Find out how much mulch you need in cubic yards and bags. Enter your bed area and how deep you want it.
Estimates for planning only. Always confirm measurements and order a little extra for waste and cuts.
Mulch is sold by the cubic yard in bulk or in 2-cubic-foot bags. This calculator converts your bed area and desired depth into both, so you order enough without a pile left over.
Volume is area times depth, with depth converted from inches to feet:
Cubic feet = area × (depth ÷ 12)Cubic yards = cubic feet ÷ 27 · Bags = cubic feet ÷ 2
Two to three inches is the sweet spot for most beds: deep enough to suppress weeds and hold moisture, not so deep that it smothers roots. Use about 2 inches for annual top-ups over existing mulch, and 3 inches for a fresh bed. Keep mulch a couple inches away from trunks and stems to prevent rot.
Two numbers do all the work: the square footage of your beds and how deep you want the mulch. Depth converts from inches to feet, then multiplies by the area to give cubic feet. Cubic feet divided by 27 gives cubic yards, the unit bulk mulch is sold and delivered in. Cubic feet divided by two gives the bag count, rounded up, because two cubic feet is the standard bagged size. The optional price field multiplies your cubic yards by whatever your supplier charges per yard: materials only, no delivery fee and no spreading labor.
The assumptions are worth naming. It assumes every bag holds two cubic feet, which is common but not universal, so bags sold at one and a half or three cubic feet will throw the count off. It applies no waste allowance, meaning the yardage is exactly the volume of the space you described. And it treats your beds as one flat area, which leaves the measuring to you: split curved or irregular beds into rectangles and circles, add them up, and enter the total.
It also cannot see your yard. It does not know whether you are topping up two inches over old mulch or filling a fresh bed at three, whether the ground is level, or how much the pile settles after the first heavy rain. It carries no price data of its own, so a blank price field produces no cost line rather than a guess. Mulch type is invisible to it too, and hardwood, pine bark, cypress, and rubber differ in both price and how well they hold depth. Use the number to order with confidence, then add a little for touch-ups.
No. Bag counts round up to the next whole bag, and that is the only padding in it. The cubic yard figure is the exact volume of the area and depth you entered. Beds are rarely perfectly flat and mulch settles over the season, so ordering slightly over is sensible, but that call is yours to make rather than something baked into the total.
Yes, that is a thing we build. A calculator on a landscaping site lets a homeowner size their own job on your page instead of somewhere else, and it can email you what they entered. <a href="/custom-tools">Custom tools</a> start at $600 for a calculator, with optional Tool Care at $75/month per tool, everything month-to-month, and you own what gets built. A <a href="/free-mockup">free mockup</a> shows it on your own site first.