Soil Calculator
How much soil do you need? Enter your area and depth to get cubic feet, cubic yards, and bags.
Enter a bulk price to estimate cost.
You need
1.85cu yd
- Cubic feet
- 50 cu ft
- Cubic yards
- 1.85 cu yd
- Bags (1.5 cu ft)
- 34 bags
- Weight
- ≈ 1.85 tons
Bulk is sold by the yard — order 2 cu yd to have enough.
Shop what you need
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Who needs a soil calculator
This tool is for anyone moving soil in bulk: filling a low spot, leveling ground before sod or seed, backfilling around a foundation or retaining wall, or topping off a bed with general fill or planting soil. Enter your area and target depth, and it converts that to cubic feet, cubic yards, and bag counts, so you know what to order or haul before you start.
How much soil do I need?
The formula is area times depth, converted to cubic yards: (length ft × width ft × depth in inches ÷ 12) ÷ 27. The calculator runs this for you, but it helps to see it worked out once.
Example: an 18 ft × 12 ft area (216 sq ft) filled 6 inches deep. Convert depth to feet: 6 ÷ 12 = 0.5 ft. Volume: 216 × 0.5 = 108 cubic feet. Cubic yards: 108 ÷ 27 = 4 yards exactly. Round up slightly when ordering bulk, since settling and an uneven base usually eat a little of the fill.
Coverage by depth (per cubic yard)
A cubic yard is a fixed volume — 27 cubic feet — but how far it covers depends on the depth you spread it. Divide 27 by the depth in feet: at 4 inches (0.33 ft), one yard covers about 27 ÷ 0.33 ≈ 81 sq ft. Thinner layers stretch a yard further; deeper layers use it up faster.
Use this table to check the calculator's output or plan an order for a given area and depth without running the division yourself.
| Depth | Coverage (per 1 cu yd) |
|---|---|
| 1 inch | 324 sq ft |
| 2 inches | 162 sq ft |
| 3 inches | 108 sq ft |
| 4 inches | 81 sq ft |
| 6 inches | 54 sq ft |
Bottom line: doubling the depth halves the coverage, same as with topsoil or mulch — it's just volume math.
Bags per cubic yard
This calculator defaults to 1.5-cubic-foot bags, a common size for general-purpose and garden soil at home centers. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so 27 ÷ 1.5 = 18 bags per yard exactly. If your bags are a different size, the calculator adjusts the count automatically.
Bags are convenient for small jobs — a bed edge, a few potholes in the lawn — but bulk delivery almost always costs less per yard once you're past 2–3 yards of need. Weigh the delivery minimum against the number of bags you'd otherwise carry.
| Cubic yards needed | Bags (1.5 cu ft each) |
|---|---|
| 1 yard | 18 bags |
| 2 yards | 36 bags |
| 3 yards | 54 bags |
| 5 yards | 90 bags |
Bottom line: 18 bags of 1.5-cu-ft soil make up one cubic yard.
Cubic feet to cubic yards conversion
Soil is measured in both units depending on where you're buying: bag labels use cubic feet, bulk delivery is priced and ordered by the cubic yard. The conversion is fixed — 1 cubic yard equals 27 cubic feet — so moving between them is just multiplying or dividing by 27.
If your project comes out to an odd number of cubic feet, round up to the nearest bag or the nearest quarter yard when ordering bulk, so a small shortfall doesn't turn into a second trip.
| Cubic yards | Cubic feet |
|---|---|
| 1 yd | 27 cu ft |
| 2 yd | 54 cu ft |
| 3 yd | 81 cu ft |
| 5 yd | 135 cu ft |
| 0.33 yd | 9 cu ft |
| 0.5 yd | 13.5 cu ft |
Bottom line: multiply cubic feet by 27 to get yards, or divide yards by 27 to get cubic feet.
Soil vs. topsoil vs. garden soil vs. fill dirt
"Soil" is a broad term, and what you actually want depends on the job. Fill dirt is unscreened subsoil — the cheapest option, used purely for grading and leveling where nothing needs to grow, and it can contain rocks or clay. Topsoil is native soil that's been screened to remove debris, better for a growing layer but usually light on organic matter by itself. Garden soil is topsoil blended with compost or other amendments specifically for planting beds, so it costs more but performs better for anything you're actually growing.
If you're just leveling ground or backfilling under hardscape, fill dirt or plain soil is fine. If you're planting into it, lean toward topsoil or garden soil instead — see the Topsoil Calculator and Garden Soil Calculator for depth and coverage specific to those materials.
How it's calculated
- 1
Measure the area
Enter length and width in feet, choose a circle, or type the square footage.
- 2
Set the depth
Enter how deep you need the soil, in inches.
- 3
Get yards and bags
Volume is area × depth ÷ 324 for cubic yards; we also show cubic feet and bag counts (default 1.5-cu-ft bags).
Frequently asked questions
How many cubic yards of soil do I need?
Multiply area (sq ft) by depth (inches) and divide by 324. The calculator does this and rounds up to the nearest quarter yard to order in bulk.
How many bags of soil make a yard?
For 1.5-cubic-foot bags, a cubic yard (27 cu ft) is 18 bags. The calculator adjusts for whatever bag size you choose.
Garden soil or topsoil?
Garden soil is amended for planting; topsoil is screened native soil and usually cheaper in bulk. For raised beds, blend both with compost.