Topsoil calculator.
Estimate topsoil in cubic yards from the area and depth you will place. Weight and bag count use stated assumptions you can change.
Nothing to install.
Your dimensions
Extra for spillage. Settling is separate, and only for a finished depth.
Weight starts at 1.1209 US tons per cubic yard: Penn State’s 1.33 g/cm³ silt-loam example times 1,685.564 lb/yd³, which that example rounds to 1.12 short tons. It is oven-dry mineral soil, not a moist delivered load. Bags start at 0.75 ft³, the stated volume of a Scotts Premium Topsoil bag, and are counted by volume rather than by that mineral-soil weight.
How to calculate topsoil
Turn area and depth into cubic yards of topsoil, with optional tons, bags, waste and settling.
- Measure the area and the depth you will place. Enter length and width, or the total area, and the depth of topsoil. Split irregular areas into separate rectangles and leave out ground you will not cover.
- Convert to cubic yards. With feet and inches, use length × width × (depth ÷ 12) ÷ 27. At 3 inches, one cubic yard covers 108 square feet before allowances.
- Add settling and waste only once. If the depth is the finished settled depth, divide by (1 − settling fraction), then multiply by (1 + waste fraction). Leave both at zero when the depth is already the loose depth you will order.
- Read tons and bags from stated assumptions. Tons use the editable silt-loam density. Bags divide purchase cubic feet by the editable bag volume and round up once. Confirm both with the product you will buy.
With feet and inches, cubic yards = length × width × (depth ÷ 12) ÷ 27. In metric, metres × metres × (centimetres ÷ 100) gives cubic metres. One cubic yard is 27 cubic feet and 0.764554857984 m³. Optional waste multiplies the measured volume by (1 + waste fraction). Settling, when you enter it, divides by (1 − settling fraction) before waste, the same separation this site uses for shrinkage and waste.
Worked example: 20 ft × 10 ft × 3 in
20 × 10 × (3 ÷ 12) ÷ 27 = 1.8519 yd³ before allowances (50 ft³, 1.415842 m³). At the default density that is 2.0757 US tons. At 0.75 ft³ per bag that is 67 bags.
Fixed teaching example, independent of the fields above. It is not a specification for your project.
Assumptions and sources
Weight starts at 1.1209 US tons per cubic yard: Penn State’s 1.33 g/cm³ silt-loam example times 1,685.564 lb/yd³, which that example rounds to 1.12 short tons. It is oven-dry mineral soil, not a moist delivered load. Bags start at 0.75 ft³, the stated volume of a Scotts Premium Topsoil bag, and are counted by volume rather than by that mineral-soil weight.
- Penn State Extension conversion factors, updated March 3, 2026. One foot is 0.3048 m, so one cubic yard is 0.764554857984 m³. The same table gives 1,685.564 lb/yd³ for each g/cm³. Its worked example converts 1.33 g/cm³ to 2,241.8 lb/yd³, or 1.12 short tons/yd³.
- Penn State Extension acre furrow slice, updated July 23, 2025. A dry bulk density of 1.33 g/cm³ is used because it approximates a silt loam. Sandy soils are often denser and organic soils are often lighter.
- Scotts Premium Topsoil states a 0.75 cu. ft. bag and says that bag covers 4 sq. ft. at a 2-inch layer. Geometric coverage at 0.75 cu. ft. and 2 inches is 4.5 sq. ft. Lawn directions on that page are 1–2 inches worked into the native soil; new gardens are 2–3 inches. The bag is a peat-amended conditioner, so its volume is not converted with the silt-loam weight.
CubicTally does not publish topsoil prices. For another landscape material, use the mulch calculator and the mulch bed estimator. Measure area in the square footage calculator or volume only in the cubic yard calculator. Reviewed concrete, gravel and mulch examples are on local prices, including concrete driveway cost in Chicago and gravel driveway cost in New York and mulch beds cost in New York. Read the calculation methodology and the estimate limitations before you order.
Topsoil calculator FAQ
How much topsoil do I need?
Multiply the area you will cover by the depth you will place, then convert to cubic yards. In feet and inches that is length × width × (depth ÷ 12) ÷ 27. Add waste or settling only when the depth you entered is not already the loose depth you plan to order.
How deep should I enter for topsoil?
Enter the depth from your planting plan. Scotts Premium Topsoil’s directions use about 1–2 inches worked into a lawn and about 2–3 inches for a new garden, mixed into the native soil. Those are directions for that product, not a requirement for your soil or plants. The 3-inch starting value is only an example.
How much does a cubic yard of topsoil weigh?
There is no single weight. The default uses Penn State Extension’s 1.33 g/cm³ approximation for a silt loam, converted with Penn State’s factor of 1,685.564 pounds per cubic yard for each g/cm³. That is 2,241.8 pounds, or 1.12 short tons, of oven-dry soil per cubic yard. Sandy soil is often heavier and organic mixes are often lighter. Moist delivered topsoil can weigh more. Replace the density with your supplier’s figure.
How many bags of topsoil are in a cubic yard?
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. At 0.75 cubic feet per bag, that is 36 bags before waste. The 0.75 figure is the stated size of a Scotts Premium Topsoil bag; other bags differ. This calculator rounds the whole job up once. It does not turn the silt-loam weight into a bag weight, because that bag is a peat-amended conditioner rather than mineral silt loam.
How much area does one yard of topsoil cover?
At 3 inches, one cubic yard covers 108 square feet before waste, because 324 ÷ 3 = 108. At 2 inches it covers 162 square feet. A 0.75 cubic foot bag covers 4.5 square feet at 2 inches by that geometry. Scotts states 4 square feet for that bag and depth. This calculator uses the stated 0.75 cubic foot volume, not the rounded coverage line.