Topsoil Calculator for Beds, Lawns and Sod
Most calculators ask you for one depth and leave you guessing which one to use. This topsoil calculator gives you presets for the actual job instead: seed, sod, beds, topdressing. It also changes the weight based on how wet the soil is. That is the bit that decides whether a load fits 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
What is topsoil?
Topsoil is the top few inches of soil, the dark layer with all the organic matter in it. That’s where grass roots live and where plants feed. Below it sits subsoil, which is paler, denser and grows almost nothing. So when a lawn struggles or a bed won’t fill out, it’s often because there isn’t enough of that top layer.
Now, why bother working out the amount first? Because topsoil is sold by the cubic yard, and a cubic yard is a lot more than people picture. It’s 27 cubic feet. Spread 4 inches deep it covers 81 square feet, and no further. Guess low and the truck leaves with your lawn half done. Guess high and you’re paying to store a pile of dirt on the drive.
And the weight catches people out too. A yard of moist topsoil runs about 2,200 lb. That’s over a ton, from something that looks like it would fit in a car. So the number matters twice: once for what you order, and once for how it gets to you.
How much topsoil do I need? How to calculate it
Start with the volume. Square feet × depth in inches ÷ 12 ÷ 27 = cubic yards. A 30 by 20 ft lawn at 4 inches comes out at 7.4 yards. That’s the short answer to how do I calculate how much topsoil I need, and how many yards of topsoil do I need.
- Measure the area in feet. Length × width for a lawn or bed. Got an odd shape? Break it into rectangles, or just measure the square footage and use the irregular option.
- Pick a depth for the job. This is the step that matters most, and it depends entirely on what you’re doing. Seeding wants 3 to 4 inches. Sod wants 2 to 3. Beds want 6 to 12. Topdressing wants a quarter inch.
- Divide by 12, then by 27. The first turns inches into feet. The second turns cubic feet into cubic yards.
- Check the weight before the volume. Topsoil is heavy, and it gets heavier wet. So tons often decide your delivery, not yards.
Guessing gets expensive here. Double the depth and you double the cost. Going from 2 inches to 4 across 1,000 square feet takes you from 6.2 yards to 12.3. At normal prices, that’s 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.
This is where most people go wrong. Most calculators leave depth as an empty box. Go too shallow and the roots hit subsoil and stall. Go too deep and you’ve paid for soil that 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 |
Depth changes 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 up and leave the depth alone.
Topdressing an existing lawn
Keep it to a quarter or half an inch at a time. Bury live grass under an inch of soil in one go and you kill it. So spread it thin, drag it in with the back of a rake, and come back 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 only win on very small jobs. It takes 36 bags to make one yard. So bagged soil costs several times what bulk does once you’re past a yard, and you’ve to carry every single one. The break-even usually lands under half a yard, and the calculator works out exactly where using your own prices.
Now, tons matter more than you would think. Weight is what limits a delivery, not 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, check it in tons, and only think in bags if the whole job fits in the back of a car.
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 to your area, then across to your depth. The numbers scale cleanly. A 4,000 sq ft lawn is just double the 2,000 row, and half a row covers half the area.
Here’s what catches people out though. Coverage collapses as depth grows. One yard does a generous 324 square feet at an inch. At the 6 inches a vegetable bed wants? Only 54. That’s six times less ground from the same delivery.
Decide your depth before you price anything. Guess an inch too deep across a decent lawn and you’ve added a whole truckload.
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 handy unit to think in. It’s close to a typical suburban front lawn, and 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, then by thousands of square feet.
For a 1,000 sq ft lawn you’re seeding, 12.3 yards is about two single-axle deliveries, or one tandem load. It’s also around 13.5 tons of moist soil. Worth knowing before someone parks a truck on your driveway.
If that number looks higher than you expected, it usually is. Topsoil volumes climb fast. The 4 inches a new lawn wants turns into 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. A half-ton pickup is rated near 1,250 lb of payload. So roughly 0.57 of a yard is your 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 your 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.
Getting it delivered
Most yards have a one-yard minimum and charge a flat delivery fee inside a set radius. How many yards of topsoil fit in a dump truck? It depends on the axles. A single-axle truck brings 5 to 7 yards. A tandem brings 10 to 14. So past a couple of yards, delivery costs less than the fuel and time of driving back and forth yourself.
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 runs roughly $3 to $6 for a 0.75 cu ft bag. That works out at $110 to $215 for one yard.
What makes up that price gap? Mostly screening. Unscreened soil is cheaper, and it’s fine under a lawn or behind a retaining wall. But it comes with rocks, roots and clods, and raking a level seedbed out of that’s miserable work. For anything you’re planting into, pay for screened.
Quantity moves the price too. Yards almost always drop the per-yard rate as the load grows, so ten yards rarely costs ten times what one does.
Topsoil calculator FAQ
How much topsoil will I need?
Multiply your area in square feet by the depth in inches, then 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 it 1 inch deep and it covers 324 square feet. At 2 inches, 162. At 4 inches, 81. At 6 inches, 54. And in bags? One yard is 36 of the 0.75 cu ft bags they sell 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, which gives you a full yard per ton. Soil soaked after rain can hit 2,700.
Will a yard of topsoil fit in a pickup truck?
Not safely in a half-ton, no. A cubic yard of moist topsoil weighs about 2,200 lb. A half-ton pickup is rated near 1,250 lb of payload. Half a yard is your realistic limit, because 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. It’s 12.3 at 4 inches for seeding a new lawn, and around 1.5 for a quarter-inch topdressing.
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 an existing lawn, stick to a quarter or half an inch at a time. Repeat it over a season rather than doing it all at once.
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.