Free tool
Topsoil Calculator
Enter your bed dimensions and depth and get exactly how much topsoil to order — cubic yards, bags, and delivery cost, with a waste factor built in. Free, no signup for the estimate.
Topsoil needed
0 yd³
- Area0 ft²
- Volume0 ft³
- With waste0 ft³
- Cubic yards0 yd³
- Bags (0.75 ft³)0
- Delivery cost—
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Or download it now (PDF)How to calculate topsoil
Ordering topsoil is one of those numbers that is cheap to get a little wrong high and expensive to get wrong low — come up short and you are paying a second delivery fee for a few missing yards. Getting it right is just careful measuring and one unit trick.
1. Measure the area
Length and width are in feet. For an odd-shaped bed, break it into rectangles, calculate each, and add them together. A circle is roughly radius × radius × 3.14.
2. Pick a depth
Depth is almost always in inches. About 2–3 inches levels or top-dresses an existing lawn; 4–6 inches gives new garden beds enough good soil for roots. Keep depth in inches for now — the next step converts it.
3. Convert to cubic yards
Bulk topsoil is sold by the cubic yard. Divide your depth by 12 to get feet, multiply area × depth-in-feet for cubic feet, then divide by 27 (there are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard). Add about 5% so settling and low spots don’t leave you short.
4. Bags or bulk delivery?
For a small bed, bagged topsoil — about 0.75 cubic feet per 40 lb bag — is simple. Past a few yards the bag count climbs fast (roughly 36 bags per yard) and a bulk delivery is far cheaper. The breakdown above shows bags and yards side by side so you can make the call.
Measuring the job is step one. Turning it into a priced, professional quote is faster inside CrewRivet. See the mulch calculator, the sod calculator, or the job pricing calculator.
Topsoil calculator FAQ
- How much topsoil do I need?
- Multiply length × width to get the area, then multiply by the depth to get volume. The trick is units: depth is in inches, so divide it by 12 to get feet first. Length (ft) × width (ft) × (depth ÷ 12) gives cubic feet; divide by 27 for cubic yards. Add about 5% for settling. This calculator does all of it for you.
- How many bags of topsoil are in a cubic yard?
- A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, and a common 40 lb bag holds about 0.75 cubic feet — so roughly 36 bags per cubic yard. Bags add up fast and cost more per yard than bulk, which is why most crews switch to a bulk delivery once they pass a few yards.
- How deep should topsoil be?
- It depends on the job. To level or top-dress an existing lawn, about 2–3 inches is typical; for new garden or planting beds you usually want 4–6 inches of good soil so roots have room. Enter your target depth and the calculator converts it straight to yards and bags.
- Why add a waste factor?
- Fresh topsoil settles as it is watered and walked on, and no grade is perfectly even — low spots and edges soak up more than the math predicts. A 5% allowance covers it so you are not one wheelbarrow short at the far end of the bed. Running a little over is cheap; a second delivery is not.
- Is the calculator free?
- Yes — the live estimate is free with no email required. Enter your email only if you want the free Job Pricing Kit (pricing worksheet, markup cheat-sheet, and invoice + quote templates) sent to your inbox.