Calculators

Converters

The cubic feet symbol is ft³ however you will also see cubic feet represented as cu ft. The same is true for cubic yards, also denoted as yd³ or cu yd.

How to Convert Cubic Feet to Cubic Yards

Divide cubic feet by 27

Explanation

One yard is 3 feet long. Cubing both values, 1 yard cubed equals 27 feet cubed.

• 1 yd = 3 ft
• (1 yd)³ = (3 ft)³
• 1 yd × 1 yd × 1 yd = 3 ft × 3 ft × 3 ft
• 1 yd³ = 27 ft³

So there are 27 cubic feet per cubic yard. To convert, take any number of cubic feet and divide by 27 to get cubic yards. You may end up with a decimal number of cubic yards, or a fractional cubic yard, resulting from the division.

yd³ = ft³ ÷ 27

Visualize Cubic Feet in a Cubic Yard

You can think of a cubic yard of volume as a box that measures one yard tall, by one yard wide, by one yard deep. Within this space there are 27 cubic feet, which are cubes measuring one ft wide by one ft tall by one ft deep.

This image shows how cubic feet are arranged within a cubic yard, stacked in rows and columns 3 feet high by 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep.

Alternate Method: Convert Cubic Feet to Cubic Yards

As you may recall from learning to do math with fractions, dividing by a number is the same as multiplying by the inverse of that number. So another way to convert cubic feet to cubic yards is to multiply cubic feet by the inverse of 27.

• Inverse of 27 = 1/27
• 1 ÷ 27 = 0.037037
• cubic feet × 0.037037 = cubic yards

So you can multiply cubic feet by 0.037037 to get cubic yards. For this conversion though it is generally easier to remember to divide cu ft by 27 to get cu yd.

This table shows the conversion factors to convert between cubic feet and cubic yards.

Example: Convert 150 ft³ to yd³

Divide 150 cubic feet by 27 to convert to cubic yards. This example shows how to divide and cancel units, arriving at an answer in cubic yards.

Once you understand how the units cancel, it's a quick conversion to divide ft³ by 27 to get yd³.

150 ft³ ÷ 27 ft³/yd³

Divide through and cancel ft³ units

150 ft³ ÷ 27 ft³/yd³ = 5.555556 yd³

= 5.555556 yd³

So 150 cu ft is equivalent to 5.555556 cu yd.

If you need to convert cubic yards to cubic feet use the CalculatorSoup^® Cubic Yards to Cubic Feet Converter.

Cubic Foot

A cubic foot is a unit of volume and has the symbol cu ft or ft³. A cubic foot is a cube-shaped volume with equal sides, each side being 1 foot long. Fifteen cubic feet can be expressed as 15 ft³.

The foot is a unit of length in the imperial system of units and United States customary units where there are 12 inches in 1 foot. One foot is a third of a yard, or 0.333333 yd. One cubic foot equals 0.037037 yd³.

Cubic Yard

A cubic yard is a unit of volume and has the symbol cu yd or yd³. A cubic yard is a cube-shaped space with equal sides, each side being 1 yard long. 12 cubic yards can be expressed as 12 yd³.

The yard is a unit of length in the imperial system of units and United States customary units. One yard is equal to 3 feet, and when cubed becomes a cubic yard which is equivalent to 27 cubic feet in volume.