Cubic Yards Calculator
Enter length, width, and depth to turn any slab, garden bed, driveway, or trench into cubic yards, cubic feet, and cubic inches, with a waste allowance, a truck-load count, and an estimated delivery cost.
Convert your dimensions to volume
How the tool converts feet and inches to volume
Every bulk material in US construction is sold by the same unit, and it is not one you can measure directly. A cubic yard calculator exists because footprints get measured in feet, depths get quoted in inches, and suppliers quote in yards β three units in one estimate. The tool reconciles them: it divides the depth by 12, multiplies the three dimensions to get cubic feet, then divides by 27.
Work through a real driveway. A 20 ft by 10 ft apron at 4 in of gravel is 200 sq ft of footprint at a third of a foot deep, which comes to 66.7 cubic feet, or 2.47 cubic yards. Add 10% for compaction and you order 2.7 β call it 3 yards, because suppliers round up to the half or full yard anyway and coming up short mid-pour costs far more than the extra material.
Cubic feet, cubic inches and cubic yards
The three volume units are locked to each other by fixed definitions: 1,728 cubic inches make a cubic foot, and 27 cubic feet make a cubic yard. Searches like finding cubic feet calculator and cubic yards land on the same arithmetic β only the divisor at the end changes, which is why this tool reports all three at once instead of making you convert twice.
Which unit you want depends on the job. Bagged soil and mulch are labeled in cubic feet, so the cubic-feet line is the one to divide by the bag size β a 2 cubic foot bag means roughly 13.5 bags per yard. Shipping boxes, void fill, and small castings are dimensioned in inches, so use the cubic inch calculator line for those. Bulk delivery is always yards.
How to use this calculator
- Measure length, width and depth. Tape the footprint in feet and decide how deep the material has to sit, in inches. For a trench or a footing, treat each straight run as its own rectangle and enter them one at a time.
- How to calculate cubic feet from feet and inches. Divide the depth in inches by 12 to get feet, then multiply all three dimensions. A 20 ft by 10 ft area at 4 in deep is 20 Γ 10 Γ 0.333 = 66.7 cubic feet. Mixing units without converting is what makes most volume estimates come out wrong by a factor of twelve.
- Divide cubic feet by 27 for yards. One cubic yard holds 27 cubic feet, so those 66.7 cubic feet become 2.47 cubic yards. That is the number a concrete plant, quarry, or landscape yard needs β nobody sells bulk material by the cubic foot.
- Add settlement and price the delivery. Loose material compacts, so add 5% for a formed pour and 10β15% for gravel, sand, or topsoil that will be tamped down. Enter your local price per yard to compare delivery quotes.
Frequently asked questions
How many cubic feet are in a cubic yard?
Twenty-seven. A yard is 3 ft on every edge, so 3 Γ 3 Γ 3 = 27 cubic feet. Divide any cubic-foot figure by 27 to get yards.
Can I use this as a cubic feet calculator?
Yes β the breakdown reports the volume in cubic feet as well as cubic yards, which is what you need when the material is sold in bags rather than delivered loose.
How do I calculate cubic feet for a round hole or column?
Use Ο Γ radiusΒ² Γ depth with every dimension in feet. A 12 in diameter footing 4 ft deep is 3.1416 Γ 0.5Β² Γ 4 = 3.14 cubic feet, or about 0.12 cubic yards.
How many cubic yards fit in a dump truck?
A tandem-axle truck typically hauls 10 to 12 cubic yards of loose material; a single-axle truck carries about 5. Weight limits, not volume, are the real constraint for dense material like sand and stone.
What does a yard of gravel or topsoil cost in 2026?
Delivered 2026 ranges run about $25β60 for topsoil, $30β70 for mulch, and $40β75 for common gravel, before a flat delivery fee. Ready-mix concrete is far higher at roughly $130β195.
Volume by area and depth
| Area | Depth | Cubic feet | Cubic yards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 sq ft | 2 in | 16.7 cu ft | 0.62 ydΒ³ |
| 100 sq ft | 4 in | 33.3 cu ft | 1.23 ydΒ³ |
| 200 sq ft | 4 in | 66.7 cu ft | 2.47 ydΒ³ |
| 500 sq ft | 6 in | 250 cu ft | 9.26 ydΒ³ |
A standard tandem dump truck carries about 10 to 12 cubic yards, so the 500 sq ft example is roughly one full load. Smaller single-axle trucks top out near 5 yards, and most yards charge a flat delivery fee regardless of how little you order.