Topsoil Calculator
Cubic yards and bags of topsoil for beds, lawns, and grading.
1 in to topdress a lawn, 4 to 6 in for new lawns and beds.
You need
1.23 cubic yards
Bulk delivery is usually cheaper above about 2 cubic yards.
- Volume
- 33.3 cu ft
- 0.75 cu ft bags
- 45 bags
- Approximate weight
- 1.4 tons
Estimates only. Verify quantities before ordering.
How this is calculated
Volume = length (ft) x width (ft) x depth (in) / 12, then divided by 27 for cubic yards. Bags assume the common 0.75 cu ft size. Weight assumes about 1.1 tons per cubic yard for screened topsoil; wet soil weighs noticeably more.
Enter the length and width of the area in feet and the depth of soil in inches, and this calculator returns the volume in cubic yards, the equivalent bag count, and the approximate weight. Landscape suppliers sell topsoil by the cubic yard, and knowing the weight helps you decide between pickup and delivery.
Depth depends on the job. Topdressing a thin lawn takes only a half inch to an inch. Seeding a new lawn wants 4 to 6 inches of quality soil, and vegetable beds are usually filled 6 to 12 inches deep. If you are spreading over compacted or clay ground, till the first inch or two of new soil into the existing surface so water does not stop at the boundary.
Topsoil for common projects
Depths follow the use: shallow for topdressing, deeper for new lawns and beds. Bags are the common 0.75 cu ft size.
| Project | Cubic yards | Bags |
|---|---|---|
| 10 x 10 ft bed, 6 in | 1.85 cubic yards | 67 bags |
| 4 x 8 ft raised bed, 10 in | 0.99 cubic yards | 36 bags |
| 20 x 20 ft topdress, 1 in | 1.23 cubic yards | 45 bags |
| 25 x 40 ft new lawn, 4 in | 12.35 cubic yards | 445 bags |
| 50 x 50 ft new lawn, 4 in | 30.86 cubic yards | 1,112 bags |
Screened, unscreened, and garden mixes
Screened topsoil has been run through a mesh to remove stones, roots, and clods, and it is what you want for lawns and beds where you will be raking to a finish. Unscreened soil costs less and is fine for bulk filling or raising a low area that will be graded and left alone, but it arrives with debris that has to be picked out by hand before grass seed goes down.
Garden mix, also sold as compost blend or planting mix, is topsoil already blended with compost, usually somewhere between 20 and 40 percent organic matter. It costs more and earns it in raised beds and new planting areas, where straight topsoil can be surprisingly lifeless. For simply raising a lawn grade, plain screened topsoil is the sensible purchase.
Quality varies enormously between suppliers, because topsoil is not a regulated product. Ask where it was stripped from and inspect a handful before a full load arrives: good soil crumbles rather than smears, smells earthy, and shows visible organic matter. Soil that forms a sticky ribbon between your fingers is heavy clay whatever the sign calls it.
Settling and how much to order
Topsoil is delivered loose and settles roughly 10 to 20 percent once spread, watered, and walked on. If you need 2 inches of finished depth, spread closer to two and a half. This is why a delivery that measured correctly on paper leaves the new lawn sitting slightly low against the driveway a month later.
For top-dressing an existing lawn, keep each application to about a quarter to half an inch and repeat across seasons. Burying established grass under 2 inches in one pass smothers it. For a new lawn from seed, 4 to 6 inches of decent soil over the subgrade is the usual target, and a raised bed means filling the full volume of the box, which is why bed projects consume far more soil than people expect.
When to amend instead of importing
Bringing in soil is not always the right answer. If your ground is compacted rather than genuinely poor, tilling in 2 or 3 inches of compost usually builds a better root zone than a layer of imported topsoil lying on top of hardpan, which creates an abrupt boundary that both roots and water struggle to cross. A soil test costs very little and tells you whether the real problem is structure, nutrients, or pH.
Where you do import, blend the new soil into the top few inches of existing ground with a rake or tiller rather than leaving a clean layer. The transition matters: two distinct layers behave like two separate soils, and water perches at the boundary instead of draining through. It is the same reason a raised bed sitting on undisturbed lawn does better if the sod beneath is broken up first.
Common questions
How much does a yard of topsoil cover?
One cubic yard covers 108 square feet at 3 inches deep, 81 square feet at 4 inches, and 54 square feet at 6 inches. For a quick check, multiply your square footage by the depth in inches and divide by 324 to get cubic yards.
How much does a cubic yard of topsoil weigh?
Screened topsoil runs about 2,000 to 2,400 lb per cubic yard, more when wet. That is at or over the payload limit of a half-ton pickup, so plan on hauling one yard per trip at most, or pay the delivery fee, which is usually modest compared to multiple trips.
Should I buy topsoil in bags or in bulk?
A cubic yard equals 36 of the common 0.75 cu ft bags. Bagged soil often costs three to five times more per yard than bulk, so bags only make sense for jobs under about half a yard or where a delivery truck cannot reach.
What depth of topsoil do I need for a new lawn?
Grass roots best in 4 to 6 inches of decent soil. If your existing ground is workable, you can till 2 to 3 inches of new topsoil into it instead of building the full depth from scratch. Avoid spreading a thin layer of new soil over hard compacted clay, since roots and water will both stop at the interface.