Gravel calculator: cubic metres, cubic yards, tonnes, bags and truck loads of gravel, sand, topsoil or mulch for an area and depth.
By AdminDrafted with AI writing toolsUpdated Checked examples: 4
Order 3.3 m³ (4.32 yd³) of gravel, about 5.54 t. In 0.5 ft³ bags that is 234 bags, or 1 truck load.
Loose bulk density from Engineering ToolBox; moisture can add 10–20%, so ask the supplier if you buy by weight.
Rounded up to whole bags and whole loads.
Volume is length × width × depth, plus an allowance for settling and compaction. Weight is that volume times the material's loose bulk density; the material list uses 1,680 kg/m³ for dry gravel, 1,555 for dry sand, 1,280 for loam and 400 for wood chips. Bags and truck loads are the volume divided by the bag or truck size, rounded up.
The default 10 × 3 m path, 10 cm deep, holds 3 m³. With 10% extra that is 3.3 m³ (4.32 yd³), about 5.5 tonnes of gravel, or 234 bags of 0.5 ft³.
Suppliers sell by the cubic metre, cubic yard or tonne. Density changes with stone size and moisture, so when you pay by weight, enter the supplier's figure under Other (enter density).
Multiply length × width × depth, all in one unit, add an allowance for compaction, then multiply by the material's bulk density for weight. A 40 × 12 ft driveway 4 in deep holds 160 ft³ (5.93 yd³); with 10% extra that is 6.52 yd³, about 8.37 t or 9.23 US tons of gravel.
In metric, a 10 × 3 m path 10 cm deep is 10 × 3 × 0.10 = 3 m³, or 3.3 m³ with 10% extra. A cubic yard is exactly 0.764554857984 m³.
Typical depths are 10–15 cm (4–6 in) for driveway gravel and 5–8 cm (2–3 in) for mulch. Gravel compacts and mulch settles, so an allowance of 5–15% is typical.
Loose dry gravel is about 1,680 kg/m³, dry sand 1,555 kg/m³ and topsoil or loam 1,280 kg/m³, from the Engineering ToolBox dirt and mud table.
Wood chips weigh 20–30 lb/ft³ in the Engineering ToolBox product table; the midpoint, 25 lb/ft³, is about 400 kg/m³. Wet material weighs more, so when you pay by weight, use your supplier's density.
A metric ton (t) is 1,000 kg and a US short ton is 2,000 lb, or 907.18474 kg. One metric ton is 1.1023 short tons, so check which "ton" a quote uses.
Bags are counted by volume, so divide the volume to order by the volume printed on the bag and round up. The 3.3 m³ path takes 234 bags of 0.5 ft³, 59 bags of 2 ft³ or 66 bags of 50 L.
Truck loads work the same way on the truck's volume. A dense material can reach the truck's weight limit before its body is full, so confirm the payload with the supplier.
"Default" is the 10 × 3 m gravel path, 10 cm deep, with 10% extra and 0.5 ft³ bags. "No settling allowance" removes the extra, and "Mulch" swaps in wood chips. "One cubic yard" is 9 × 3 ft of topsoil 1 ft deep with no extra, in 0.75 ft³ bags.
"Custom imperial density" is a 4 × 2 m area, 5 cm deep, with no extra, a supplier density of 100 lb/ft³ (1,601.85 kg/m³) and 40 L bags.
| Scenario | Order volume, m³ | Weight, metric tonnes | Bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default | 3.300000 | 5.544000 | 234.000000 |
| No settling allowance | 3.000000 | 5.040000 | 212.000000 |
| Mulch | 3.300000 | 1.320000 | 234.000000 |
| One cubic yard | 0.764555 | 0.978630 | 36.000000 |
| Custom imperial density | 0.400000 | 0.640739 | 10.000000 |
Mulch fills the same 234 bags as gravel but weighs less than a quarter as much, because bags and volume ignore density.
For a concrete slab or footing, use the concrete calculator. To change cubic yards, cubic feet and liters, use the volume converter.
Checked against: 3 m³ × 1.1 = 3.3 m³ ÷ 0.764554857984 = 4.3162 yd³; × 1680 kg/m³ = 5.544 t; ÷ 0.5 ft³ bags = 233.08 → 234
Checked against: Hand calculation: 20 × 5 × 0.25 = 25 ft³ = 0.926 yd³; 25 ÷ 2 = 12.5 → 13 bags; 0.7079 m³ × 400 kg/m³
Checked against: Hand calculation: 27 ft³ = 1 yd³; 27 ÷ 0.75 = 36 bags exactly; 0.764555 m³ × 1280 kg/m³ = 0.9786 t
Checked against: 4 × 2 × 0.05 = 0.4 m³; 100 lb/ft³ = 1601.85 kg/m³ → 0.6407 t; 400 L ÷ 40 L = 10 bags
Multiply length × width × depth to get volume, then add an allowance for compaction; this calculator adds 10% by default. A 10 × 3 m area 10 cm deep is 3 m³, or 3.3 m³ with the extra. In feet, divide cubic feet by 27 to get cubic yards: 20 × 5 ft at 3 in deep is 25 ft³, or 0.93 yd³.
About 1.28 tonnes (1.42 US tons) at the 1,680 kg/m³ this calculator uses for dry gravel, because a cubic yard is exactly 0.764554857984 m³. At the same density a cubic metre weighs 1.68 t. Dry sand at 1,555 kg/m³ comes to 1.19 t per cubic yard and loam at 1,280 kg/m³ to 0.98 t; wet material weighs more.
54 bags of 0.5 ft³, because a cubic yard is 27 ft³. Bags of 2 ft³ take 13.5 per cubic yard, and 50 L bags take 15.3, since a cubic yard is 764.6 L. For a whole job, divide the volume to order by the bag size and round up, as the Bags result does.
108 ft² at 3 in deep, 162 ft² at 2 in and 324 ft² at 1 in, because a cubic yard is 27 ft³ and coverage is volume divided by depth. In metric, 1 m³ covers 20 m² at 5 cm and 10 m² at 10 cm. Add the settling allowance on top when ordering.
This calculator includes 4 worked examples with independently sourced answers. They run in the test suite, and you can run them here too.