Gravel Calculator
A fresh gravel driveway, a neat garden path or a drainage bed all come down to the same maths. This gravel calculator turns your length, width and depth into cubic yards, tons and bags, so the load that arrives matches the project — not a guess you made in the supplier’s parking lot.
Gravel is ordered by the yard but often charged by the ton, and at about 2,800 lb per cubic yard the weight matters for delivery. Enter your measurements below and the calculator shows volume, weight, 0.5 cu ft bag counts and estimated cost together.
Cubic Yard Calculator
Length × Width × Depth → cubic yards, tons, bags & cost. Free, no sign-up.
Most mulch and topsoil beds need 2–3 inches; gravel driveways 4–6 inches.
The material sets the weight and bag estimate — densities are typical averages.
Add your supplier’s price to see the estimated total cost.
Suggested order: 1.50 cubic yards (exact need 0.93 yd³ + 10% for waste & compaction).
(2,130 lb)
using 1.5 cu ft bags
add a price per yard to see the cost
Order tip: add 5–10% extra for waste, spillage and compaction — material settles once it is spread and rained on. The suggested order amount above already includes a 10% allowance, rounded up to the nearest half yard.
How to Calculate Gravel in Cubic Yards
The gravel calculator above does this automatically — here is the formula behind it:
Cubic yards = (length in feet × width in feet × depth in feet) ÷ 27
Depth is usually planned in inches, so divide inches by 12 first. Worked example — topping up a driveway that is 30 ft long by 12 ft wide, at 4 inches deep:
- Convert the depth: 4 in ÷ 12 = 0.33 ft
- Multiply the volume: 30 ft × 12 ft × 0.33 ft = 120 cubic feet
- Convert to yards: 120 ÷ 27 = 4.44 cubic yards
- Weight: 4.44 yd³ × 2,800 lb = about 12,440 lb, or 6.22 tons
- In bags: 120 cu ft ÷ 0.5 cu ft per bag = 240 bags — which is exactly why driveways are a bulk-delivery job
Because gravel settles into the surface below and spreads a little wider than the tape measure says, the suggested order adds a 10% allowance, rounded up to the nearest half yard.
Gravel Bags per Cubic Yard
Bagged gravel is usually sold in 0.5 cu ft (50 lb) bags. One cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so one yard equals 54 bags:
| Cubic yards | Bags (0.5 cu ft / 50 lb) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 54 |
| 2 | 108 |
| 3 | 162 |
| 5 | 270 |
| 10 | 540 |
Bags suit small paths, edging and top-ups where a truck cannot reach. For anything driveway-sized, the ton figure is the one to take to the supplier — bulk by the ton is a fraction of the bagged price per yard.
How Much Does a Cubic Yard of Gravel Weigh?
A cubic yard of gravel weighs about 2,800 lb, which is 1.4 tons. Stone type and moisture move the number a little — round pea gravel sits at the lighter end, dense crushed stone at the heavier end — but 1.4 tons per yard is the conversion suppliers themselves work with. In practice the gravel calculator tons figure is the one suppliers quote from: yards × 1.4 = tons.
As a gravel tonnage calculator, that single conversion does the heavy lifting — and it is also the number that matters for trailers: a single yard of gravel will max out many small utility trailers, so two half-yard trips are often the safer plan.
Gravel Depth Guide for Driveways and Paths
Total depth on a driveway should be 4–6 inches — this is the number a gravel driveway calculator is really asking for. On bare soil, build it in two layers: a base of larger crushed stone, then a finer top layer that locks together under tires. Refreshing an existing driveway usually needs only a 2–3 inch top-up, since the base is already there.
Garden paths are lighter work: 2–3 inches of gravel over landscape fabric is enough, with edging to stop the stone migrating into the lawn. Drainage beds and French drains are the deep exception — there the gravel is the structure, often 12 inches or more inside the trench. If your supplier prices layers differently, enter each layer separately in the gravel yard calculator above and add the results.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tons of gravel are in a cubic yard?
About 1.4 tons. One cubic yard of gravel weighs roughly 2,800 lb, so divide your yardage by 0.7 — or multiply yards by 1.4 — to get tons.
How deep should gravel be on a driveway?
4–6 inches in total. Less than that and tires push the stone aside into the soil; much more and the surface stays loose and rutted instead of compacting into a firm drive.
What size gravel is best for a driveway?
¾ inch crushed stone with fines (often sold as #57 or driveway mix) locks together best under tires. Round pea gravel looks good but rolls and migrates — save it for paths and decorative areas. For those paths, the same page works as a pea gravel calculator — use 2–3 inches deep and the same bag count.
How many bags of gravel are in a cubic yard?
54 bags of 0.5 cu ft (50 lb). That is fine for a small path or a repair, but for a full driveway the same volume costs far less delivered loose by the ton.
More calculators
Related jobs on the same project: the stone calculator for decorative stone and drainage rock, the dirt calculator for filling and grading before the gravel goes down, or our main calculator for everything else.