Topsoil Calculator

Multiply the area by the depth you want, in matching units, to get a volume, then divide by 27 to convert cubic feet into cubic yards, since that is how topsoil is priced and delivered. Pick a topsoil type first, filling and leveling, unscreened fill grade, or lawn topdressing, since each defaults to a depth appropriate to that job, an important step given how different those three depths actually are. This calculator runs the area math directly for a rectangle, circle, ring, triangle or trapezoid, or a straight area entry, and adds up multiple areas if you have more than one.

One ton is exactly 2,000 pounds, a fixed conversion, but how many pounds fill a cubic yard depends on the material. For topsoil, a Wisconsin Department of Transportation research report published in December 2023 measured natural soil at roughly 2,000 to 2,900 pounds per cubic yard loose and dry, which works out to about 1 to 1.45 tons per cubic yard, more once it is wet. The calculator above runs this conversion directly from your actual volume rather than asking you to look up a separate factor and multiply by hand.

Roughly 1 to 1.45 tons per cubic yard dry, based on measured natural soil density from a 2023 Wisconsin DOT research report, climbing higher once the topsoil is wet. This is a range rather than one number because moisture and soil composition both change the actual weight, which is why the calculator above shows tons as a range alongside pounds and kilograms rather than a single figure.

Roughly 2,000 to 2,900 pounds dry, based on in place, loose state measurements of natural soil from a Wisconsin Department of Transportation research report published in December 2023, heavier once it has been rained on. That works out to about 1 to 1.45 tons. The calculator above works this out directly from your entered area and depth rather than a flat per yard estimate.

27 cubic feet in a cubic yard, the same conversion that applies to any bulk material. It is the figure behind every bag count on this page: divide 27 by the bag size in cubic feet, then round up, to see how many bags one cubic yard takes.

36 bags at the common 0.75 cubic foot bag, or 18 bags at 1.5 cubic feet, rounding up so you never come up short. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so the bag count is that figure divided by the bag size.

Choose screened or unscreened fill grade topsoil from the type list above and set the depth to however deep the low spot actually is, since there is no single recommended fill depth the way there is for a lawn topdressing pass, the site itself sets the number. Screened topsoil costs more but is sifted free of rocks and debris; unscreened fill grade topsoil is cheaper and better suited to bulk grading where appearance and stone content do not matter as much.

It depends entirely on whether you are establishing a new lawn area, which is a filling and grading job, or topdressing an existing one, which is a very different, much thinner job. Topdressing an established lawn before overseeding or aerating calls for an eighth to a half inch per pass, per University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension and University of Tennessee Extension turf publications, spread thin and worked in rather than piled on.

A thin topdressing pass, an eighth to a half inch, is the guidance from university extension turf publications, not a filling depth. Piling topsoil deeper than that over grass and freshly spread seed can smother both rather than help them establish. Choose the lawn topdressing blend from the type list above, which defaults to a quarter inch within that range.

This depends on whether the existing grade is already close to right, in which case a thin topdressing style layer may be enough, or whether the area needs real leveling and fill first, which calls for the filling and leveling topsoil type at a deeper, site specific depth. New lawn preparation and topdressing an established lawn are different jobs at very different depths, and this calculator separates them for that reason.

Topsoil, whether screened or unscreened, is native soil suited to supporting plant growth once it is graded and, often, amended further. Plain fill dirt, covered on BunnyCorner's Soil Calculator, is used purely to fill volume where nothing needs to grow, and is typically the cheaper option of the two for that reason. Screened topsoil sits at the higher end of cost since it has been sifted free of rocks and debris, unscreened fill grade topsoil in the middle, and plain fill dirt at the low end.

Topsoil, as covered here, is used for grading, filling and lawn work: leveling low spots, prepping a new lawn, or topdressing an existing one. Garden soil is a blended, amended product meant specifically to grow plants in a bed or border, covered on BunnyCorner's Soil Calculator, and is worked into a much shallower 4 to 8 inch layer rather than used for bulk grading.

Enter your own supplier's price in the calculator above for an exact figure, since cost varies by screening, region and supplier. As a starting point, unscreened fill grade topsoil is the cheapest of the three types here, screened topsoil costs more, and the finer topdressing blend costs the most per yard, reflecting the added compost and finer screening.

Bulk, past about 3 cubic yards. That threshold is already dozens of bags of a heavy material, more than most people want to carry by hand in multiple trips, and bulk delivery is almost always cheaper per yard at that scale. Below that threshold, bags remain more practical for most people even where bulk works out slightly cheaper per yard, since there is no minimum delivery to arrange.

Break it into simple shapes and add them as separate areas rather than forcing one measurement over an odd outline. An L shaped area is two rectangles; a bed that wraps around a tree is a ring; a curved section close enough to a triangle or trapezoid can use those shapes directly. The calculator above totals as many areas as you add.

Add each area separately in the calculator above rather than running the tool once per area and adding the results by hand. Every area can be a different shape and size; the topsoil type and depth apply across all of them, and the results total the volume, weight and bag count for the whole project in one pass.

Yes. Every measurement field accepts metric or imperial units and converts automatically, and the headline result switches between cubic yards and cubic meters depending on which system is selected, with liters and cubic feet shown alongside either way, and weight shown in kilograms alongside pounds and tons. The depth and density figures behind the numbers are the same sourced guidance regardless of which units you use.

The material and the job, not the underlying math, since all four run the same area times depth formula. Topsoil, here, handles grading, filling and lawn topdressing. Garden soil and fill dirt, on the Soil Calculator, handle planting beds and simple hole filling. Mulch sits on top of soil at a shallow 2 to 4 inches as a decorative layer. Gravel is a compacted base or surface material that accounts for compaction in a way none of the soil based calculators need to.