Topsoil Calculator
Yards, tons and bags for lawns and beds — with settling priced in, because loose dug soil shrinks the week it lands.
Topsoil Calculator
Results recalculate instantly on every keystroke. Nothing you type is transmitted.
What this result does not account for
- Rectangle math — L-shaped beds compute in pieces.
- One flat density; very wet or sandy loam shifts tonnage.
- No grading labor or fine-grading allowance.
In short: A 2,000-ft² lawn at 4 in needs 24.691358 yd³. After a 10% settling allowance that is 27.160494, ordered as 27.25 yd³ — $735.75 delivered at $27, or 29.98 tons for the hauler. The same yards bagged: 889 forty-pound sacks, $7,112 — nearly ten times.
Formula
yd³ = ft² × in ÷ 324
order = yards × (1 + settling) rounded up to ¼
tons = order × 2,200 lb ÷ 2,000
bags = ⌈ft³ ÷ bag size⌉ (36 × 0.75-ft³ per yard)
[('settling', 'loose dug soil shrinks ~10% as it takes rain'), ('2,200 lb', 'moist screened loam, per cubic yard'), ('the ¼ yard', 'how bulk suppliers actually sell'), ('36 per yard', '0.75-ft³ sacks — the retail yard')]
Worked Example
- Volume the area by the 324 law.
- Add the settling allowance before any rounding.
- Round the settled yardage up to the quarter-yard.
- Convert to tons for the delivery decision.
- Price the bag route for the honest comparison.
The 2,000-ft² lawn at 4 in: 24.691358 yd³ exact, 27.160494 after the 10% settling bump, ordered 27.25 yd³ = $735.75 at $27 delivered and 29.98 tons on the scale. Bagged: 889 × 0.75-ft³ sacks = $7,112 — 9.7 times the bulk route.
Strengths & Limits Of This Model
Where this engine is strong
- Settling ordered before the round, not forgotten
- Tonnage for the hauler alongside yards for the quote
- The bag penalty priced per yard, per pallet, per trunk
Where it stops
- Single-lobe rectangles only
- One density assumption
Practical Use Cases
New lawns
4-6 inch spread with settling priced in.
Garden beds
6-8 inch rebuilds to the quarter-yard.
Delivery orders
Tonnage the hauler’s scale will agree with.
Raised beds
Fill volume before the first shrink.
Grading
Low-spot fills with the bump honest.
Methodology & Editorial Standards
Volume follows the exact 324 law. The settling allowance multiplies BEFORE the quarter-yard ceiling, so the shrink is ordered and not absorbed. Tonnage assumes 2,200 lb/yd³ of moist screened loam. Bags ceiling the cubic feet over bag size. Depths above 24 in and settling above 50% are refused. The bag-versus-bulk verdict prices both routes on entered quotes only.
Computation runs in IEEE-754 double precision at full internal precision; rounding to two decimal places occurs strictly at the display layer, so no cumulative drift enters the result. All monetary outputs use accounting presentation — grouped thousands, two decimals, negatives in parentheses — so figures can be transcribed directly into a model or working paper. Division-by-zero and out-of-domain inputs return an em-dash rather than a misleading number.
This engine was reconciled against an independent reference implementation and hand-verified for the worked example above before release. Our full five-stage review process is published on the About Us page.
Disclaimer. This calculator is provided for informational and modelling purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, medical, or engineering advice. Verify all figures with a qualified professional before acting on them.
Topsoil Calculator — 10 Expert FAQs
10 analyst-written answers to the questions practitioners actually ask — optimised for voice and answer-engine retrieval.
How many 40-lb bags of topsoil are in a cubic yard?
Depends on the bag: the classic 40-lb sack is 0.5 ft³ (54 per yard), the premium 0.75-ft³ sack is 36 per yard, and the 1-ft³ contractor bag is 27. At $7-9 a sack that is $252-324 a yard bagged.
How much does bulk topsoil cost in 2026?
Screened topsoil delivered runs roughly $25-55 a cubic yard across the US, with premium blends and organic mixes higher. This page’s $27 reference is mid-band; enter your local quote.
How deep should topsoil be for a new lawn?
Four to six inches of loosened, weed-free soil under seed or sod is the standard prescription; gardens want 6-8. Existing lawns get by with a 1-2 inch topdress over aeration.
Why order 10% more topsoil than the volume?
Dug soil is fluffed with air and settles roughly a tenth once it takes rain and weight — a lawn ordered flat sinks and shows its edges. Add the allowance, then round up to the quarter-yard the supplier sells in.
How much does a yard of topsoil weigh?
About 2,200 lb moist for screened loam — call it 1.1 tons. A full-size pickup is near its payload after ONE yard, which is why volume quotes turn into delivery orders so quickly.
How many bags do I need for 100 square feet at 2 inches?
100 × 2 ÷ 324 = 0.617284 yd³ = 16.67 ft³ — twenty-three 0.75-ft³ sacks. That single trunk trip is about where bulk delivery starts winning.
Is topsoil the same as compost?
No — topsoil is the mineral growing medium; compost is the organic amendment you blend INTO it. New lawns want mostly topsoil with 10-25% compost worked in; pure compost beds settle hard and hold water differently.
Should I screen or unscreen?
Screened (rock-free, consistent texture) for anything you seed, sod or plant. Unscreened fills holes and builds up grades cheaper. The price gap is usually $5-15 a yard — this page prices whichever quote you enter.
Does topsoil go under or over mulch?
Topsoil is the working layer, mulch the blanket on top: soil first to grade, then 2-3 inches of mulch. Reversed, the mulch mixes into the root zone and the bed never settles right.
What about digging out versus building up?
Building up 2-4 inches over existing grade rarely needs removal; re-grading that cuts more than it fills turns this into the Excavation page’s question — bank yards, swell and truckloads live there.