How Much Does Topsoil Cost? Bulk, Bagged and Delivered
How much is a yard of topsoil? Screened runs $20 to $50 a cubic yard, and that is the number nobody quotes you. Delivery goes on top, per trip rather than per yard, so one yard delivered can cost $160 a yard while ten cost $33. This page keeps material, delivery and spreading as three separate lines, because that is the only way the price makes sense.
Your estimate
What to ask for
14.8 cubic yards of screened topsoil, delivered, about $465
Over 10 yards, so the rate drops about 20%. That is applied above.
- Material
- $415 at $28 a yard, down from $35 because the load clears 10 yards.
- Delivery
- $50 for 1 trip, since a truck carries about 15 yards. Delivery is charged per trip rather than per yard, which is why small orders cost so much per yard.
- The same job in bags
- 534 bags at 0.75 cu ft, so $1,602 to $3,204 before you have carried one. Bagged is 3.4 to 6.9 times the delivered price here.
Why topsoil has no single price
Topsoil is dug, not manufactured. What a yard sells you came out of the ground somewhere within trucking distance. Two things set its price: how far it travelled, and how much processing it has had.
That is why the same product varies more by region than almost anything else in landscaping. Sand and gravel come from quarries with consistent output. Topsoil comes from whatever site was being excavated, which is also why quality swings so much between suppliers in the same town.
And it explains the shape of every number on this page. A range is not vagueness here, it is the honest answer. Anyone publishing a single national price for a yard of topsoil is quoting a figure that is wrong nearly everywhere.
Topsoil cost per cubic yard: how much is a yard of topsoil
Three grades, three price bands. The gap between the cheapest and dearest is more than three to one, so knowing which one you are being quoted matters more than shopping between suppliers.
| Grade | Per yard | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Unscreened / fill grade | $10 to $28 | Rocks, roots and clods. Fine under a lawn or behind a wall, miserable to rake |
| Screened topsoil | $20 to $50 | The default for anything you are planting into. Screened to remove stone |
| Organic or compost blend | $35 to $75 | Screened soil cut with compost. Worth it for beds, wasted under sod |
Those are collected prices, so they are what you pay if you turn up with a truck. Nothing on that table includes delivery, and delivery is where small orders get expensive.
A cubic yard of moist topsoil weighs about 2,200 lb, which is over a ton. Quoted by weight instead? Expect roughly $32 a ton for screened. And remember a wet load weighs more for the same volume of soil.
Bulk vs bagged: the real break-even point
Bagged topsoil is $3 to $6 for a 0.75 cu ft bag, which feels cheap and is not. It takes 36 bags to make one cubic yard.
| Volume | Bags needed | In bags | Bulk delivered | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 yd³ | 9 | $41 | $134 | Bags |
| 0.5 yd³ | 18 | $81 | $143 | Bags |
| 1 yd³ | 36 | $162 | $160 | Bulk |
| 3 yd³ | 108 | $486 | $230 | Bulk |
| 10 yd³ | 360 | $1,620 | $330 | Bulk |
The crossover sits almost exactly at one cubic yard. Below it the delivery fee on a bulk order swamps everything, so bags win easily. Above it bags lose and keep losing, because you pay for the plastic and the handling on every single one.
A quarter yard shows why. In bags it is $41. Delivered it is $134, which works out at $535 a cubic yard, because a trip fee and a small-load charge are landing on almost no soil.
There is a practical limit too. Forty bags is a car full and an afternoon of lifting. Most people who buy bags past that point end up wishing they had paid the delivery fee.
Delivery fees and minimums
$50 to $150 a trip, and the trip is the unit. A truck carries about 15 yards, so ordering one yard and ordering twelve costs the same to deliver.
Most yards also set a minimum, usually around 6 cubic yards. Order under it and there is a small-load fee of roughly $75, which on a two yard order can cost more than the soil did.
| Order | Material | Delivery | Total | Real cost per yard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yd³ | $35 | $125 | $160 | $160 |
| 3 yd³ | $105 | $125 | $230 | $77 |
| 5 yd³ | $175 | $125 | $300 | $60 |
| 10 yd³ | $280 | $50 | $330 | $33 |
| 20 yd³ | $560 | $100 | $660 | $33 |
Read the last column downward and the whole economics of buying soil is there. One yard delivered costs $160 a yard. Twenty costs $33. The soil did not change price. The delivery just had more yards to spread itself across.
Which is worth knowing before you order short. Close to a threshold, the extra yard is often nearly free. And a little left over beats a second trip fee.
Cost for 5, 10 and 20 yards
These are the three orders people actually place, so here they are at mid-range screened prices with delivery included.
| Order | Covers at 4 in | Delivered total | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 yd³ | 405 sq ft | $300 | Under the minimum at most yards |
| 10 yd³ | 810 sq ft | $330 | Bulk rate starts, about 20% off |
| 20 yd³ | 1,620 sq ft | $660 | Two trips, or one large truck |
Ten yards is the sweet spot on most price lists. It clears the minimum, it triggers the bulk rate, and it still fits in one truck. So you pay one delivery fee for the best per-yard price a homeowner can get.
Twenty is where it gets worse again on some lists, because a standard truck tops out near 15 yards and the second trip brings a second fee. Ask whether they run a larger truck before assuming double the order is double the delivery.
Screened vs unscreened pricing
Screening adds $10 to $22 a yard. All it means is the soil has been run through a mesh to take out stone, root and clod.
Whether that is worth paying for comes down to what happens next. Spreading unscreened soil under sod is fine, because the sod hides it and nothing has to be raked smooth. Seeding into it is a different job entirely, and one most people only do once.
The other thing screening buys is predictability. Unscreened soil is whatever came off the site, so two loads from the same supplier can differ noticeably. Screened soil is far more consistent, which matters if you are ordering in stages.
Blends sit above both at $35 to $75. That is screened soil cut with compost, and it is genuinely better for planting beds. Under a lawn it is money you will not see again.
Estimate your topsoil cost
The estimator at the top takes an area or a yardage. Then it separates the three lines that make up a topsoil bill: material, delivery and spreading.
Put your own prices in if you have a quote. The defaults sit at the middle of the published range for your grade. That is a fair starting point and a poor substitute for a call to a local yard.
It applies the small-load fee under 6 yards and the bulk discount over 10. So the figure moves the way a real quote does, rather than scaling in a straight line.
And it shows the same job in bags alongside, which is the comparison most people are actually trying to make when they land on a page about price.
How to lower the price
Collect it yourself if you can. That removes the whole delivery line, which on a small order is often more than the soil.
Order to a threshold rather than to your exact need. Say you want eight yards and the bulk rate starts at 10. Those extra two yards can cost less than nothing, once the discount applies to the whole load.
Buy unscreened where it will not be seen or planted into, and screened only where it will. Splitting an order between the two grades is normal and most yards will do it on one delivery.
Spread it yourself. At $25 to $60 a yard, installation is often the largest line on the whole bill. And a yard is about fifteen wheelbarrow loads, not a day's work.
Buy in autumn or late winter if the job can wait. Demand peaks in spring, and suppliers who are quiet will negotiate on volume in a way they never will in April.
Topsoil price questions
How much is a yard of topsoil?
Screened topsoil runs $20 to $50 a cubic yard collected. Unscreened is cheaper at $10 to $28. Delivery is charged on top, usually $50 to $150 a trip, which is why one yard delivered costs far more per yard than ten.
How much does a yard of topsoil cost delivered?
About $160 for a single yard once the trip fee and the small-load charge land on it. The same rate spread over 10 yards works out near $33 a yard, because delivery is priced per trip rather than per yard.
How much is topsoil per yard?
Between $10 and $75 depending entirely on grade. Fill-grade soil sits at the bottom, screened topsoil in the middle at $20 to $50, and compost blends at the top. Ask which one you are being quoted before comparing two prices.
How much is a ton of topsoil?
Roughly $32 to $46, because a cubic yard of moist topsoil weighs about 1.1 tons. Yards that sell by weight rather than volume are usually cheaper per unit, but the moisture in the load moves what you actually get.
How much is 5 yards of topsoil?
Around $300 delivered at mid-range screened prices, which is $60 a yard all in. Five yards is under the 6 yard minimum at a lot of suppliers, so expect a small-load fee of about $75 on top.
How much is 10 yards of topsoil?
About $330 delivered, or $33 a yard. Ten yards is where most suppliers start discounting the rate, usually by 20% or so, and it still fits in a single truck.
How much does a bag of topsoil cost?
$3 to $6 for a 0.75 cu ft bag. That sounds cheap until you count them: 36 bags make a cubic yard, so the same volume costs $108 to $216 against $35 in bulk.
Is screened topsoil worth the extra cost?
For anything you plant into, yes. Screening costs $10 to $22 more a yard and removes the stone, root and clod that make raking a seedbed miserable. Under sod or behind a wall, save the money.