Cubic Yards Calculator

A quick, material-neutral way to calculate cubic yards from length, width and height (or depth). Useful for any bulk material - soil, sand, mulch, gravel, concrete or anything else sold by the yard - without any material-specific waste factor baked in.

ft
ft
in
Cubic yards
1.23 yd³
Cubic feet
33.33 ft³
Cubic metres
0.94 m³

How it works

Multiply length by width to get the area, then by height (converted from inches to feet) to get volume in cubic feet. Divide by 27 (the number of cubic feet in a cubic yard) to get cubic yards.

Formula
Cubic feet = length x width x (height/12) | Cubic yards = cubic feet / 27

Example. A 10 ft by 10 ft area at 4 inches deep is about 33.3 cubic feet, or 1.23 cubic yards.

This is the shared math behind our material calculators

Our Gravel, Mulch and Concrete calculators all use this exact same volume formula underneath, then layer on a material-specific waste allowance and density conversion (to tons or bags). Use this page directly when you just need the raw volume, or one of the material-specific pages when you need bags/tons for a specific material.

Frequently asked questions

Why 27 to convert cubic feet to cubic yards?

A cubic yard is 3 ft x 3 ft x 3 ft = 27 cubic feet, so dividing cubic feet by 27 gives cubic yards.

Should I add extra for waste?

This calculator gives the exact geometric volume with no buffer. For an ordering quantity, add 5-10% for material-specific reasons (spillage, compaction, irregular shapes) - see our Gravel, Mulch or Concrete calculators, which build that allowance in automatically.

Related calculators

Gravel CalculatorWork out how much gravel you need for a driveway, path or landscaping bed, in cubic yards and tons or cubic metres and tonnes, with bags too.Mulch CalculatorCalculate how much mulch you need for a garden bed or landscaping project. Get cubic yards, cubic feet and the number of standard bags.Concrete CalculatorCalculate how much concrete you need for a slab, column or footing. Results in cubic yards, cubic metres and 60lb bags, with 10% waste factor.Volume CalculatorCalculate the volume of any 3D shape: cube, rectangular box, cylinder, sphere or cone. Results in m³, cm³, litres and cubic feet.

Embed this calculator

Free to use on any site. Please keep the credit link.

<iframe
  id="letmecalc-cubic-yards-calculator"
  src="https://letmecalc.com/embed/construction/cubic-yards-calculator"
  title="Cubic Yards Calculator"
  width="100%"
  height="620"
  style="border:0;max-width:100%"
  loading="lazy"
></iframe>
<p><a href="https://letmecalc.com/construction/cubic-yards-calculator" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cubic Yards Calculator</a> by letmecalc</p>
<script>
(function () {
  var f = document.getElementById("letmecalc-cubic-yards-calculator");
  window.addEventListener("message", function (e) {
    if (e.origin !== "https://letmecalc.com") return;
    if (!f || e.source !== f.contentWindow) return;
    var d = e.data;
    if (!d || d.source !== "letmecalc-embed" || d.type !== "resize") return;
    if (typeof d.height === "number" && d.height > 0) {
      f.style.height = d.height + "px";
    }
  });
})();
</script>