About the Landscape Material Calculator
The Landscape Material Calculator is a free tool for homeowners, gardeners and contractors who need to know how much material to order for a project. Enter an area and depth, pick a material — gravel, crushed stone, river rock, sand, topsoil, mulch or concrete — and it returns the three numbers suppliers actually use: cubic yards for bulk delivery, tons for weighed loads, and bags for a trip to the store.
Why we built it
Most material calculators do one material, bury the answer under ads, or don’t work well on a phone — which is a problem when you’re standing in the supply yard. We wanted one clean page that loads fast, works on any device, runs entirely in your browser (so it keeps working once loaded), and never asks you to create an account. No sign-up, no app, no paywall.
How the numbers are calculated
The volume is simple geometry — area multiplied by depth — converted to cubic yards by dividing by 27 (a cubic yard is 3 ft × 3 ft × 3 ft). Weight and bag counts then depend on the material:
- Tonnage uses each material’s bulk density. We keep a separate figure for every material because they differ widely — gravel and crushed stone run roughly 1.3–1.5 tons per cubic yard, sand about 1.35, topsoil around a ton, and bark mulch only about 0.4 tons because it is light and airy.
- Bag counts use the common retail bag size for each material (for example, 2 ft³ bags for mulch, 0.5 ft³ bags for gravel and sand, 80 lb bags for concrete).
- Shapes — rectangles use length × width; circles use π × radius². Project pages add presets for driveways, fire-pit rings, trenches and shed bases.
A note on accuracy
The volume maths are exact. The tonnage figures are estimates from loose, dry bulk densities — damp or compacted material weighs more, and densities vary by source. Treat the result as a close planning number and always confirm depth requirements and delivered weights with your supplier before a large order. For more, see our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.
Get in touch
Found a bug, or have a material or project you wish the tool supported? We’d like to hear it — email gazalafarheen023@gmail.com.