Work out how much topsoil, garden soil, or compost to order for a new lawn, a raised bed, or a top-dressing job. Enter the area and depth, choose the material, and the calculator gives cubic yards, cubic metres, the weight in tons, and bag counts for 40 lb, 1, 1.5, and 2 cubic foot bags. Density is adjustable because wet soil can weigh a third more than dry.
Finishing the lawn with turf? The sod calculator turns the same area into rolls and pallets. Covering the beds afterwards? Use the mulch calculator. For any other conversion, try the unit converter. Everything runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a cubic yard of topsoil weigh?
Dry topsoil weighs roughly 2,000 to 2,200 lb per cubic yard — about a ton. Moisture changes that a lot: soaked topsoil can reach 2,700 lb per yard, which matters if you plan to haul it in a pickup. Garden soil blends and compost are much lighter, around 1,000 to 1,500 lb per yard, because they are mostly organic matter. The calculator's presets use 2,100 lb for dry topsoil, 2,700 for wet, 1,500 for garden blends, and 1,000 for compost; change the density to whatever your supplier quotes.
How deep should topsoil be for a new lawn?
Four to six inches of good topsoil gives new grass seed or sod a healthy root zone; six inches is better on compacted or clay subsoil. Vegetable and flower beds do best with 8 to 12 inches of loose soil, and raised beds are filled to their full depth. For an existing lawn, top-dressing with a quarter to half an inch of screened topsoil or compost after aerating improves the soil without smothering the grass. Use the presets to jump between these depths.
How many bags of topsoil make a cubic yard?
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. Bagged topsoil is commonly sold as 40 lb bags holding about 0.75 cubic feet, so a yard takes 36 of them; garden soils are usually sold by volume in 1, 1.5, or 2 cubic foot bags, which need 27, 18, or 13.5 bags per yard. Always count bags by the cubic feet printed on them rather than by weight, because wet soil weighs more without covering more ground. Beyond two or three yards, bulk delivery is almost always cheaper than bags.
Should I order extra topsoil?
Usually 10 to 20 percent. Screened topsoil is loose and fluffy when delivered, and it settles once it is raked, rolled, and watered, so a bed filled to exactly 6 inches may sit at 5 inches a few weeks later. Uneven ground also swallows more soil than the flat-area math assumes. Use the settling field to add that margin. Bulk suppliers typically sell in half- or whole-yard steps, so the calculator also shows the bulk order rounded up to the next half yard.