Gravel Calculator
Gravel is sold three different ways depending on who you ask: by the cubic yard, by the ton, or by the bag. This gives you all three from one measurement, so the yard and the builder quote the same thing.
Reviewed · Method: measured area + industry waste allowance, rounded up to real package sizes · How the numbers are calculated
Enter your dimensions and hit Calculate my gravel. You will get the quantity, the buyable quantity, a shopping list, and a budget range.
Figure. Gravel is ordered by volume and sold by weight. Both conversions happen before you call the yard.
Figure. Four inches compacted means more than four inches loose. Order for the compacted depth, not the loose depth.
Depth is the number people get wrong
The volume maths is trivial: length times width times depth. The mistake is choosing the depth. A decorative bed around shrubs needs two inches. A garden path needs two to three inches over a compacted base. A footpath that will see a wheelbarrow needs three. A residential driveway needs four inches of surface gravel on top of four to six inches of compacted base stone, which means the total is eight to ten inches of material, not four. Order for the base layer and the surface layer separately, because they are different grades.
Cubic yards, tons, and why they disagree
A cubic yard of dry 3/4 inch crushed stone weighs about 1.4 tons. The same volume of pea gravel is closer to 1.35 tons, and wet material can add ten to fifteen percent. Yards that sell by weight are not cheating you, they are protecting themselves from moisture variation. But if you calculated a tonnage using 1.4 and the supplier uses 1.5, you will come up short. Ask which conversion they use before you order, and round up rather than down.
Which gravel for which job
Number 57 crushed stone, roughly three quarters of an inch with no fines, is the standard for driveways and drainage because water moves through it. Crushed run, which includes the stone dust, compacts into a firm surface and is better for a base layer or a path you will walk on daily. Pea gravel is smooth and pleasant underfoot but migrates badly on a slope and is difficult to rake. River rock is decorative and the most expensive per yard.
The items that make it stay put
Landscape fabric under the gravel is what stops the stone from sinking into the soil and stops weeds from coming through. Steel or aluminium edging is what stops the gravel from spreading into the lawn, and without it a path widens by a few inches every season. Both are on the shopping list, because a gravel job that skips them is a job that has to be redone. A plate compactor rental is also listed for anything that will carry weight.
Depth by use, not by habit
A garden path takes 2 in. A footpath or patio base takes 4 in. A residential driveway takes 6 in of base plus 2 in of top course, and anything a heavy vehicle uses needs 8 in or more with geogrid. Depth is the variable that decides whether the surface stays flat.
Compaction reduces volume by 20 to 30%. Whatever depth you want finished, order that much again as loose material, then compact in 2 in lifts rather than one thick layer that stays loose underneath.
Tons, yards and what a supplier will ask
Most yards ask for cubic yards and quote a per-ton price. Ask for the conversion they use before you agree, because it varies from 1.3 to 1.5 tons per cubic yard depending on the aggregate and how wet it is.
Delivery charges often have a minimum. Two small deliveries usually cost more than one larger order plus a bit of leftover stone, so round up rather than splitting the job.
Worked example: 20 x 10 ft driveway section at 4 in
| Area | 20 x 10 = 200 sq ft |
| Volume | 200 x 0.33 = 66.7 cu ft |
| Cubic yards | 66.7 / 27 = 2.47 cu yd |
| Weight | 2.47 x 1.4 = 3.5 tons |
| Bag equivalent | 134 bags of 0.5 cu ft |
| Landscape fabric | 4 rolls x 20 ft |
| Budget band | $76 low, $145 mid, $270 high |
Mistakes that cost real money
Ordering loose depth and compacting it
Four inches of loose crushed stone compacts to about three. If the spec calls for 4 in compacted, you need 5 to 5.5 in of loose material. Order short and you are buying a second delivery for the same job.
Confusing tons and cubic yards
A cubic yard of dry 3/4 in crushed stone weighs about 1.4 tons, but wet stone, limestone and slag all differ. Yards that sell by weight are pricing a different unit, and the conversion is where budgets quietly blow up.
Skipping the geotextile
Landscape fabric stops stone from migrating into soft subsoil. Without it, a gravel drive develops ruts and needs topping up every year or two, which costs more than the fabric ever would.
Using one grade for everything
A base layer wants 3 in crushed stone with fines so it locks. A top layer wants clean 3/4 in stone so it drains. Using clean stone as a base means it never compacts, and the surface stays loose forever.
Forgetting edge restraint
Loose gravel spreads. Without steel or timber edging, the layer thins at the edges within a season and the shape of the drive disappears. Edging is a small line item that decides whether the job holds.
Frequently asked questions
How many tons of gravel are in a cubic yard?
About 1.4 tons for dry 3/4 inch crushed stone. Pea gravel is slightly lighter at roughly 1.35 tons, and wet material can be ten to fifteen percent heavier. Confirm the supplier's own conversion before ordering, because a small difference multiplied across ten yards becomes a real shortfall.
How deep should gravel be for a driveway?
Four inches of surface gravel over four to six inches of compacted base stone. That means eight to ten inches of total material. A four inch layer straight onto soil will rut within one season under a car, no matter which gravel grade you choose.
Do I need landscape fabric under gravel?
For a path or bed, yes. Fabric stops the stone from working down into the soil and slows weed growth. For a driveway, woven geotextile is used instead of the thin fabric sold for beds, because a car's weight will tear the light material and push stone through it.
How much does a cubic yard of gravel cover?
One cubic yard covers about 100 square feet at two inches deep, 80 square feet at three inches, or 60 square feet at four inches. Divide 324 by the depth in inches to get the exact coverage per yard for your own project.
Can I put gravel directly on grass?
You can, but it will sink and the grass will push through within weeks. Strip the turf first, then put down fabric and edging before the stone. Skipping the strip is the single most common reason a gravel path looks bad after one winter.