Dirt calculator
Work out how much fill dirt a hole, pad or grade change needs, in cubic yards and tons, with the weight range fill actually covers.
Dirt calculator
Use your supplier's density
You need
- Volume
- Weight
- Area
| Order by | Exact | Order, rounded up for anything sold in whole bags |
|---|
Fewer than three independent suppliers publish a density for this material, so treat this range as provisional and use your supplier's figure where you have one.
Enter your measurements to see what to order.
One cubic yard of fill dirt weighs about 1.2 US tons and covers about 162 square feet at 2 in.
How to work out how much fill dirt you need
- Measure the area in feet and multiply length by width.
- Pick a depth in inches and multiply it by the area to get a volume.
- Multiply the volume by the bulk density, 1424 kg per cubic metre for fill dirt, to get a weight.
- Divide the weight by your supplier's ton or cubic yard to get what to order, and round up. Suppliers do not sell part bags.
- Add 15 percent. Fill dirt is placed and compacted rather than left loose, and it settles further with rain. Order for the compacted depth, not the loose one.
How many tons in a cubic yard of fill dirt?
About 1.2 US tons, at 1424 kg per cubic metre. Because published densities run from 1187 to 1661, the honest answer is a range: between 1 and 1.4 tons per cubic yard depending on grading and how wet the load is.
How many cubic yards in a ton of fill dirt?
About 0.83 cubic yards. One tonne is about 0.7 cubic metres.
How much does fill dirt weigh?
Between 1187 and 1661 kg per cubic metre, a spread of 40 percent. Fill dirt is not topsoil and is not screened, so it varies more than almost anything else here. Two suppliers survived: one contradicted itself by a factor of 2.6 within a single article, and another's prose disagreed with its own product data by 400 lb per cubic yard. The calculator above uses 1424, and you can replace it with your own supplier's figure.
3 published figures from 2 suppliers, read 2026-09-20.
Fewer than three independent suppliers publish a figure for this material. Treat the range as provisional and use your supplier's own density where you have one.
| Supplier | Published figure | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Ottr Landscape SupplyUS | ~2,000-2,200 lbs/yd3 (~1.0-1.1 tons) | UNSCREENED |
| Ottr Landscape Supply (2nd page, SAME company)US | about 2,000 pounds per cubic yard; range 1,800 to 2,700 lbs | dry, loose (explicitly stated) |
| Big Earth Landscape SupplyUS | roughly 1.2 tons per cubic yard (2,400 lb/yd3) | UNSCREENED |
What you can order fill dirt in
| Pack | Where | Size |
|---|---|---|
| cubic yard | US, CA | 0.765 m3 |
| US ton | US, CA | 907 kg |
| 0.5 cu ft bag | US, CA | 0.014 m3 |