Wood chip calculator
Work out how much wood chip a path or play area needs.
Wood chip calculator
Use your supplier's density
You need
- Volume
- Weight
- Area
| Order by | Exact | Order, rounded up for anything sold in whole bags |
|---|
Enter your measurements to see what to order.
One cubic yard of wood chip weighs about 0.28 US tons and covers about 162 square feet at 2 in.
How to work out how much wood chip 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, 330 kg per cubic metre for wood chip, 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 10 percent. Covers settlement, uneven ground and the material lost around the edges. A second delivery for half a yard costs more than the extra you did not use.
How many tons in a cubic yard of wood chip?
About 0.28 US tons, at 330 kg per cubic metre. Because published densities run from 260 to 400, the honest answer is a range: between 0.22 and 0.34 tons per cubic yard depending on grading and how wet the load is.
How many cubic yards in a ton of wood chip?
About 3.6 cubic yards. One tonne is about 3.03 cubic metres.
How much does wood chip weigh?
Between 260 and 400 kg per cubic metre, a spread of 54 percent. Species and moisture both move this. Hardwood chip runs heavier than softwood. The calculator above uses 330, and you can replace it with your own supplier's figure.
3 published figures from 3 suppliers, read 2026-09-20.
| Supplier | Published figure | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Sky Nursery (Shoreline, WA)US | 600 pounds per yard | unstated (Cedar Play Chips row) |
| Melcourt Industries LtdUK | Typical Bulk Density range 260 - 310 kg/m3 | unstated |
| Australian Native Landscapes (ANL)AU | Woodchip 0.4 (Tonnes / Metre) | loose ('Loose Tonnes' column) |
What you can order wood chip in
| Pack | Where | Size |
|---|---|---|
| cubic yard | US, CA | 0.765 m3 |
| 2 cu ft bag | US, CA | 0.057 m3 |
| US ton | US, CA | 907 kg |