Free calculator
Topsoil and fill dirt calculator
Pick what the dirt is for, enter the area and the finished depth, and get the cubic yards to order with settlement, the weight, how many truckloads or bags that is, and what bulk delivery costs against bags.
Result
- To order
- 14.2 cu yd (383 cu ft)
- In place, after settling
- 12.35 cu yd (333 cu ft)
- Weight
- 14.36 US tons
- Loads (dump truck, 10 yd)
- 2
- Bags (0.75 cu ft bag)
- 512
- Bulk, delivered
- $626 ($426 + $200 delivery)
- Same amount in bags
- $2,048; bags win below 0.88 cu yd
Volume is length × width × depth. The order adds the settlement you allow, because dirt is delivered loose and settles when spread or is tamped in lifts. Weight uses the density as delivered; wet soil weighs more. Delivery is charged per load.
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How it works
Volume is length times width times depth: 1,000 square feet at 4 in is 12.3 cubic yards in place. The depth you enter is the finished one, and the order is bigger by the settlement you allow, because soil is delivered loose and drops when it is spread, watered and walked on, or is tamped in lifts as fill. Earthwork tables put common earth at 20 to 30% more volume loose than in the ground and 10 to 15% less when compacted, so the form starts at 15% for raked topsoil and 20% for tamped fill; plastic clay compacts more.
Weight is the ordered volume times the density as delivered: about 1.2 tonnes per cubic metre for screened topsoil (2,000 lb a yard) and 1.45 for fill dirt (HomeGuide's 90 pounds per cubic foot, 2,400 lb a yard), which is what a supplier who sells by the ton charges for. Wet soil weighs more; use the supplier's figure when they give one.
Loads and bags are the order divided by what a load or a bag holds and rounded up: a half-yard scoop, a pickup at a yard, a 10 or 14 yard dump truck; a 40 lb bag of topsoil is about 0.75 cubic feet, so 36 bags make a yard. The cost line prices the order per yard plus a delivery fee per load, and the same volume in bags, and tells you the volume under which bags are the cheaper way.
Frequently asked questions
- How much topsoil do I need for 1,000 square feet?
- 12.3 cubic yards in place at 4 in, 14.2 to order with 15% for settling, which is 14.4 US tons and 2 loads of a 10-yard truck. In 40 lb bags it would be 512 bags. At 2 in, halve it; at 6 in, add half again.
- How many yards of fill dirt do I need?
- Area in square feet times depth in inches, divided by 324, is the cubic yards in place: 100 square feet at 3 in is 0.93 cubic yards, which is why a yard is said to cover 100 square feet 3 in deep. Add 20% for the tamping, more for clay, and round up to the truck.
- How much does a yard of topsoil weigh?
- About 2,000 lb (1 US ton) for screened topsoil at 1.2 t/m³, and 2,400 lb for fill dirt at 90 lb per cubic foot. Wet soil can pass 3,000 lb a yard; a pickup rated for half a ton carries about half a yard of dry topsoil, not the full bed.
- Is it cheaper to buy topsoil in bags or in bulk?
- Bulk, past a small volume: at $4 per 40 lb bag a yard costs $144 in bags against $30 bulk plus a $100 delivery, so the truck wins from 0.9 cubic yards up. The 1,000 sq ft lawn is $626 delivered in bulk against $2,048 in bags. HomeGuide's 2026 range is 10 to 50 per yard bulk and 2 to 6 per bag.
- How deep should topsoil be for a new lawn?
- 4 to 6 in for seed or sod, at least 8 in for a garden bed, and about half an inch for top-dressing an existing lawn, which is what the purpose menu sets. Loosen the top 2 or 3 in of the subsoil first so the new layer bonds to it and drains.
- What is the difference between topsoil and fill dirt?
- Fill dirt is subsoil with no organic matter: it compacts and stays put, so it goes under things and raises grades. Topsoil is the top layer with the organic matter plants need; it settles more and is not for building on. Fill the low spot with fill dirt to 4 to 6 in below finished grade and finish with topsoil.
Guides
- How much topsoil do I need? Bags and cubic yards by area
Cubic yards, tons and bags of topsoil for 100 to 2,000 sq ft at 2, 4 and 6 inches deep, the metric version in cubic metres and 40 L bags, and when to buy in bulk.
- How much fill dirt do I need? (yards, tons and truckloads by area)
Cubic yards of fill dirt for 100 to 5,000 sq ft at 3 to 12 in with 20% for compaction, the tons and 10-yard truckloads that is, filling a low spot, and metric.
- How much is a yard of dirt? Fill dirt and topsoil cost (2026)
Fill dirt 5 to 25 and topsoil 10 to 50 per cubic yard delivered, US 2026 (HomeGuide): truckloads, delivery fees, bags, and what 1 to 30 yards cost for a lawn or low spot.
- How many bags of topsoil in a cubic yard? (40 lb, 1 and 2 cu ft bags)
36 bags of 40 lb (0.75 cu ft) make a cubic yard, 27 of 1 cu ft, 14 of 2 cu ft. Bags for 1 to 10 yards, what they cost against a bulk load, and where bags stop paying.