Solve backwards
How big a bed will my topsoil fill?
- 2 yd³The example worked below
- Topsoil CalculatorEvery figure is its own
You have
How much topsoil?
That is 2 yd³(1.5 m³). Worked by the Topsoil Calculator at the settings below.
The settings it uses
- Fill Depth
- 8 in
What it will do
81 sq ft of ground
7.53 m²
One garden bed. Enough for a garden bed 14.2 × 5.7 ft at 8 in deep.
Or several. About 2 garden beds of the size the Topsoil Calculator opens on: a garden bed 10 × 4 ft at 8 in deep.
Check it forwards
- Area Length
- 14.2 ft
- Area Width
- 5.69 ft
- It asks for
- 2 yd³
- You have
- 2 yd³
The Topsoil Calculator asks for 2 yd³ at that size.
If you had more, or less
Around your amount
Each worked by the Topsoil Calculator at the same settings.
Half
1 yd³
40.5 sq ft
a garden bed 10.1 × 4 ft at 8 in deep
Yours
2 yd³
81 sq ft
a garden bed 14.2 × 5.7 ft at 8 in deep
Half as much again
3 yd³
121 sq ft
a garden bed 17.4 × 7 ft at 8 in deep
Double
4 yd³
162 sq ft
a garden bed 20.1 × 8 ft at 8 in deep
Common amounts
What each amount of topsoil covers
The sizes it is usually sold in, each worked by the Topsoil Calculator at the settings above.
| You have | It covers | As one garden bed | Average garden beds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yd³(0.8 m³) | 40.5 sq ft(3.76 m²) | a garden bed 10.1 × 4 ft at 8 in deep | 1 |
| 2 yd³(1.5 m³) | 81 sq ft(7.53 m²) | a garden bed 14.2 × 5.7 ft at 8 in deep | 2 |
| 5 yd³(3.8 m³) | 203 sq ft(18.8 m²) | a garden bed 22.5 × 9 ft at 8 in deep | 5 |
| 10 yd³(7.6 m³) | 405 sq ft(37.6 m²) | a garden bed 32 × 13 ft at 8 in deep | 10 |
Six to twelve inches for a new bed
Garden beds commonly take 6 to 12 inches of topsoil, 15 to 30 cm — deeper than mulch or a gravel base — and the calculator opens at 8 inches, about 200 mm. Shallower fills suit levelling a lawn; root vegetables and raised beds want the deep end. A cubic yard fills about 40 square feet at 8 inches, and twice that at 4.
Soil settles after the first rain
The figure is a bare length times width times depth, with no allowance for consolidation, so soil tipped to the depth you typed reads shallower once it has been rained on and walked over. Making the level good again is a second, smaller order — or put a little more on the first time.
Often sold by the tonne
The answer is a loose volume, and topsoil is very often quoted, delivered and tipped by the ton or tonne. How much a cubic yard weighs moves with how wet it is, how much organic matter it carries and how finely it was screened, so ask the supplier for the load's volume or its density before reading a weight as a bed.
How the answer is worked
Nothing here is a second formula. The Topsoil Calculator runs forwards — a size in, a quantity out — and this page grows its own starting garden bed in proportion until the quantity it asks for is what you have. Where it rounds up to whole containers, the answer is the largest size before the next one would be needed.
Where the calculator adds an allowance for cuts or breakage when you order, the same allowance comes off here, because it is the same calculator: a stack you already own finishes less than its face value. Where it adds none, neither does this page — the settings beside the answer say which.
Topsoil Calculator
runs it forwardsEstimate the topsoil needed for a garden bed or lawn area at a given fill depth, in cubic yards or cubic metres.
Work out what to buy insteadSolve backwards
Other things you might already have
How big a bed will my bags of mulch cover?
Bagged mulch, worked by the Mulch Calculator.
How much bed will a yard of mulch cover?
Bulk mulch, worked by the Mulch & Gravel Calculator.
How much ground will my gravel cover?
Gravel, worked by the Mulch & Gravel Calculator.
How big a raised bed will my soil fill?
Raised bed soil, worked by the Garden Soil Calculator.
How much ground will my compost dress?
Compost, worked by the Compost Blend Calculator.
How big a slab will a yard of concrete pour?
Ready-mix concrete, worked by the Concrete Calculator.
Solve backwards
Start from what is already in the yard
Paint, sheets, rolls, bags and pieces, each read the other way by the calculator that orders it.
The calculator's own figures
Nothing is estimated twice: the page runs the same calculator you would order with.
The largest size that fits
Where a calculator rounds up to whole containers, the answer stops before the next one.
Both unit systems
Gallons and litres, square feet and square metres, side by side.
Frequently asked questions
- How much ground does 2 yd³ of topsoil cover?
- At the Topsoil Calculator's own settings, 81 sq ft (7.53 m²) — a garden bed 14.2 × 5.7 ft at 8 in deep. That is about 2 garden beds of the size the calculator opens on: a garden bed 10 × 4 ft at 8 in deep. Every figure follows the settings, which you can change in the calculator.
- How much ground does 2 m³ of topsoil cover?
- At the Topsoil Calculator's own settings, 10 m² (108 sq ft) — a garden bed 5 × 2 m at 200 mm deep. That is about 2 garden beds of the size the calculator opens on: a garden bed 3 × 1.2 m at 200 mm deep. Every figure follows the settings, which you can change in the calculator.
- How much area does a cubic yard of topsoil cover?
- At 8 inches deep a cubic yard covers about 40 square feet (3.8 m²), at 6 inches 54, and at 4 inches 81 — square feet times inches divided by 324. Soil settles after watering, so a bed filled to exactly the right depth will finish a little low.
- How deep should topsoil be for a new garden bed?
- Six to twelve inches, 15 to 30 cm, is the usual range for a new bed, deeper for root vegetables and raised beds, and less for levelling or dressing a lawn. Decide the depth first: it moves the soil you need far more than a small error in the bed's length.
- How much does a cubic yard of topsoil weigh?
- Roughly a ton and more, but it varies with moisture, organic content and screening — screened topsoil is typically near 1,300 kg per cubic metre (about 2,200 pounds per cubic yard) and wet soil considerably more. That matters for a trailer or a small truck, so check before collecting it yourself.