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Topsoil Calculator

Cubic yards, cubic feet and bag counts for lawns, beds and raised beds — with depths taken from extension-service publications rather than invented, and no fake tonnage.

Shape of the area
ft
ft

Every preset is a published extension-service figure, not our opinion. Picking one fills the depth below; you can still override it.

in
%

Loose soil drops once it is watered and walked on, so a bed filled level to the rim sits below it by spring. Scotts publishes coverage about 11% under the geometry for its own bagged topsoil, which is the nearest thing to a manufacturer's settling figure. Adjustable.

Bagged sizes vary by brand. Check the bag — the volume is printed on it, and it is the only number on the bag that matters for this.

t/cy

There is deliberately no default here. Delivered topsoil has no published unit weight — the figures in circulation run from 1,500 to 3,000 lb per cubic yard, a factor of two, and they all trace back to each other rather than to a measurement. If your supplier quotes by the ton, ask what they assume and type it in. Leave it blank and you get volume only, which is the number you can actually trust.

Order

0.88

cubic yards

23.9 cu ft · 32 bags

The working

Area: 8 × 4 = 32.0 sq ft

Volume: 32.0 × 8″/12 = 21.33 cu ft

+ 12% settling = 23.89 cu ft

23.89 ÷ 27 = 0.885 cu yd

Bags: 23.89 ÷ 0.75 = 31.86 → 32 bags

Weight: no supplier unit weight entered

Planning estimate only. Check the result against current product instructions, local requirements, and your own takeoff. See the calculator disclaimer.

Why this one will not tell you the tonnage

Every other topsoil calculator will happily convert your cubic yards into tons. Most of them use something around 2,000 or 2,200 pounds per cubic yard, stated with no source. We went looking for where that number comes from, and it does not come from anywhere. The figures in circulation span roughly 1,500 to 3,000 pounds per cubic yard, and when you follow the citations they lead to other calculator pages and landscape-supplier blog posts quoting each other in a circle.

There is a real, authoritative dataset for soil density — the USDA NRCS publishes bulk density by soil texture — but it measures soil in place, compacted in the ground, for assessing root growth. Delivered screened topsoil is loose, aerated and full of organic matter, and it is a different material in that respect. Borrowing the NRCS number for a delivery estimate would look rigorous and be wrong, which is worse than looking vague and being right.

So the weight field starts blank. If your supplier quotes by the ton, ask them what unit weight the quote assumes and enter it — that figure is real, it is specific to their material and their moisture on the day, and it beats any published average by a distance. Leave it blank and you get volume, which is the part the arithmetic can actually guarantee. The same reasoning is why the gravel calculator refuses to preset pea gravel and river rock.

The settling allowance is not a guess

Waste factors on this site normally cover offcuts, and topsoil has none. What it has instead is settlement: fill a raised bed level with the rim, water it in, walk the edges for a season, and it will sit noticeably lower. Most calculators either ignore this or add a round 10% with no explanation.

There is one manufacturer figure that lets you pin it down. Scotts publishes that a 0.75 cubic foot bag of its Premium Topsoil "covers 4 sq. ft. when applied in a 2-inch layer." Run the geometry: 0.75 cubic feet spread two inches deep covers 4.5 square feet. Their own published coverage is about 11% below the arithmetic, implying you need roughly 12.5% more volume than area times depth suggests. That is a manufacturer quietly building in a settling allowance, and it is where the 12% starting value comes from. It stays adjustable, because a light topdressing settles far less than a two-foot bed.

Depth is the input people get wrong

The arithmetic here is trivial and everyone gets it right. Depth is where the money is lost, and it is the one input most calculators leave as an empty box. So the presets on this page are published extension-service figures with the institution named, not house opinion.

NDSU Extension H1325 gives at least 6 inches of topsoil before seeding a lawn, and says plainly that deeper is better — it is a floor, not a target. The University of Maryland Extension gives a minimum of 8 inches for raised beds growing leafy greens, beans and cucumbers, and 12 to 24 inches for pepper, tomato and squash. That same UMD page also recommends filling beds with compost blended into topsoil at 1:2 or 1:1 rather than topsoil alone, which matters for your order: if you are running a 1:1 mix, half of the volume this calculator gives you should be compost.

One thing worth checking before you buy: these are finished soil depths, not necessarily depths of imported topsoil. If there are already three inches of workable soil where the lawn is going, you are topping up to six, not laying six. That distinction routinely halves an order and nobody mentions it.

Bags against bulk

A cubic yard holds 27 cubic feet, so it is about 36 of the standard 0.75 cubic foot bags. Bagged soil costs several times more per cubic foot than bulk — but bulk carries a delivery charge that is the same whether you order one yard or five, and it arrives as a pile on your driveway that somebody has to move with a wheelbarrow.

Below about half a yard, bags win on total cost almost every time, which is why the tool flags it when your number lands there. Above two or three yards, bulk wins clearly. In between, it turns entirely on your local haul fee, so the calculator shows cubic yards and bag count side by side and lets you make that call with both numbers in front of you. For the base layer under a patio or driveway rather than growing medium, the gravel calculator uses published DOT unit weights and does give you tonnage.

Sources

Grouped by manufacturer or publisher, then by document. Expand a group for the cited document, its verified-on date, and every value taken from it — all of it stays in the HTML either way.

Trade conventions(2 documents, 2 values)
Other sources(7 documents, 7 values)

Frequently asked questions

How much topsoil do I need for a 4x8 raised bed?

A 4 ft × 8 ft bed is 32 square feet. Filled 8 inches deep — the University of Maryland Extension minimum for leafy greens, beans and cucumbers — that is 21.3 cubic feet, or 0.79 cubic yards. Add 12% for settling and you are buying about 24 cubic feet, which is 32 of the 0.75 cu ft bags. At that size bags almost always beat a bulk delivery, because a haul fee on under a yard costs more than the soil.

How many cubic feet is a bag of topsoil?

The dominant big-box size is 0.75 cubic feet — Scotts Premium Topsoil states "One 0.75 cu. ft. bag" on its own product page. Other brands sell 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 cubic foot bags, so the count changes considerably with brand. The volume is printed on the bag and it is the only figure on there that matters for estimating. There are roughly 36 of the 0.75 cu ft bags in a cubic yard.

How much does a cubic yard of topsoil weigh?

Nobody can tell you honestly, and this calculator will not pretend to. The figures in circulation run from about 1,500 to 3,000 pounds per cubic yard — a factor of two — and when you chase them they cite each other rather than any measurement. Moisture alone moves it enormously, since water weighs 62 lb per cubic foot. If your supplier sells by the ton, ask what unit weight their quote assumes and type it into the optional field. That number is real; an internet average is not.

How deep should topsoil be for a new lawn?

NDSU Extension publication H1325 states: "Before seeding, make sure that the topsoil is at least 6 inches deep; deeper is better." Note that this is a minimum and the publication explicitly says to exceed it. It is also a finished depth of soil, not necessarily a depth of imported topsoil — if you already have 3 inches of decent soil you are topping up, not starting from zero, and that halves what you buy.

Why does this calculator add a settling percentage?

Because loose soil drops once it is watered and walked on, and a bed filled level to the rim in April sits visibly below it by June. The 12% starting figure is not invented: Scotts publishes that one 0.75 cu ft bag "covers 4 sq. ft. when applied in a 2-inch layer", but 0.75 cubic feet spread 2 inches deep covers 4.5 square feet geometrically. Their own published coverage runs about 11% under the arithmetic, which implies roughly 12.5% extra volume. It is the closest thing to a manufacturer settling allowance that exists for topsoil.

Should I buy topsoil in bags or by the yard?

The crossover is usually somewhere between half a yard and a full yard. A cubic yard is about 36 of the 0.75 cu ft bags, and bagged soil costs several times more per cubic foot — but a bulk delivery carries a haul fee that does not care whether you ordered one yard or five. Below half a yard, bags win almost every time. Above two or three yards, bulk wins clearly. In between it depends entirely on your local delivery charge, which is why the tool shows both numbers rather than picking for you.