Topsoil & Soil Calculator

US & Canada

Raised beds, new lawns, top-dressing or filling low spots. Enter the area and depth and get cubic yards, cubic metres, bags and litres.

Work out your soil

ft
ft
in
%

Soil needed

0 cubic yards

Or buy bags

Bag Bags Sold in

How much soil, and how deep

Soil is sold by volume, so it is area times depth. The part worth getting right is the depth, because it changes with the job far more than people expect.

Soil depth by job, and how far a cubic yard goes
Job Depth One yard covers In metric
Top-dressing an existing lawn 0.5" 648 sq ft 60.2 m²
Under new sod 4" 81 sq ft 7.5 m²
New lawn from seed 6" 54 sq ft 5 m²
Raised bed or deep planting 12" 27 sq ft 2.5 m²

Soil for common raised bed sizes

Filled to the top, with no waste allowance. Most people fill a little below the rim, so treat these as the maximum.

Soil needed to fill common raised bed sizes
Bed Height Cubic feet Cubic yards Litres 1 cu ft bags 2 cu ft bags
2 × 4 ft 6" 4 0.15 113 4 2
2 × 4 ft 10" 6.7 0.25 189 7 4
2 × 4 ft 12" 8 0.3 227 8 4
2 × 8 ft 6" 8 0.3 227 8 4
2 × 8 ft 10" 13.3 0.49 378 14 7
2 × 8 ft 12" 16 0.59 453 16 8
3 × 6 ft 6" 9 0.33 255 9 5
3 × 6 ft 10" 15 0.56 425 15 8
3 × 6 ft 12" 18 0.67 510 18 9
4 × 4 ft 6" 8 0.3 227 8 4
4 × 4 ft 10" 13.3 0.49 378 14 7
4 × 4 ft 12" 16 0.59 453 16 8
4 × 6 ft 6" 12 0.44 340 12 6
4 × 6 ft 10" 20 0.74 566 20 10
4 × 6 ft 12" 24 0.89 680 24 12
4 × 8 ft 6" 16 0.59 453 16 8
4 × 8 ft 10" 26.7 0.99 755 27 14
4 × 8 ft 12" 32 1.19 906 32 16
4 × 12 ft 6" 24 0.89 680 24 12
4 × 12 ft 10" 40 1.48 1,133 40 20
4 × 12 ft 12" 48 1.78 1,359 48 24

Buying in Canada? Soil bags are labelled in litres. A 25 L bag is about 0.88 cu ft and 56 L is about 2 cu ft, so the litre column above tells you directly how much to buy.

Bags per cubic yard

Bags needed to make up one cubic yard of soil
Bag Cubic feet Per cubic yard Sold in
0.75 cu ft 0.75 36 US
1 cu ft 1 27 Both
1.5 cu ft 1.5 18 Both
2 cu ft 2 13.5 Both
25 L 0.883 30.6 Canada
56 L 1.978 13.7 Canada

Before you order

  • Soil settles. A freshly filled raised bed will drop an inch or two in the first season. Fill to the rim, or plan to top it up.
  • Do not fill a deep bed with the expensive mix. Cheaper topsoil in the bottom half and a good mix in the top 6 to 8 inches gets the same result for less, because that is where the roots are.
  • Screened means sieved, not sterile. Bulk topsoil routinely contains weed seed. If that matters, buy bagged.
  • Check the weight before a delivery. A cubic yard is roughly a ton, more when wet, which is a lot for a small trailer or a driveway with a weight limit.

Common questions

How much soil do I need for a 4x8 raised bed?
A 4 ft by 8 ft bed filled to 12 inches needs 32 cubic feet of soil, which is 1.19 cubic yards or about 906 litres. That is 16 bags of 2 cu ft. At a more common 10 inch fill it drops to 27 cubic feet. Bagged soil adds up fast at this size, so compare the price against a bulk yard before buying.
How many bags of soil are in a cubic yard?
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so it takes 27 bags of 1 cu ft or 13.5 bags of 2 cu ft. Soil is usually sold in smaller bags than mulch, which is why filling even one raised bed from bags takes so many.
How much topsoil do I need under sod?
Lay 4 to 6 inches of good topsoil before the sod goes down. For 1,000 sq ft at 4 inches that is 12.3 cubic yards (9.4 m³). Sod roots into whatever is underneath it, so thin soil over compacted builder's fill is the usual reason new turf struggles in its first summer.
How much topsoil do I need to top-dress a lawn?
Top-dressing is deliberately thin: about a quarter to a half inch at a time. For 1,000 sq ft at half an inch you need only 1.54 cubic yards (42 cubic feet). Going deeper smothers the grass you are trying to help, so repeat thin layers across seasons instead.
How much topsoil do I need for 400 square feet?
At 6 inches deep, 400 sq ft takes 7.41 cubic yards (5.66 m³). One cubic yard covers 54 sq ft at that depth, or 81 sq ft at 4 inches.
How do I buy soil in litres in Canada?
Canadian retailers label soil bags in litres rather than cubic feet. A 25 L bag is about 0.88 cu ft and a 56 L bag is about 2 cu ft. The calculator shows litres alongside cubic yards and metres so you can match whichever number is on the bag or the quote.
What is the difference between topsoil, triple mix and raised bed mix?
Screened topsoil is plain soil with the stones and debris taken out. Triple mix is roughly equal parts topsoil, compost and peat or sand, which is a better growing medium. Raised bed mix is lighter still and designed to stay loose in a container. For a deep raised bed, many people fill the bottom with cheaper topsoil and keep the better mix for the top 6 to 8 inches, which is where most roots live.
How much does a cubic yard of topsoil weigh?
Roughly 1 to 1.4 tons, or about 74 to 100 lb per cubic foot. Moisture makes a large difference, and wet soil after rain can be at the top of that range or past it. If a delivery is going on a trailer or a driveway with a weight limit, work from the wet figure rather than the dry one.