Landscaping
Landscaping Mulch Calculator
Calculate mulch quantity for a job, with delivery, spreading time and access counted alongside the volume.
Result
Three inches is the usual target: enough to block light and hold moisture, not so much that it holds water against stems. Mulch piled against a trunk rots the bark, which is the most common and most avoidable mistake in a planting bed.
Get a Free Business AuditWhat moves the number
- Cubic yards required, which follows area and depth.
- Spreading labour, which depends far more on access than on volume.
- Whether the material is delivered to the beds or to the kerb.
Where this one goes wrong
Pricing mulch on volume alone. A yard tipped on the drive next to the beds and a yard barrowed through a side gate are the same material and very different jobs.
Questions
About this calculator
What drives mulch job cost most?
Access rather than volume. Moving material by barrow through a narrow gate can take longer than spreading it, and it is invisible in a quantity calculation.
How much does mulch settle?
Enough that it is worth allowing for, particularly with coarser materials. Ordering exactly the calculated figure often leaves a job slightly short.
Should edging be quoted with it?
Separately, because it is real work and because a fresh mulch bed with no edge looks unfinished within weeks. Offering it as an option is more honest than absorbing it.
The formula
cubic yards = length x width x (depth / 12) / 27
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How to use this calculator
- Length (ft) (ft). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 30 ft.
- Width (ft) (ft). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 8 ft.
- Mulch depth (inches) (in). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 3 in.
- Waste / compaction allowance (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 10%.
- Cost per cubic yard ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $38.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to cubic yards needed, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Length (ft) | 30 ft |
| Width (ft) | 8 ft |
| Mulch depth (inches) | 3 in |
| Waste / compaction allowance | 10% |
| Cost per cubic yard | $38 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Cubic yards needed main result | 2.4 |
| Cubic feet | 66.0 |
| Approximate tons | 1.2 |
| Estimated cost | $92.89 |
| 2 cubic foot bags | 33 |
You need about 2.4 cubic yards (1.2 tons), costing roughly $92.89 delivered.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only cost per cubic yard, this is what happens to cubic yards needed. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Cost per cubic yard ($) | Cubic yards needed |
|---|---|
| $19 | 2.4 |
| $29 | 2.4 |
| $38 example above | 2.4 |
| $57 | 2.4 |
| $76 | 2.4 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Length (ft) (ft)
- Measured in ft, starting at 30 ft.
- Width (ft) (ft)
- Measured in ft, starting at 8 ft.
- Mulch depth (inches) (in)
- Measured in in, starting at 3 in.
- Waste / compaction allowance (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 60, starting at 10%.
- Cost per cubic yard ($)
- A money amount, starting at $38.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Cubic yards needed | The headline result. A decimal figure. |
| Cubic feet | A decimal figure. |
| Approximate tons | A decimal figure. |
| Estimated cost | A money figure. |
| 2 cubic foot bags | A number. |
Seasonality is not in this
Coverage and material figures assume the area you enter. Slope, access for machinery, existing growth and the time of year all affect both quantity and labour, and none of them appear in a calculation like this.
Keep going
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