Cubic Yards Calculator

Calculate a Circle Area

Calculate cubic yards volume for landscape material, mulch, fill, gravel, cement or containers. Enter dimensions in US units (inches or feet) or metric units (centimeters or meters) to calculate the cubic yards, cubic feet and cubic meters. Also calculate the cost of materials when you enter the price per cubic foot, price per cubic yard or price per cubic meter.

You can find the volume with your measurements in inches (in), feet (ft), yards (yd), centimeters (cm) or meters (m).

You can also type in decimal values.

• Example: 7'3" = 7.25 feet because 3" ÷ 12 = 0.25 ft
• Example: 245 cm = 2.45 m

Converting Cubic Feet to Cubic Yards

Only know area in square feet? You can still find cubic yards using the cubic yards calculator by following these steps.

1. In the calculator, choose Rectangle
2. Enter your square feet in the Length box
3. Type 1 in the Width box
4. Enter the depth of material
5. Click calculate to see the answer in cubic yards

Anytime you need to convert cubic feet to cubic yards just divide by 27.

• Example: 54 cubic feet ÷ 27 = 2 cubic yards

What is a Cubic Yard?

A cubic yard is a unit of volume, which measures how much space something takes up. You can picture it as a box or cube that is 3 feet high, 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep. A cubic yard equals 27 cubic feet and is a standard unit in construction.

Cubic yards are used to plan for materials like mulch, soil, gravel or poured concrete. To calculate cubic yards measure the length, width and depth of your area in feet. Multiply them together, then divide by 27 to get cubic yards. The cubic yards calculator does this math for you so you are able to buy the right amount of material for your project.

How to Calculate Cubic Yards Using Feet and Inches

Measure

• Measure your area in feet
• Decide the depth of your material, like mulch, and enter it in inches

Convert All of Your Measurements to Feet

• If you measured only in feet skip to the next section, Calculate Cubic Yards
• If you measured in feet and inches, divide the inches by 12 and add that number to the feet to get total feet
• If you measured in inches only, divide the inches by 12 to get your measurement in feet

Calculate Cubic Yards

• Find your area. For rectangles multiply length × width.
• Find your volume. Multiply the area by the depth to get cubic feet.
• Convert to cubic yards. Divide cubic feet by 27 to get cubic yards.
• Units: ft² = square feet, ft³ = cubic feet or cu ft, yd³ = cubic yard

Cubic Yards in Construction and Landscaping

In construction it is important to estimate volume accurately. For instance, when pouring a concrete slab, calculating cubic yards will tell you the right amount of concrete to order. This way you can avoid costly overages or shortages. To calculate how much concrete you need, see our concrete calculator.

Or consider a driveway project that needs a gravel base layer. Knowing the dimensions of the driveway and using a cubic yards calculator will help you estimate how much gravel you need.

Landscapers calculate in cubic yards to know how much soil or mulch they need for garden beds. If you're interested in calculating how much mulch you need use our mulch calculator.

Cubic Yard Material Coverage

Coverage per 1 Cubic Yard (by Depth)

Formula: coverage (sq ft) = 324 ÷ depth (inches)
In 1 yd³ there are 36 one-inch slices of 9 sq ft, so 36 × 9 = 324 sq ft

Square Feet to Cubic Yards Given Depth

Formula: yd³ = (sq ft × inches) ÷ 324

Bags per Cubic Yard

Bags per yd³ = 27 ÷ bag size (ft³)

Recommended Depths by Use

Recommended Waste/Overage

Cubic Yards Formulas and Area Calculations

Square Shape

Calculate cubic yards using depth in a square

Using measurements in feet:

Area ft² = Side Length × Side Length = (Side Length)²

Volume ft³ = Depth × Area

Volume in Cubic Yards yd³ = Volume ft³ ÷ 27

Rectangle Shape

Calculate cubic yards using depth in a rectangle

Using measurements in feet:

Area ft² = Length × Width

Volume ft³ = Depth × Area

Volume in Cubic Yards yd³ = Volume ft³ ÷ 27

Rectangle Border Shape

Calculate cubic yards using depth in a rectangle border area

Using measurements in feet:

Inner Area (ft²) = Length × Width

Total Area (ft²) = [ Length + (2 × Border Width) ] × [ Width + (2 × Border Width) ]

Area (ft²) = Total Area − Inner Area

Volume (ft³) = Depth × Area

Volume in Cubic Yards (yd³) = Volume (ft³) ÷ 27

Circle Shape

Calculate cubic yards using depth in a circle

Using measurements in feet:

Area (ft²) = Pi x (Diameter ÷ 2)²

Volume (ft³) = Depth × Area

Volume in Cubic Yards (yd³) = Volume (ft³) ÷ 27

Pi = 3.14

Circle Border Shape

Calculate cubic yards using depth in a circle border

Using measurements in feet:

Outer Diameter = Inner Diameter + (2 × Border Width)

Outer Area (ft²)
= Pi × (Outer Diameter ÷ 2)²

Inner Area (ft²)
= Pi × (Inner Diameter ÷ 2)²

Area (ft²) = Outer Area − Inner Area

Volume (ft³) = Depth x Area

Volume in Cubic Yards (yd³) = Volume (ft³) ÷ 27

Pi = 3.14

Obviously, the Circle Border and Annulus are the same, just measured differently.

Annulus Shape

Calculate cubic yards using depth in an annulus

Using measurements in feet:

Outer Area (ft²)
= Pi × (Outer Diameter ÷ 2)²

Inner Area (ft²)
= Pi x (Inner Diameter ÷ 2)²

Area (ft²) = Outer Area − Inner Area

Volume (ft³) = Depth × Area

Volume in Cubic Yards (yd³) = Volume (ft³) ÷ 27

Pi = 3.14

Obviously, the Circle Border and Annulus are the same, just measured differently.

Triangle Shape

Calculate cubic yards using depth in a triangle

Using measurements in feet:

Area (ft²) = 1/2 × Base × Height

Or, if you don't have the height of the triangle, but you have the lengths of each triangle side (sides a, b and c), use the below formula for triangle area.

Area = √ { [ (a + b + c) ÷ 2) ] × [ (a + b + c) ÷ 2) − a ] × [ (a + b + c) ÷ 2) − b ] × [ (a + b + c) ÷ 2) − c ] }

Volume (ft³) = Depth × Area

Volume in Cubic Yards (yd³) = Volume (ft³) ÷ 27

Trapezoid Shape

Calculate cubic yards using depth in a trapezoid

Using measurements in feet:

Area (ft²) = ((a + b) ÷ 2 ) × h

Volume (ft³) = Depth × Area

Volume in Cubic Yards (yd³) = Volume (ft³) ÷ 27

Frequently Asked Questions