How to use the gravel calculator
- Choose the shape of the area. Pick a rectangle, a round area, or area and depth. To convert a quantity you already have, pick yards to tons or tons to yards.
- Enter the size, the depth and the gravel type. Type the dimensions and the depth of the gravel layer. Then choose the gravel type, or enter your supplier's tons per cubic yard.
- Read the tons and the cubic yards. The result shows the tons to order, the cubic yards, the weight in pounds and metric tonnes, and the area covered.
What is a gravel calculator?
A gravel calculator is a tool that estimates how much gravel a job needs. It multiplies the area by the depth to get a volume in cubic yards, then multiplies the volume by the weight of the gravel to get tons. Suppliers sell gravel by the ton or by the cubic yard, so the calculator gives both.
Use it for a driveway, a path, a patio base, a drainage trench or the base under a concrete slab.
Features
- Tons and cubic yards of gravel from a rectangle, a round area, or an area and depth
- A tons to yards converter and a yards to tons converter
- Seven gravel weights from a named source, loose in the truck or compacted in place
- A field for your supplier's own tons per cubic yard
- Weight in pounds and metric tonnes, and the area covered
- A cost from your own price per ton or per cubic yard
- A live 3D preview, a PDF of the estimate and a WhatsApp share button
What you can use it for
- A gravel driveway, a parking pad or a path
- The base under a concrete slab, a shed or pavers
- A drainage trench or a French drain
- Backfill behind a wall or around a footing
- Converting a quarry's tons into cubic yards, or the other way
How gravel is calculated
Cubic yards = length (ft) × width (ft) × depth (ft) ÷ 27.
Tons = cubic yards × tons per cubic yard.
Worked example: a 20 ft by 10 ft area, 4 inches deep
- Area: 20 × 10 = 200 square feet.
- Depth in feet: 4 in ÷ 12 = 0.333 ft.
- Volume: 200 × 0.333 = 66.67 cubic feet, which is 2.47 cubic yards.
- Weight at 1.85 tons per cubic yard: 2.47 × 1.85 = 4.57 tons.
These are the numbers the calculator shows when the page opens. The depth here is the finished, compacted depth.
How much a cubic yard of gravel weighs
The weights below are from the Washington State Department of Transportation Design Manual (M 22-01, September 2024, Exhibit 620-1). They are dry weights. The manual gives one weight for material loose in the truck and a higher one for the same material compacted on the road.
| Material | Pounds per cubic yard | Tons per cubic yard | Cubic yards per ton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel base or crushed stone surfacing, compacted | 3,700 | 1.85 | 0.54 |
| Crushed stone top course, loose in the truck | 2,850 | 1.43 | 0.70 |
| Crushed stone base course, loose in the truck | 2,950 | 1.48 | 0.68 |
| Ballast (coarse stone), compacted | 3,900 | 1.95 | 0.51 |
| Ballast (coarse stone), loose in the truck | 3,100 | 1.55 | 0.65 |
| Gravel that is nearly all sand, compacted | 3,400 | 1.70 | 0.59 |
| Permeable ballast | 2,800 | 1.40 | 0.71 |
The manual recommends 1.85 tons per cubic yard as the most suitable figure for gravel base, in a range of 1.70 to 1.90. It also notes that the weights need a correction for water, so wet gravel weighs more on the scale. The cubic yards per ton column is 1 divided by the tons per cubic yard.
Loose or compacted: which weight to use
If you measured the finished layer on the ground, use a compacted weight. The tons then cover the gravel that packs down under a roller or plate compactor. If you are converting a load measured loose in a truck or a pile, use a loose weight.
The same ton of crushed stone fills about 0.70 cubic yards in the truck and about 0.54 cubic yards once it is compacted.
Tons to yards and yards to tons
Cubic yards = tons ÷ tons per cubic yard. Tons = cubic yards × tons per cubic yard.
- 5 tons of compacted gravel at 1.85 tons per cubic yard is 5 ÷ 1.85 = 2.7 cubic yards.
- 5 cubic yards of compacted gravel is 5 × 1.85 = 9.25 tons.
- 5 tons of crushed stone loose in the truck at 1.43 tons per cubic yard is 5 ÷ 1.43 = 3.5 cubic yards.
What one ton of gravel covers
For compacted gravel at 1.85 tons per cubic yard, one ton is 14.6 cubic feet.
| Depth | Area covered by 1 ton |
|---|---|
| 2 inches | 87.6 sq ft |
| 3 inches | 58.4 sq ft |
| 4 inches | 43.8 sq ft |
| 6 inches | 29.2 sq ft |
What the calculator includes
- The table has no figure for pea gravel, river rock, lava rock or decomposed granite. Use your own figure for those.
- The extra allowance starts at 0%, because a compacted weight already covers compaction. Add your own allowance for spillage or uneven ground.
- Each dimension can be up to 10,000 in its unit, an area, volume or weight up to 1,000,000, and your own figure up to 5 tons per cubic yard.
Is it private?
Yes. The calculation and the PDF are made in your browser. The numbers you type are not sent to our server and are not saved.
Tips for an accurate estimate
- Ask your supplier for the weight of the exact gravel you buy and enter it if it differs.
- Measure the depth after compaction, because loose gravel settles.
- Order by the ton if the supplier weighs the truck, and by the yard if it sells by volume.
- Spread and compact in layers rather than all at once for a firm base.
- Mark the area with stakes and string first, so the measured area is the area you fill.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
- How much gravel do I need?
- Multiply the length, width and depth in feet and divide by 27 to get cubic yards. Multiply the cubic yards by the tons per cubic yard to get tons. A 20 ft by 10 ft area that is 4 inches deep needs 2.47 cubic yards, which is 4.57 tons of compacted gravel.
- How many tons are in a cubic yard of gravel?
- The Washington State DOT Design Manual gives 1.85 tons per cubic yard for gravel base compacted in place, and 1.43 to 1.55 tons per cubic yard for crushed stone and ballast loose in the truck. These are dry weights.
- How many cubic yards are in a ton of gravel?
- About 0.54 cubic yards for gravel compacted in place at 1.85 tons per cubic yard, and about 0.70 cubic yards for crushed stone loose in the truck at 1.43 tons per cubic yard.
- How much area does a ton of gravel cover?
- At 1.85 tons per cubic yard, one ton of compacted gravel covers 87.6 square feet at 2 inches deep, 58.4 square feet at 3 inches and 43.8 square feet at 4 inches.
- How do I convert tons of gravel to cubic yards?
- Divide the tons by the tons per cubic yard. For example, 5 tons at 1.85 tons per cubic yard is 2.7 cubic yards. Choose tons to yards in the calculator to do it for you.
- What is a gravel yardage calculator?
- It is another name for a gravel calculator: it works out the cubic yards, or yardage, of gravel from the length, width and depth of the area. This calculator also gives the tons, because most quarries sell gravel by weight.
- Can I use the calculator for pea gravel?
- Yes, with your own figure: choose my supplier's figure and enter the tons per cubic yard your supplier gives you. For pea gravel, the pea gravel calculator on this site has a producer's published weight built in.
Sources
Every figure this calculator uses comes from the published sources below. The formulas are on this page, so any result can be checked by hand.
- Washington State Department of Transportation, Design Manual M 22-01, Exhibits 620-1 and 620-2. Dry weights in tons per cubic yard of gravel, crushed stone, ballast, sand and hot mix asphalt.