Enter the area and choose the job. We’ll set a practical depth and tell you how much topsoil to order.
Volume is area multiplied by depth. Weight is that volume multiplied by the material's density.
volume = area × depth
tons = volume (cu ft) × 78 lb/cu ft ÷ 2000
order = volume × 1.1Density used: 78 lb per cubic foot. Screened topsoil, typical 2,000–2,400 lb per cubic yard (74–89 lb/ft³). Saturated soil weighs considerably more. Actual delivered weight varies with moisture and stone size, so treat tonnage as an estimate and confirm with your supplier.
The recommended order adds 10% on top. Material settles, ground is never perfectly flat, and a second delivery costs far more than a little extra topsoil.
Bag count assumes 1 cu ft bags, rounded up to whole bags.
By the cubic yard, in most of the US. Weight varies enormously with moisture — the same yard of soil can weigh 2,000 lb dry and 3,000 lb after rain — so volume is the more reliable way to order. This calculator gives both.
27 bags at 1 cu ft each, 18 at 1.5 cu ft, or 14 at 2 cu ft. Bagged soil costs several times more per cubic yard than bulk, so bags only make sense for small jobs or where a truck cannot reach.
Screened topsoil typically runs 2,000 to 2,400 lb per cubic yard. Sandy soil sits at the lighter end, clay-heavy soil at the heavier end, and saturated soil can reach 3,000 lb. Check your trailer or truck rating before hauling it yourself.
4 to 6 in. Just as important, till the new topsoil into the existing subsoil rather than laying it on top — grass roots will not cross a hard boundary between two layers, and a thin layer over compacted ground gives you a lawn that dries out every summer.
Yes, but only a quarter to half an inch at a time. Any deeper buries the grass crowns and the shoots cannot get through. If you need to raise a low spot by more than that, do it over several applications a few weeks apart.
Topsoil is the screened upper layer with organic matter in it, and it is what plants grow in. Fill dirt is subsoil — inert, cheaper, and valued because it compacts and stays put. Use fill dirt for bulk below about 6 in and topsoil for the top layer.