enter, read the result. It takes about a minute.
- Choose your units. Pick Imperial (feet and inches) or Metric (metres and centimetres). You can still change the unit on any single field, so a bed measured in feet with a depth in centimetres works fine.
- Start with a quick start or a shape. Raised bed, garden bed, new lawn and crops/orchard fill in sensible sizes for you. Otherwise pick rectangle, circle, or “I know the area”.
- Enter your measurements. For a rectangle, use length and width. For a round bed or tree pit, use the diameter. If you already know the total area, choose “I know the area” and enter it in square feet, square yards or square metres. That makes it a quick topsoil calculator in square feet as well.
- Set the depth. Use the depth guide further down if you are unsure.
- Enter how many identical beds or holes you have. Building three raised beds of the same size? Enter 3 and the tool multiplies for you. Keep it at 1 for a single bed. Do not use it for the number of plants in a bed, because that does not change the soil volume.
- Choose extra for settling and the soil type. 10% extra is the recommended default. The soil type only changes the weight figures, not the volume.
- Read the results. You get a headline amount, then volume, weight and an ordering guide with trailer loads and bag counts.
Measuring tip: for raised beds, measure the inside of the frame, not the outside. For an irregular shape, split it into rectangles and circles, run each one through the calculator, and add the totals.
Topsoil calculator yards, tons or tonnes: which number should you use?
Suppliers do not all sell soil the same way, which is why the calculator shows several units at once. People who search for a “top soil calculator yards” tool usually want cubic yards, which is what US soil yards sell by. Whatever you type into Google, use the unit that matches how you are buying.
| Where you are buying | Usually sold by | Number to use |
| US landscape yard or bulk delivery | Cubic yards, sometimes tons | Cubic yards (ask if the price is per yard or per ton) |
| US garden centre or hardware store | Bags, labelled in cubic feet | Bags, based on the bag size on the label |
| UK builders’ merchant or landscaper | Tonnes, bulk bags (dumpy bags) or loose loads | Tonnes or bulk bags |
| UK garden centre | Small bags, labelled in litres | Bags, based on litres per bag |
| Local trailer loads | Trailer loads | Trailer loads, rounded up to the next half load |
How to calculate how much soil you need (the formulas)
Whether you search for a cubic yard calculator soil tool or a soil yard calculator, they all run the same three steps: work out the area, multiply by depth, then convert to the unit you need. Here they are so you can check any result by hand.
Imperial (feet, inches, cubic yards)
Cubic feet = length (ft) × width (ft) × depth (ft)
Depth in feet = depth in inches ÷ 12
Cubic yards = cubic feet ÷ 27
Metric (metres, centimetres, cubic metres)
Cubic metres = length (m) × width (m) × depth (m)
Depth in metres = centimetres ÷ 100, or millimetres ÷ 1,000
Litres = cubic metres × 1,000
Circles and weight
Area of a circle = 3.1416 × (diameter ÷ 2) × (diameter ÷ 2)
Weight = volume × soil density (see the weight table below)
Example: a garden bed measuring 10 ft × 4 ft, filled to 6 in deep. The area is 40 sq ft, and 6 in is 0.5 ft, so the volume is 20 cubic feet. Divide by 27 and you get 0.74 cubic yards. Add 10% for settling and you order about 0.81 cubic yards.
Topsoil calculator square feet chart: how far does a cubic yard go?
If you already know your area in square feet, you can skip the length and width. One cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so it covers 324 square feet at 1 inch deep. For any other depth, divide 324 by the depth in inches. The table below does that for you, with the amount needed for common areas. Figures are before adding extra for settling.
| Depth | 1 cubic yard covers | Cubic yards for 100 sq ft | For 500 sq ft | For 1,000 sq ft |
| 1 in | 324 sq ft | 0.31 | 1.54 | 3.09 |
| 2 in | 162 sq ft | 0.62 | 3.09 | 6.17 |
| 3 in | 108 sq ft | 0.93 | 4.63 | 9.26 |
| 4 in | 81 sq ft | 1.23 | 6.17 | 12.35 |
| 6 in | 54 sq ft | 1.85 | 9.26 | 18.52 |
| 8 in | 40.5 sq ft | 2.47 | 12.35 | 24.69 |
| 12 in | 27 sq ft | 3.70 | 18.52 | 37.04 |
Metric coverage chart
In metric it is even simpler: one cubic metre covers 1 ÷ depth (in metres) square metres. So at 100 mm deep (0.1 m), one cubic metre covers 10 m².
| Depth | 1 m³ covers | m³ for 10 m² | m³ for 50 m² | m³ for 100 m² |
| 10 mm | 100 m² | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1 |
| 25 mm | 40 m² | 0.25 | 1.25 | 2.5 |
| 50 mm | 20 m² | 0.5 | 2.5 | 5 |
| 100 mm | 10 m² | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| 150 mm | 6.7 m² | 1.5 | 7.5 | 15 |
| 200 mm | 5 m² | 2 | 10 | 20 |
| 300 mm | 3.3 m² | 3 | 15 | 30 |
How deep should topsoil be?
Depth is the number people most often get wrong, and it has the biggest effect on the total. Use these ranges as a starting point and adjust for how good your existing soil is.
| Project | US depth | UK / metric depth | Notes |
| Lawn top dressing | ¼ to 1 in | 10 to 25 mm | Thin layers, brushed into the grass |
| Lawn repair or levelling | 1 to 2 in | 25 to 50 mm | Build up in stages if the dip is deep |
| New lawn from seed | 4 to 6 in | 100 to 150 mm | Total depth of good soil |
| Laying turf or sod | 3 to 4 in | 75 to 100 mm | Go to the top of the range if your soil is poor |
| Flower beds and borders | 6 to 8 in | 150 to 200 mm | Fork it into the soil underneath |
| Vegetable garden (in the ground) | 8 to 12 in | 200 to 300 mm | Root crops like carrots want the deeper end |
| Raised beds | 8 to 12 in or full height | 200 to 300 mm or full height | Fill to about 1 to 2 in (2 to 5 cm) below the rim |
| Shrubs and hedges | 12 to 18 in | 300 to 450 mm | Enough for the root ball plus room to grow |
| Fruit tree planting pits | 18 to 24 in | 45 to 60 cm | Size the pit to the root spread, not just the root ball |
Before adding a thick layer of new soil, loosen the compacted surface underneath. A hard, smooth base can stop water draining and roots going down.
Raised bed soil calculator: how much soil for a raised garden bed
A raised bed is really just a box to fill, so the maths is simple. Use the inside length and width, and set the depth to how high you will fill it. The calculator works as a raised garden bed soil calculator straight away: hit the Raised bed quick start, change the size to match your frame, and you have your number. If you need a soil calculator for raised bed builds of several sizes, enter the number of beds and it multiplies for you.
Soil calculator raised bed chart: common sizes (imperial)
| Bed size | Fill depth | Cubic feet | Cubic yards | Cubic metres | Cubic yards with 10% extra |
| 3 × 3 ft | 12 in | 9 | 0.33 | 0.25 | 0.37 |
| 4 × 4 ft | 12 in | 16 | 0.59 | 0.45 | 0.65 |
| 3 × 6 ft | 12 in | 18 | 0.67 | 0.51 | 0.73 |
| 4 × 8 ft | 10 in | 26.7 | 0.99 | 0.76 | 1.09 |
| 4 × 8 ft | 12 in | 32 | 1.19 | 0.91 | 1.30 |
| 4 × 12 ft | 12 in | 48 | 1.78 | 1.36 | 1.96 |
Soil calculator raised bed chart: common sizes (metric)
| Bed size | Fill depth | Cubic metres | With 10% extra | Litres with 10% extra | 750 L bulk bags |
| 1 × 1 m | 30 cm | 0.30 | 0.33 | 330 | 1 |
| 1.2 × 1.2 m | 30 cm | 0.43 | 0.48 | 475 | 1 |
| 1 × 2 m | 30 cm | 0.60 | 0.66 | 660 | 1 |
| 1.2 × 2.4 m | 30 cm | 0.86 | 0.95 | 950 | 2 |
| 1.2 × 3 m | 30 cm | 1.08 | 1.19 | 1,188 | 2 |
What to fill a raised bed with
Do not fill a raised bed with topsoil alone. It packs down and drains slowly. One widely used blend is about 60% topsoil, 30% compost and 10% coarse sand or perlite for drainage. Some gardeners prefer roughly half topsoil and half compost. Either way, work out the total volume first, then split it. Here is the 60/30/10 split for a 4 × 8 ft bed filled 12 in deep, including 10% extra:
| Ingredient | Share | Cubic yards | Cubic feet |
| Screened topsoil | 60% | 0.78 | 21.1 |
| Compost | 30% | 0.39 | 10.6 |
| Coarse sand or perlite | 10% | 0.13 | 3.5 |
| Total | 100% | 1.30 | 35.2 |
For weight, choose “Raised bed mix” under soil type in the calculator. A soil and compost blend is lighter than plain topsoil.
Tip: you can save soil by filling the bottom of a deep bed with logs, branches or rough plant material and topping it with your mix. Just keep the top 8 to 12 in as proper growing soil. You will find more home-growing ideas in our gardening tips section.
Garden bed soil calculator: flower beds and vegetable plots
For an in-ground bed, use the same length × width × depth approach, but remember what is already there. If your bed has 4 in of decent soil and you want 10 in in total, you only need to buy 6 in of new soil. Measure the gap, not the finished depth. And if you are still deciding how big the plot should be, the vegetable garden size calculator helps you plan the space before you order any soil.
If you are working out a garden soil calculator figure for several beds of the same size, use the number of beds field. For beds of different sizes, run them one at a time and add the results together before you order.
Cubic yards, cubic feet, cubic metres, tons and tonnes explained
Volume conversions
| Unit | Cubic feet | Cubic yards | Cubic metres | Litres |
| 1 cubic foot | 1 | 0.037 | 0.0283 | 28.32 |
| 1 cubic yard | 27 | 1 | 0.7646 | 764.6 |
| 1 cubic metre (cubic meter) | 35.31 | 1.308 | 1 | 1,000 |
How much does topsoil weigh?
Weight depends on the type of soil and how wet it is, so treat these as typical values rather than exact ones. US suppliers commonly quote around 1.1 to 1.2 tons per cubic yard for screened topsoil, while UK suppliers often quote 1.3 to 1.5 tonnes per cubic metre. Wet or compacted soil can be a good deal heavier. If you are curious how much water a soil can hold, try the soil water holding capacity calculator.
| Material | kg per m³ | lb per cubic foot | US tons per cubic yard | Tonnes per m³ |
| Dry or loose topsoil | 1,200 | 75 | 1.01 | 1.2 |
| Standard screened topsoil | 1,400 | 87 | 1.18 | 1.4 |
| Wet or heavy topsoil | 1,600 | 100 | 1.35 | 1.6 |
| Raised bed mix (soil + compost) | 900 | 56 | 0.76 | 0.9 |
| Compost | 600 | 37 | 0.51 | 0.6 |
A US ton (short ton) is 2,000 lb. A metric tonne is 1,000 kg, which is about 2,205 lb, so one tonne is roughly 1.1 US tons. If a price is quoted per ton or per tonne, check which one it is.
If you are comparing quotes, ask your supplier what moisture their weight figure assumes. Ordering by volume (cubic yards or cubic metres) is often the fairest way to compare, and it is how most US soil yards price it.
Trailer loads and bulk bags (a UK-style ordering guide)
In the UK, and on many farms and smallholdings elsewhere, soil is often sold by the trailer load. A commonly used rule of thumb for a standard 6 × 4 ft trailer is that one load is about 0.7 cubic metres. Suppliers tend to round loads up, which is why 1½ loads are usually treated as one cubic metre.
| 6 × 4 ft trailer loads | Cubic metres | Cubic yards | Approx. weight (standard topsoil) |
| 1 load | 0.7 m³ | 0.92 | about 1.0 tonne |
| 1½ loads | 1 m³ | 1.31 | about 1.4 tonnes |
| 3 loads | 2 m³ | 2.62 | about 2.8 tonnes |
| 4½ loads | 3 m³ | 3.92 | about 4.2 tonnes |
These are approximations. Trailer sizes, how high they are heaped and the moisture in the soil all change the real figure. The calculator uses 0.7 m³ per load and shows a rounded-up order to the nearest half load.
How many bags of soil do you need?
Remember that 1 cubic metre is 1,000 litres. To work out bags, divide your total volume in litres (or cubic feet) by the size of the bag and round up. The table shows how many bags make up a cubic yard or a cubic metre.
| Bag size | Litres | Bags per cubic yard | Bags per cubic metre |
| 0.75 cu ft (common US 40 lb bag) | 21.2 | 36 | 47.1 |
| 1 cu ft | 28.3 | 27 | 35.3 |
| 1.5 cu ft | 42.5 | 18 | 23.5 |
| 2 cu ft | 56.6 | 13.5 | 17.7 |
| 25 L | 25 | 30.6 | 40 |
| 40 L | 40 | 19.1 | 25 |
| 50 L | 50 | 15.3 | 20 |
| 600 L bulk bag | 600 | 1.27 | 1.67 |
| 750 L bulk bag | 750 | 1.02 | 1.33 |
“Bulk bag” is not a fixed size. Bags sold under that name can hold anything from about 500 L to over 1,000 L, so compare litres, not bag counts. Always check the volume printed on the actual bag.
As a general rule, bags suit small jobs and top-ups. Once you pass roughly half a cubic yard (or half a cubic metre), delivered bulk soil is usually cheaper per unit, and for larger jobs a loose load is often the cheapest way of all.
How much extra topsoil should you order?
Soil settles once it is watered and walked on, and some is always lost in spreading. A small surplus is easy to use up. A shortfall means another delivery charge. That is why the calculator adds 10% by default.
| Situation | Suggested extra |
| Level ground, screened topsoil, careful spreading | 5% |
| Typical lawns and garden beds | 10% |
| Uneven ground, loose or compost-heavy mixes, deep raised beds | 10% to 15% |
| Large sites or awkward access with lots of handling | 15% |
Worked examples from the calculator
Here are five typical jobs, using the calculator’s default settings (10% extra unless stated, and standard screened topsoil for weight unless stated).
| Project | Size and depth | What to order |
| Raised bed (US) | 4 × 8 ft, 12 in deep | 1.30 cubic yards (35.2 cubic feet). About 1.0 US ton of raised bed mix |
| Garden bed (US) | 10 × 4 ft, 6 in deep | 0.81 cubic yards (22 cubic feet). About 0.96 US tons |
| New lawn (US) | 30 × 20 ft, 4 in deep | 8.15 cubic yards (220 cubic feet, 6.2 m³). About 9.6 US tons |
| New lawn (UK) | 5 × 4 m, 100 mm deep, 15% extra | 2.3 m³. About 3.2 tonnes, roughly 3½ trailer loads or 4 bulk bags of 750 L |
| Orchard planting pits | 10 pits, 3 ft wide, 18 in deep | 4.32 cubic yards (116.6 cubic feet, 3.3 m³). About 5.1 US tons |
Topsoil vs garden soil vs compost vs fill dirt
Getting the quantity right is only half the job. Buying the right material matters just as much, and the names are used loosely by suppliers.
| Material | What it is | Best for | Not ideal for |
| Screened topsoil | The top layer of soil, sifted to remove large stones and roots | Lawns, levelling, garden beds, blending into raised bed mixes | Filling a raised bed on its own |
| Unscreened topsoil | Cheaper and lumpier, may contain stones and roots | Bulk filling, grading, backfill | Seedbeds and fine lawns |
| Garden soil or planting mix | Topsoil blended with compost or organic matter | Flower and vegetable beds, top-ups | Very deep fills (expensive) |
| Raised bed mix | A blend of soil, compost and drainage material | Raised beds and large containers | Large lawn areas |
| Compost | Decomposed organic matter | Improving soil, mulching, part of a mix | Deep fills on its own (it shrinks a lot) |
| Fill dirt or subsoil | Deeper soil with little organic matter | Raising levels, base fill | Anything you plan to grow in |
In the UK, look for topsoil sold to BS 3882, the British standard for topsoil, which grades it by quality. Whatever you buy, ask whether it is screened.
For orchards, allotments and larger plots
The Crops / orchard quick start is set up for tree planting pits, which is why it uses a circle and a number of holes. For big beds or whole plots, choose “I know the area” and enter the total. If your land is measured in acres, hectares, kanal or marla, the agriculture area calculator converts it to square feet or square metres first. Two useful reference points: 1 acre is 43,560 sq ft, so a 1 in layer over an acre is about 134 cubic yards. One hectare is 10,000 m², so a 10 mm layer over a hectare is 100 m³.
For large areas, it is worth having your soil tested first. A test tells you whether you need topsoil at all, or whether compost, lime or another amendment would do more for the money.
Common mistakes when working out how much soil you need
- Mixing up units. Feet and inches are the classic trap. A depth of 6 must be entered as 6 in, not 6 ft.
- Confusing cubic yards with square yards. A cubic yard measures volume. A square yard measures area. Soil is sold in cubic yards.
- Measuring the outside of a raised bed. The frame takes up space. Measure inside.
- Forgetting the soil that is already there. Only buy the gap between what you have and the depth you want.
- Ordering the exact amount. Settling and spillage are real. Add 5% to 15%.
- Ignoring weight. If you are billed by the ton or tonne, wet soil costs more for the same volume.
- Comparing bag counts instead of litres. Bags of the same name can differ a lot in size.
- Skipping the delivery check. Make sure a truck can reach your site, and have a tarp or a clear spot ready for the pile.
Topsoil calculator FAQs
Multiply the area by the depth you want, add 10% for settling, and convert to cubic yards or cubic metres. The calculator above does all of that as you type. For a quick estimate, one cubic yard covers about 108 sq ft at 3 in deep, and one cubic metre covers about 10 m² at 100 mm.
At 4 in deep you need about 12.35 cubic yards, or about 13.6 with 10% extra. At 6 in deep it is about 18.5 cubic yards, or about 20.4 with 10% extra. The coverage table above lists other depths.
Divide 324 by the depth in inches. That gives 162 sq ft at 2 in, 108 sq ft at 3 in, 81 sq ft at 4 in, and 54 sq ft at 6 in.
Screened topsoil typically weighs somewhere between 1 and 1.35 tons per cubic yard, with about 1.2 tons (roughly 2,400 lb) a common planning figure. Wet or compacted soil weighs more, and compost-rich mixes weigh less.
A 4 × 8 ft bed filled 12 in deep holds 32 cubic feet, which is about 1.2 cubic yards. With 10% extra, plan for about 1.3 cubic yards. In metric, that is roughly 0.9 to 1 cubic metre.
It is better not to. Plain topsoil can compact and drain poorly in a raised bed. Blend it with compost and something for drainage, such as coarse sand or perlite. The mix table above shows a simple split.
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so it equals 36 bags of 0.75 cu ft, 27 bags of 1 cu ft, or 18 bags of 1.5 cu ft. In litres, it is roughly 30 bags of 25 L or 15 bags of 50 L.
Roughly 1½ loads of a standard 6 × 4 ft trailer make one cubic metre, and 3 loads make about 2 cubic metres. The exact amount depends on the trailer and how heaped it is.
Yes. Choose Circle, enter the diameter, and use the number of beds or holes field if you have several of the same size.
It is an estimate. The result is only as good as your measurements, and real soil varies in moisture, compaction and settling. That is why a small extra allowance and a chat with your supplier are always worthwhile.
Final thoughts
Measure carefully, choose a sensible depth, add a little extra, and check how your supplier sells the soil. Do those four things and you will order the right amount the first time. croll back up and run your numbers through the calculator whenever you plan a new lawn, garden bed, raised bed or planting job, and browse our other farm calculators for the rest of your growing plans.
