Topsoil Cost Calculator: Price Per Yard & Project 2026

How topsoil cost is worked out

Topsoil is priced by the cubic yard, but a bed is never a perfect rectangle, so the job is three steps: work out the volume, price the yards, and add the delivery. The volume is the area times the depth in feet: 500 × 3 ÷ 12 = 125.00 cu ft. The raw yards are the volume divided by 27, because a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet: 125.00 ÷ 27 = 4.63 cu yd. The billable yards are the raw yards plus 10% extra for settling and waste: 4.63 × 1.10 = 5.09 cu yd. The topsoil cost is the billable yards times the price per yard, worked out from the unrounded billable yards: 5.09 × $40.00 = $203.70. The total adds the delivery: $203.70 + $50.00 = $253.70.

At the defaults — 500 sq ft, 3 in deep, $40.00/cu yd, $50.00 delivery, 10% extra — the topsoil cost is $203.70 and the total is $253.70 — which is $253.70 ÷ 500 = $0.51/sq ft all-in. The topsoil comes as 5.09 cu yd in bulk, and it would take 138 bags of 1 cu ft to hold the same soil, which would cost $552.00 — so bulk wins by $298.30. The whole load weighs about 10,185 lb, or 5.09 tons.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: 500 sq ft, 3 in deep, $40.00/cu yd, $50.00 delivery, 10% extra.

Line 1 — the volume. 500 × 3 ÷ 12 = 125.00 cu ft.

Line 2 — the raw yards. 125.00 ÷ 27 = 4.63 cu yd.

Line 3 — the billable yards. 4.63 × 1.10 = 5.09 cu yd to order.

Line 4 — the topsoil cost. 5.09 × $40.00 = $203.70, worked out from the unrounded billable yards.

Line 5 — the total. $203.70 + $50.00 delivery = $253.70, or $0.51/sq ft all-in.

Line 6 — the bags. 5.09 × 27 = 137.5, so 138 bags of 1 cu ft, which would cost $552.00 — so bulk wins by $298.30.

Line 7 — the weight. 5.09 × 2,000 = 10,185 lb, or 5.09 tons.

Line 8 — the budget. A $300 budget minus $50 delivery is $250, and $250 ÷ $40.00 ÷ 1.10 × 27 ÷ 0.25 = 613.64 sq ft.

Every branch, checked

1,000 sq ft: the volume is 1,000 × 3 ÷ 12 = 250.00 cu ft, which is 9.26 cu yd raw, so the billable is 10.19 cu yd, the topsoil costs $407.41 and the total is $457.41, or $0.46/sq ft all-in. Doubling the bed doubles the soil, but the delivery stays $50, so the cost per square foot falls from $0.51 to $0.46.

2-in depth: the volume falls to 500 × 2 ÷ 12 = 83.33 cu ft, which is 3.09 cu yd raw, so the billable is 3.40 cu yd, the topsoil costs $135.80 and the total is $185.80, or $0.37/sq ft all-in. A thinner layer is cheaper, but 2 in is a topdress, not a new bed: a new bed needs 3 in or the roots have nowhere to go.

$55.00/yd: the billable yards are the same, but the topsoil costs 5.09 × $55.00 = $280.09, so the total is $330.09, or $0.66/sq ft all-in. A dearer topsoil is still the same topsoil to spread: the price is the soil and the yard, not the spreading.

No delivery: with no delivery charge, the total is the topsoil cost alone: $203.70, or $0.41/sq ft all-in. Picking it up yourself saves $50, but the soil weighs about 10,185 lb, so 5.09 cu yd is about five tons — bring a truck, not a car boot.

Reverse — the $300 budget: the delivery takes $50 of the budget, leaving $250, and $250 ÷ $40.00 = 6.25 billable cu yd, which is 6.25 ÷ 1.10 = 5.68 raw cu yd, or 153.41 cu ft, which at 3 in deep is 613.64 sq ft of bed. A $500 budget buys 1,104.55 sq ft, which is 490.91 sq ft more than the $300 budget.

What the defaults assume

The model assumes a flat bed on level ground: a slope, a bed with a deep edge, or a bed that follows a curve changes the volume, because the soil is spread to fit and the offcuts are waste. It assumes a cubic yard of topsoil weighs 2,000 lb, which is right for screened topsoil but not for wet topsoil, which can weigh 2,500 lb a yard. It assumes the delivery is one load: a yard that charges per load, not per yard, will charge the same $50 for 5 cu yd and for 10 cu yd. It assumes the topsoil is spread the day it arrives: topsoil left in a pile dries out and weeds grow in it, and the extra you ordered does not cover soil that blew away. Rounding convention: money is rounded to cents, volumes to 2 decimals, and all figures are computed from unrounded values, rounded only for display.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The homeowner topping up a garden bed: they learn a 500 sq ft bed at 3 in deep costs $253.70 — $203.70 of topsoil and $50.00 of delivery — so they know the exact number before they call the soil yard, and they know it is 5.09 cu yd, not a guess.
• The landlord fixing a rental lawn: they learn a 1,000 sq ft bed costs $457.41 — and they learn the delivery is $50 of $457, so ordering more soil in one load is cheaper than two loads.
• The couple choosing between bags and bulk: bags cost $552.00 for this bed, and bulk costs $253.70 — so they know the price of convenience before they decide, and bulk wins by $298.30.
• The renovator on a $300 budget: they learn $300 covers 613.64 sq ft — so they know the 500 sq ft bed fits with room to spare, and the 1,000 sq ft bed is out of reach.

Accuracy & limitations

The math is exact for the numbers you enter: the volume is the area times the depth, the billable yards are the raw yards plus the extra, the topsoil cost is the billable yards times the price, and the total is the topsoil plus the delivery. What the model cannot do is measure your bed for you: measure along the bed, and for a bed that follows a curve or a slope, measure the bed, not the straight-line distance. It leaves out the soil preparation, the mulch, the spreading, the watering, and tax — ask the soil yard whether the quote includes those. It assumes a cubic yard of topsoil weighs 2,000 lb, which is right for screened topsoil but not for wet topsoil. It assumes the topsoil is spread the day it arrives. For the mulch that goes with it, see mulch cost calculator; for the sod that goes with it, see sod cost calculator.