Bulk materials
Topsoil Calculator
Topsoil is heavy, roughly a ton per cubic yard, so knowing the weight matters as much as the volume. Enter your area and depth for yards, bags, and delivered tonnage.
Updated
Area to cover
Add a section for each part of the space. Odd shapes are easiest as two or three simple ones.
Area = length × width
Material and depth
Heavy. A single cubic yard runs past a ton, check your vehicle's payload rating.
4–6 in for a new lawn. Never more than ½ in at a time over living grass.
5% covers settling and uneven ground. Use 10% on rough or sloped sites.
The standard retail size.
Only affects the weight figures, never the volume. Typical range 1800–2700 lb/cu yd, wet material sits at the top.
Enter your measurements to see results.
How this is calculated
Volume and the weight problem
The volume math is the same as any bulk material: area times depth, converted to cubic yards. What sets topsoil apart is density. Screened topsoil runs about 2,200 lb per cubic yard, and wet topsoil runs higher still.
That matters for logistics more than for cost. A half-ton pickup rated for 1,500 lb of payload can carry roughly two-thirds of a cubic yard of topsoil, not the two yards people often try to load.
tons = cubic yards × 2,200 lb ÷ 2,000
How deep for each job
Filling low spots in a lawn is the one case where less is more. Never add more than half an inch of soil over living grass at a time, deeper and you smother it. Repeat every few weeks until the spot is level rather than doing it in one pass.
Building a new planting bed wants 6 to 12 inches of workable soil. Establishing a new lawn from bare ground wants 4 to 6 inches over the subgrade.
Topsoil settles. Freshly spread soil loses roughly 10 to 20% of its loose volume once it is watered and walked on, which is worth building into the order for anything you need to finish at a specific grade.
| Job | Depth | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Topdressing an existing lawn | ¼–½ in | Never bury the crowns of live grass |
| Leveling before new seed | 2–4 in | Rake to grade, then firm |
| New lawn over subgrade | 4–6 in | Below 4 in, roots hit compacted fill |
| New planting bed | 6–12 in | Deeper for vegetables and root crops |
| Raised bed fill | 10–18 in | Blend with compost, see raised bed calculator |
Worked example
Building up a new lawn area
Spreading 4 inches of topsoil over a 25 ft × 40 ft area before seeding.
- Area
- 25 ft × 40 ft = 1,000 sq ft
- Volume
- 1,000 × (4 ÷ 12) = 333 cu ft
- Cubic yards
- 333 ÷ 27 = 12.3 cu yd
- Weight
- 12.3 × 2,200 = 27,100 lb ≈ 13.6 tons
About 12.5 cubic yards. That is a tandem dump truck load, not something to move by pickup, at 13.6 tons it is three or four full loads for a one-ton truck.
Frequently asked questions
Related calculators
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OpenRaised Bed Soil Calculator
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OpenLawn Area Calculator
Almost every other lawn number depends on this one. Break your yard into simple shapes, subtract the parts that aren't grass, and get a square footage you can use for seed, fertilizer, and quotes.
OpenGuides that go deeper
- Topdressing Your Lawn: Real Advice for Healthier, Smoother GrassTopdressing means spreading a thin layer of compost or soil over your lawn to fix bumps, improve soil, and help grass grow. The trick is never to bury the grass.
- How Often Should You Overseed a Lawn?Overseeding isn’t a yearly chore for everyone. Here’s how to decide if, when, and how much to overseed,plus the steps that actually matter.
- Fixing Mole Tunnels, Mounds, and Bare Spots in Your LawnMole tunnels and mounds are ugly, but you can fix them. Learn how to level, reseed, and prevent future damage,without making it worse.
- Vole vs Mole: Spot the Difference and Stop the DamageMoles and voles leave very different clues,and fixing the problem depends on knowing which is which. Here’s how to tell, what to do, and what to skip.