Cubic Yards Calculator
Results update as you type, there is no submit button.
Or: square feet + depth → cubic yards
Cubic yards are the unit bulk suppliers price against, while most tape-measure results come out in cubic feet, this calculator bridges the two instantly. Enter a cubic-feet figure above for the straight conversion, or use the second field set to go directly from an area and a depth to cubic yards without calculating cubic feet as a middle step.
The 27:1 Ratio
Cubic feet to cubic yards
Cubic Yards = Cubic Feet ÷ 27
27 comes from 3 × 3 × 3, a yard is three feet long, so a cube one yard on every side contains three feet in each of three directions.
There's nothing to memorize beyond that single division. If you already have a cubic-feet figure, from this site's main calculator, from a supplier's spec sheet, or from your own tape-measure arithmetic, divide it by 27 and you have the cubic-yard figure a bulk supplier will actually quote against. Going the other direction, multiply a cubic-yard figure by 27 to see what it means in the cubic feet most bagged products are labelled in.
Why Suppliers Price by the Yard
Ready-mix concrete mix, topsoil, mulch and screened gravel are all sold in bulk by the cubic yard because that's roughly the volume a standard truck or trailer load is built around, quoting in yards keeps the numbers on an invoice close to whole loads rather than awkward four-digit cubic-foot counts. The same materials sold in bags on the next aisle over stay labelled in cubic feet, because a single bag is a small enough quantity that cubic feet reads more naturally. Knowing your requirement in both units tells you immediately which route is cheaper: under roughly 27 ft³ (one yard), bagged material is usually the simpler and less expensive choice; above it, a bulk delivery starts winning on price per cubic foot.
This threshold is exactly where the two calculators on this page earn their keep. The primary one takes a cubic-feet figure, however you arrived at it, straight to yards. The second skips a step entirely: if you already know the square footage of a bed, slab or driveway and the depth you're filling it to, it goes directly to cubic yards without making you calculate and note down an intermediate cubic-feet number. That's the same shortcut the soil calculator and square-feet-to-cubic-feet calculator use internally, just surfaced here for when yards is the only figure you actually need.
Cubic Feet to Cubic Yards Conversion Table
Ten reference points from a single cubic foot up to a 500 ft³ bulk load, read across any row for the cubic-yard and cubic-meter equivalent.
| Cubic Feet (ft³) | Cubic Yards (yd³) | Cubic Meters (m³) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 ft³ | 0.0370 yd³ | 0.0283 m³ |
| 5 ft³ | 0.1852 yd³ | 0.1416 m³ |
| 10 ft³ | 0.3704 yd³ | 0.2832 m³ |
| 20 ft³ | 0.7407 yd³ | 0.5663 m³ |
| 27 ft³ | 1.0000 yd³ | 0.7646 m³ |
| 50 ft³ | 1.8519 yd³ | 1.4158 m³ |
| 100 ft³ | 3.7037 yd³ | 2.8317 m³ |
| 200 ft³ | 7.4074 yd³ | 5.6634 m³ |
| 300 ft³ | 11.1111 yd³ | 8.4951 m³ |
| 500 ft³ | 18.5185 yd³ | 14.1584 m³ |
Worked Example: Ordering Mulch by the Yard
A 300 sq ft border, mulched 3 inches deep
- Convert the depth: 3 in ÷ 12 = 0.25 ft
- Multiply: 300 sq ft × 0.25 ft = 75 ft³
- Convert to yards: 75 ÷ 27 = 2.78 yd³
Round up and order 3 cubic yards of mulch.
Rounding up rather than down matters here: a short load means driving back for a fraction of a yard, which usually costs more in delivery fees than the extra material would have.
The same three steps work for any bulk material. Feed a slab's area and pour depth into this page's mini-calculator to size a concrete slab order, or a bed's area and fill depth to size a topsoil order, the arithmetic doesn't change, only which supplier you call once you have the number.
What a Cubic Yard Actually Looks Like
Numbers on a page are easy to lose track of, so it helps to have a physical picture of what one cubic yard actually is: a cube three feet on every side, roughly the size of a large washing machine standing on its side, or a heaping pile that would just about fill the bed of a full-size pickup truck to the top of the rails, most pickup beds hold about 2 to 3 cubic yards struck level with the top of the sides, less once you account for the material naturally forming a mound rather than packing perfectly flat. That mental image is often more useful for sanity-checking an order than the raw number, since "does this look like about two truckloads" is easier to eyeball on a job site than "is 54 cubic feet correct."
Nine standard 3 ft³ bags stacked together also make up almost exactly one cubic yard, which is a handy reference if you're trying to visualize a bulk quantity in terms of bags you've already handled, or deciding whether it's worth arranging a delivery truck instead of making several trips with bagged material in a car.
Delivery Minimums and Multiple Materials
Most bulk suppliers set a minimum order, often one cubic yard, sometimes higher, below which they either decline the delivery or add a small-load surcharge to cover the cost of sending a truck for a partial load. If your calculated figure comes out under that minimum, it's often worth combining the order with a second material (topsoil and mulch for the same landscaping job, say) so the delivery is worth the trip, or confirming the small-load fee in advance so it isn't a surprise on the invoice. Some suppliers will split a single truck delivery across two different materials in one trip if you ask, effectively letting two sub-minimum orders combine into one delivery that clears the minimum together.
Confirming a Delivery Before It Arrives
Once a cubic-yard figure is calculated and ordered, it's worth confirming with the supplier exactly what unit their truck is loaded to, most measure by a "scoop" or bucket-load figure on the loader that's calibrated to cubic yards, but it's a physical approximation rather than an exact volume, and can run slightly generous or slightly short depending on how the material is loaded. For an order close to a job's minimum requirement, asking the driver to slightly round up the load is cheap insurance against a delivery that's a fraction of a yard short of what the math on this page says you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do suppliers sell bulk material in cubic yards instead of cubic feet?
A cubic yard is the volume a standard dump truck or delivery trailer bed is built around, so pricing in yards keeps the numbers on a supplier's invoice close to a whole truckload. Cubic feet stay the unit for the bagged version of the same material on the next shelf over.
How many 3 cubic foot bags equal a cubic yard?
Nine of them. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, and 27 divided by 3 is 9, the number most garden centers quote when someone asks how many bags to grab instead of calling for a bulk delivery. Buying by the bag usually costs more per cubic foot, but skips the minimum order size a bulk supplier requires.
Is a "yard" of dirt or mulch the same as a cubic yard?
Yes, in landscaping and construction, "a yard" of loose material always means a cubic yard (27 ft³) unless someone specifically says linear yard, which would be an odd thing to order dirt by. Confirming this with a supplier before ordering avoids confusion when the word "yard" appears on an invoice without units attached.
Can I convert square feet straight to cubic yards without going through cubic feet first?
You can, using the second calculator on this page: multiply your area by the depth to get cubic feet, then divide by 27, the calculator above does both steps at once so you never have to write down the intermediate number.
Do suppliers round up a cubic yard order?
Most round to the nearest quarter or half yard rather than delivering an exact fractional figure, and many set a minimum order of one full yard for bulk delivery, check with the specific supplier before assuming your calculated number is what will show up on the truck.