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Soil and Mulch Calculator: How Much Do You Need?
Multiply the length of your bed by its width, multiply that by the depth you want, then add about 10% for settling. A 10 ft × 10 ft bed covered 3 inches deep needs 25 cubic feet (0.93 cubic yards, or 0.71 m³) before the extra. Use the free soil and mulch calculator below and it will do the sums for you, then show bags, weight in kg and cost.
Free soil and mulch calculator
Pick your region, choose a material, enter the size of your bed and the depth you want. The result updates as you type. The same maths works anywhere in the world, so choose South Asia for cubic feet, kg bags and rupees, or Europe & elsewhere for cubic metres or cubic yards.
Units
What are you spreading?
Where is it going?
Add one shape per bed. Use the count field for identical beds, or enter a known area directly.
How deep?
Usual depths for this material
Soil settles and edges are never perfectly level. 10% is a safe default for most beds.
Buying (optional)
Questions or ready to order? WhatsApp us on 0311 9073909. Weights use typical loose densities and change with moisture; wet soil can weigh 30 to 50% more. In South Asia, bags are sold by weight, so the volume one bag fills depends on the material. Outside South Asia, bulk orders are rounded up to the next half unit, which is how most suppliers sell. Marla is taken as 272.25 sq ft. Check your supplier's bag sizes and delivery minimums before ordering.
How to use the soil and mulch calculator
- Choose your region. South Asia shows cubic feet, bags in kg and prices per kg. Europe & elsewhere shows cubic metres or cubic yards, with bags in litres or cubic feet.
- Pick the material. Choose topsoil, raised-bed mix, compost, wood-chip mulch, bark mulch or pine straw. The calculator loads a typical depth and weight for each one.
- Enter the area. Use a rectangle, circle or triangle, or type a known area in square feet, square metres, marla or kanal. Add more areas for several beds, and use the Count box for identical beds.
- Set the depth and the extra allowance. Tap a suggested depth or type your own. Keep 10% extra unless your ground is very flat and even.
- Read the result. You get the volume, the number of bags, the weight and, if you enter your price per kg (or per bag or bulk unit), the cost.
- Save or send it. Copy the summary, or if you are in Pakistan send it to us on WhatsApp to ask for a quote.
Available Across Pakistan
How to calculate soil and mulch volume by hand
The formula is simple: volume = area × depth. Convert length, width and depth into the same unit first, because mixing inches with feet is the most common reason people order the wrong amount.
Example in feet and inches
A bed measures 12 ft × 4 ft and you want 3 in of mulch. The area is 48 square feet. Three inches is 0.25 ft, so the volume is 48 × 0.25 = 12 cubic feet. Adding 10% gives 13.2 cubic feet, which is 0.49 cubic yards.
Example in metres and centimetres
A bed measures 4 m × 2 m and you want 5 cm of mulch. The area is 8 m². Five centimetres is 0.05 m, so the volume is 8 × 0.05 = 0.4 m³ (400 litres). Adding 10% gives 0.44 m³.
Round and triangular beds
For a circle, area = π × (diameter ÷ 2)². A round bed 6 ft across has 28.3 square feet, so 3 in of mulch needs about 7.1 cubic feet. For a triangle, area = ½ × base × height.
How deep should soil and mulch be?
Depth drives the whole calculation, so choose it deliberately. These are the depths most gardeners use.
| What you are doing | Typical depth |
|---|---|
| Refreshing mulch on an existing bed | 2 in (5 cm) |
| Mulching a new bed or suppressing weeds | 3 to 4 in (7.5 to 10 cm) |
| Topping up or levelling a lawn patch | 2 to 4 in (5 to 10 cm) |
| Creating a new garden bed with topsoil | 4 to 6 in (10 to 15 cm) |
| Spreading compost on top, or digging it in | 1 to 3 in (2.5 to 7.5 cm) |
| Filling a raised bed | 8 to 12 in (20 to 30 cm) |
Mulch deeper than about 4 inches (10 cm) can hold too much moisture and limit the air that reaches roots, so more is not better.
How far does one cubic yard or cubic metre go?
Use this chart for a quick check before you open the calculator. For example, one cubic yard covers 108 square feet at 3 inches deep, and one cubic foot covers 4 square feet at the same depth.
Coverage per cubic yard (imperial depth) and per cubic metre (metric depth) Depth One cubic yard covers One cubic metre covers 1 in / 2.5 cm 324 sq ft 40 m² 2 in / 5 cm 162 sq ft 20 m² 3 in / 7.5 cm 108 sq ft 13.3 m² 4 in / 10 cm 81 sq ft 10 m² 6 in / 15 cm 54 sq ft 6.7 m² 12 in / 30 cm 27 sq ft 3.3 m²
