Enter your project dimensions, gravel type, and optional price to estimate cubic yards, tons, bags, and total material cost. Add a 10% allowance for compaction and spillage when needed.
Start calculatingAll measurements in feet, except depth.
Your delivery ticket will appear here once you calculate.
Measure the length and width of the space in feet. For irregular shapes, split the area into rectangles and run each one separately.
Pick how deep you're laying gravel and which material you're using — density changes the weight per cubic yard, and therefore your cost.
The calculator converts your inputs into cubic feet, cubic yards, tons, bag count, and a cost estimate — formatted like a real delivery slip.
| Material | Tons / yd³ | Typical depth |
|---|---|---|
| Crushed gravel (¾") | 1.40 | 2–4" |
| Crushed stone | 1.35 | 4–6" (base) |
| Pea gravel | 1.35 | 2" |
| River rock | 1.30 | 2–3" |
| Decomposed granite | 1.35 | 2–3" |
| Sand | 1.35 | 1–2" (bedding) |
Most quarries sell by the ton and round up. A ticket reading 3.4 tons usually means you'll be billed for 3.5 or 4.
Loose gravel settles once driven or walked on. Order extra material rather than re-ordering a part-load later.
A 4–6" crushed stone base under 2" of decorative gravel will outlast decorative gravel laid alone.
Suppliers quote dry density. Rain-soaked stockpiles can run 5–8% heavier by weight for the same volume.
For a standard driveway, plan on a 4–6" crushed stone base topped with 2" of decorative gravel. Run the base and topping layers as two separate calculations and add the tons together, since each layer uses a different depth.
Walkways and flower beds typically use 2" of gravel, driveways use 2–4" of decorative stone over a compacted base, and structural bases under pavers or slabs use 4–6" of crushed stone.
Volume tells you how much space the gravel fills (cubic yards); weight tells you how much it costs to haul and buy (tons). The two are linked by density, which is why the material you pick changes your ticket even at the same depth.
The 10% waste buffer accounts for compaction settling, uneven sub-grade, and spillage during spreading. You can untick this if you want the exact theoretical volume with no allowance.
A common bagged size is 0.5 cubic feet per bag. At the typical bulk densities used by this calculator, one ton is roughly 39–42 bags of that size, though the exact number varies by material density and bag size.
Yes — split the area into rectangles or triangles, run the calculator for each section using its own length and width, then add the resulting tons together for your total order.