Soil Calculator (Cubic Yards)
How much soil do you need? Enter your area and depth to get cubic feet, cubic yards, and bags.
Bulk soil is priced and delivered by the cubic yard, so this page works in that unit throughout: pick an order size and read off bags, weight, and cubic feet without doing the conversion yourself. The calculator above already leads with cubic yards.
Weight matters as much as volume once an order gets large — delivery trucks have load limits, and some suppliers price by the ton instead of the yard.
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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Cubic yards to bags
How many bags of general-purpose soil equal a given bulk order, across the three common bag sizes.
| Cubic yards | 1 cu ft bags | 1.5 cu ft bags | 2 cu ft bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yd | 27 bags | 18 bags | 14 bags |
| 2 yd | 54 bags | 36 bags | 27 bags |
| 3 yd | 81 bags | 54 bags | 41 bags |
| 5 yd | 135 bags | 90 bags | 68 bags |
| 10 yd | 270 bags | 180 bags | 135 bags |
Cubic yards to weight
Soil runs about 1 tons per cubic yard on average. Use this to check a delivery truck's load limit before ordering a large amount.
| Cubic yards | Approx. weight |
|---|---|
| 1 yd | 1 tons |
| 2 yd | 2 tons |
| 3 yd | 3 tons |
| 5 yd | 5 tons |
| 10 yd | 10 tons |
Cubic yards to cubic feet
Bag labels use cubic feet; bulk orders use cubic yards. The conversion is fixed at 27 cubic feet per yard.
| Cubic yards | Cubic feet |
|---|---|
| 1 yd | 27 cu ft |
| 2 yd | 54 cu ft |
| 3 yd | 81 cu ft |
| 5 yd | 135 cu ft |
| 10 yd | 270 cu ft |
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.