Mulch Calculator
Turn bed area and mulch depth into cubic feet, cubic yards, and a count of standard 2 cu ft bags — with the bulk figure alongside so you can price bags against a delivered yard.
Bed area and depth
Example: 200 sq ft of beds at 3 in deep with 5% cushion → 27 bags.
A coverage estimate for buying mulch — grading, drainage, and anything code-adjacent in the landscape belongs with a qualified professional.
Bags are just cubic feet in plastic
cu ft = area × (depth in ÷ 12), and bags = ceil(cu ft ÷ 2)
— the bag division is pure arithmetic on the labeled 2 cu ft retail size. The worked
bed: 200 sq ft at ¼ ft = 50 cu ft (1.85
cu yd). With 5% extra that is 52.5 cu ft, or
27 bags with 1.5 cu ft left in the last
one — equivalently 1.94 cu yd if a yard delivers in bulk. All computed by the engine
at build time.
Frequently asked questions
How deep should mulch go?
Two to four inches is the range most landscape guides work in — enough to suppress weeds and hold moisture without smothering roots. Depth is the biggest lever on the total, so if the bag count surprises you, revisit the depth before anything else.
Bags or a bulk delivery?
The tool shows both figures. As a rule of thumb, one cubic yard equals 13.5 of the 2 cu ft bags — small beds favor bags you can carry, big refreshes favor a bulk drop. Compare your per-bag price times the count against a yard delivered.
My bags are 1.5 or 3 cu ft, not 2 — is the count wrong for me?
The count shown assumes the labeled 2 cu ft retail bag. For other sizes, take the cubic-feet figure from the result and divide by your bag volume (the conversion is plain arithmetic, and the exact cubic feet are printed for that reason).
Should I clear the old mulch first?
Usually you top up rather than replace: measure the existing depth, subtract it from your target, and enter only the difference. Entering the full target depth over a bed that still holds an inch of old mulch is the common over-buy.
Your measurements stay in your browser — nothing is uploaded. The estimation chain behind every tool here is described on the methodology page.