Free tool

Topsoil Calculator

This soil calculator turns the area you are covering and how deep you want it into the order. You get the volume in cubic yards, what that weighs on a truck, and roughly what it costs delivered where you live — then the yards near you who can bring it.

Work out what you actually need

Measure the bed, pick a depth, and this converts it to cubic yards, what it will weigh on the truck, and roughly what it should cost delivered where you are.

—cubic yards
—approximate weight
—delivered, typical range
—pickup loads if you haul it

Screened topsoil runs roughly 2,000–2,400 lb per cubic yard dry, more after rain. Order about 10% over: soil settles, and a second delivery costs more than the first yard did.

Find suppliers near you

Topsoil by job

Depth is the number that changes most from one job to the next — a quarter inch to topdress, four to six for a new lawn.

For the formula, worked examples and irregular shapes, see how much topsoil do I need.

Mulch, gravel, stone and compost calculators →

Get a price for what you worked out

Tell us the ZIP it is going to and we will pass it to suppliers near you who deliver that material. One message, not a form on 14,695 different websites.

Get delivered prices

Edit it however you like — tell them roughly how much you need and where it is going.

This is how we know which yards can reach you. On a supplier's own page we do not ask — there you have already picked who you are writing to.

Goes to suppliers near you. We keep a copy so you have a record.

How the numbers work

Volume

Length × width × depth, in feet, divided by 27. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet — a cube three feet on each side. Two inches deep over 200 square feet is about 1.2 yards.

Depth

2–3 inches to top-dress an existing lawn, 4–6 inches for new turf, 8–12 for raised beds and new planting. Deeper is not better: topsoil over compacted subsoil holds water and drowns roots.

Weight

A cubic yard of screened topsoil runs about 2,000–2,700 lb depending on how wet it is. Wet soil after rain can add several hundred pounds a yard, which is what decides whether your load needs one trip or two.

What a truck carries

A single-axle dump takes roughly 5 yards, a tandem 10–14. Most yards have a minimum load — commonly 3–4 yards — because the trip costs the same either way. See what your own truck can carry.

Prices shown are the typical delivered band for your region, drawn from the 14,695 suppliers we index. They are a guide for budgeting, not a quote — the real number depends on your material, your distance and the size of the load.