Guide
How many bags in a cubic yard?
One cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. Divide by the size of the bag.
The rule
Bags per cubic yard = 27 ÷ the bag size in cubic feet, then round up for what you buy.
Common bags
- Mulch, 2 cu ft bag: 13.5 bags per cubic yard; 3 cu ft bag: 9.
- Topsoil or compost, 1 cu ft bag: 27 bags.
- Gravel, river rock, paver base, 0.5 cu ft bag: 54 bags.
- Concrete, 80 lb bag yielding 0.60 cu ft: 45 bags.
Bags sold by weight
Sand is often sold in 50 lb bags. Then the weight decides: a cubic yard of sand at 1.6 t/m³ weighs about 2,700 lb, so about 54 bags of 50 lb.
With Landscaping Calc
Each material has its bag, by volume or by weight, and its density. The app counts the bags, big bags and truckloads for the whole job; change the sizes in Packaging and density to match your store. See Mulch calculator.
