Topsoil Calculator
Work out topsoil in cubic yards, tons and bags, with depth presets for the job you're actually doing. This topsoil calculator also adjusts weight for how wet the soil is, which is what decides whether a load will fit in your truck.
Your result
What to order
7.41 cubic yards of topsoil for 600 sq ft at 4" deep
Most yards sell in half-yard steps and have a one-yard minimum for delivery.
- Area covered
- 600 sq ft at 4" deep
- Will it fit in a pickup?
- No. A half-ton pickup safely carries about 0.57 yd³ of moist (typical delivery) topsoil, not a full yard. Your 7.41 yd³ is roughly 14 trips, so delivery is usually the cheaper answer.
- How this is worked out
- 600 sq ft × 4" ÷ 12 ÷ 27 = 7.41 yd³ × 2,200 lb ÷ 2,000 = 8.15 tons
Calculate how much topsoil you need
Square feet × depth in inches ÷ 12 ÷ 27 = cubic yards. A 30 by 20 ft lawn at 4 inches works out at 7.4 yards. That is the short answer to how do I calculate how much topsoil I need, and how many yards of topsoil do I need for a given area.
- Measure the area in feet. Length × width for a lawn or bed. For an odd shape, break it into rectangles, or measure the square footage and use the irregular option.
- Pick a depth for the job. This is the step that matters most, and it's entirely use-case dependent. Seeding wants 3 to 4 inches, sod 2 to 3, beds 6 to 12, and topdressing a quarter inch.
- Divide by 12, then by 27. The first converts inches to feet, the second cubic feet to cubic yards.
- Check the weight before the volume. Topsoil is heavy and gets heavier wet, so tons often decide the delivery, not yards.
Doubling the depth doubles the cost, which is why guessing is expensive here. Going from 2 inches to 4 across 1,000 square feet takes you from 6.2 yards to 12.3, and at typical prices that is the difference between one delivery and two.
Choose your depth: lawn, seed, sod or garden bed
Four inches for a new lawn from seed, 2 to 3 under sod, 6 to 12 for beds, and a quarter to half an inch for topdressing. Those four cover almost every job.
How much topsoil does grass need? Enough for roots to establish in, which is 3 to 4 inches from seed and 2 to 3 under sod. How much topsoil for grass is really a question about root depth, not about area.
Most calculators leave depth as an empty box, which is where people go wrong. Too shallow and roots hit subsoil and stall. Too deep and you have paid for soil nothing will ever reach.
| Job | Depth | 1 yd³ covers | Per 1,000 sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topdressing an existing lawn | 0.5" | 648 sq ft | 1.5 yd³ |
| Bed for new turf | 2" | 162 sq ft | 6.2 yd³ |
| New lawn from seed | 4" | 81 sq ft | 12.3 yd³ |
| Beds and vegetables | 8" | 41 sq ft | 24.7 yd³ |
The depths shift with what you're planting into, not with the size of the job. A 200 sq ft bed and a 2,000 sq ft lawn both want 4 inches for seed. Depth is about root room, so scale the area and leave the depth alone.
Topdressing an existing lawn
Keep it to a quarter or half an inch at a time. Burying live grass under an inch of soil in one pass kills it. Spread thin, drag it in with the back of a rake, and repeat next season if the lawn is still uneven.
Results in yards, tons and bags, and which the yard will quote
Suppliers quote in cubic yards, weigh in tons, and garden centers sell in bags, so the same order gets described three ways. One cubic yard of moist topsoil is about 1.1 tons, or 36 bags at 0.75 cu ft.
Bags win only for very small jobs. Thirty-six bags to make a single yard means bagged soil costs several times bulk once you are past a yard or so, and you have to carry every one of them. The break-even usually lands somewhere under half a yard, and the calculator works out where for your own prices.
Tons matter more than you would expect, because that's what limits delivery rather than volume. A yard of wet soil weighs a third more than the same yard dry, so a truck rated for six yards of dry screened soil might only legally take five after a wet week.
Order in yards, sanity-check in tons, and only think in bags if the whole job fits in a car boot.
Topsoil coverage per yard: how far one load goes
One cubic yard covers 324 square feet an inch deep, 162 at 2 inches, 81 at 4 and 54 at 6. Every other coverage figure is that number divided by your depth.
| Area | At 2" (sod) | At 4" (seed) | At 6" (beds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 sq ft | 0.6 yd³ | 1.2 yd³ | 1.9 yd³ |
| 500 sq ft | 3.1 yd³ | 6.2 yd³ | 9.3 yd³ |
| 1,000 sq ft | 6.2 yd³ | 12.3 yd³ | 18.5 yd³ |
| 2,000 sq ft | 12.3 yd³ | 24.7 yd³ | 37 yd³ |
Read down your area and across to your depth. The numbers scale cleanly, so a 4,000 sq ft lawn is simply double the 2,000 row, and half a row covers half the area.
What catches people out is that coverage collapses as depth grows. One yard does a generous 324 square feet at an inch, but only 54 at the 6 inches a vegetable bed wants. That is a six-fold difference from the same delivery.
So decide depth before you price anything. Guessing an inch too deep across a decent lawn can add a whole truckload. More detail on calculating topsoil coverage.
How much topsoil for 1,000 sq ft
About 3.1 cubic yards per inch of depth. So 1,000 square feet takes 6.2 yards at 2 inches, 12.3 at 4 inches, and roughly 1.5 for a light topdressing.
A thousand square feet is a useful unit to think in because it is close to a typical suburban front lawn, and because grass seed and fertilizer are both sold by it. Once you know the per-inch figure you can scale any lawn in your head: multiply by inches, multiply by thousands of square feet.
For a 1,000 sq ft lawn being seeded, 12.3 yards is roughly two single-axle deliveries or one tandem load. It's also about 13.5 tons of moist soil, which is worth knowing before someone parks a truck on your driveway.
If that number is higher than you expected, it usually is. Topsoil volumes climb fast, and the 4 inches a new lawn wants is a lot of soil once you spread it over any real area.
Topsoil weight and delivery: will a yard fit in your pickup?
No, not in a half-ton. A cubic yard of moist topsoil weighs about 2,200 lb and a half-ton pickup is rated near 1,250 lb of payload, so roughly 0.57 of a yard is the safe limit. The bed fills by weight long before it fills by volume.
| Condition | Per cubic yard | Tons per yard | Half-ton pickup takes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry / screened | 2,000 lb | 1 | 0.63 yd³ |
| Moist (typical delivery) | 2,200 lb | 1.1 | 0.57 yd³ |
| Wet, after rain | 2,700 lb | 1.35 | 0.46 yd³ |
That 700 lb spread between dry and wet is the part nobody mentions, and it is enough to change the answer. Soil delivered the day after heavy rain can weigh a third more than the same soil in August, so if you're hauling it yourself, go when it is dry. Full figures on topsoil weight per yard.
Getting it delivered
Most yards run a one-yard minimum and charge a flat delivery fee inside a set radius. How many yards of topsoil in a dump truck depends on the axle count: a single-axle truck brings 5 to 7 yards and a tandem 10 to 14, so for anything past a couple of yards delivery costs less than the fuel and time of repeated pickup trips.
What topsoil costs, by the yard and by the bag
Screened topsoil runs about $20 to $60 per cubic yard collected, or $35 to $90 delivered. Bagged soil works out at roughly $3 to $6 for a 0.75 cu ft bag, which is $110 to $215 for the equivalent of a single yard.
Screening is most of the price difference. Unscreened soil is cheaper and fine under a lawn or behind a retaining wall, but it comes with rocks, roots and clods that make raking a level seedbed miserable. For anything you're planting into, pay for screened.
Quantity moves the price too. Yards almost always discount per yard as the load grows, so ten yards rarely costs ten times one. See topsoil cost per yard for current pricing and what drives it regionally.
Topsoil calculator FAQ
How much topsoil do I need?
Multiply your area in square feet by the depth in inches, divide by 12, then by 27. A 30 by 20 ft lawn at 4 inches needs 7.4 cubic yards. For a quick check, 1,000 square feet takes about 3.1 yards per inch of depth.
How much topsoil is in a yard?
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. Spread 1 inch deep it covers 324 square feet, at 2 inches 162, at 4 inches 81, and at 6 inches 54. In bags, one yard is 36 of the 0.75 cu ft bags sold at garden centers.
How many yards of topsoil are in a ton?
Just under one. Moist topsoil runs about 2,200 lb per cubic yard, so a ton is roughly 0.9 yards. Dry screened soil is nearer 2,000 lb and gives a full yard per ton, while soil soaked after rain can hit 2,700.
Will a yard of topsoil fit in a pickup truck?
Not safely in a half-ton. A cubic yard of moist topsoil weighs about 2,200 lb and a half-ton pickup is rated near 1,250 lb of payload, so half a yard is the realistic limit. The bed fills by weight long before it fills by volume.
How much topsoil do I need for 1000 square feet?
About 3.1 cubic yards per inch of depth. That’s 6.2 yards at 2 inches for a sod bed, 12.3 at 4 inches for seeding a new lawn, and around 1.5 for a quarter-inch topdressing over an existing lawn.
How much topsoil do I need for a lawn?
Three to four inches for a new lawn from seed, and 2 to 3 inches under sod. To topdress and level an existing lawn you only want a quarter to half an inch at a time, repeated over a season rather than done in one go.
How much does a yard of topsoil weigh?
Between 2,000 and 2,700 lb depending on moisture. Dry screened soil sits near 2,000, a typical delivery around 2,200, and soil that has been rained on can reach 2,700. That 700 lb swing is enough to change what your truck can legally carry.
Is screened topsoil worth paying more for?
For seeding and for beds, yes. Screening takes out the rocks and clods, so it rakes level and seeds germinate evenly. For bulk filling under a lawn or behind a wall, unscreened soil does the same job for less.