Mulch & gravel calculator
Cubic yards to cover an area at a depth.
Put this calculator on your site
Get it as a ready-made Gravity Forms template. Import it, match your colors, publish.
- Import-ready form file
- Step-by-step build guide
- Works with any theme
How it's calculated
Volume is length times width times depth. Depth is entered in inches, so it is divided by 12 to get cubic feet, and 27 cubic feet make a cubic yard, which is how bulk mulch and stone are sold. Bags are the cubic feet divided by the bag size. Weight uses a typical density for the material: about 600 lb per cubic yard for bark mulch, 2,000 for topsoil and 2,700 for gravel, so the same volume of stone weighs four to five times as much as mulch.
How deep should mulch be?
Two to three inches. Less than two lets weeds through and dries out fast; more than four can suffocate roots and hold too much moisture against trunks. Pull it back a few inches from stems and trunks.
Is it cheaper to buy mulch in bags or in bulk?
Bulk is usually cheaper once you need more than about a cubic yard, which is 13.5 two-cubic-foot bags. Below that, bags are easier to move and you can return unopened ones.
How much does a cubic yard of gravel weigh?
Around 2,600 to 2,800 lb, so about 1.3 to 1.4 tons. A cubic yard of bark mulch is only 400 to 800 lb. Suppliers often sell stone by the ton; the tool shows both.
Results are estimates for informational purposes only and are not financial, medical or legal advice.