Cubic yards and bags from bed size and depth. Two to three inches is the usual bed depth; more than four smothers roots.
Pro habit: Buying by the yard beats bags past about 1 yard (2 yd³ with cushion here). One yard equals 13.5 of the 2 cu ft bags.
Mulch settles about 25 percent in the first season, so a 3 inch bed reads closer to 2 inches by fall. Weights are common industry approximations; confirm with your supplier before ordering.
More free calculators:
TrackOver runs dirt-work companies: jobs, crews, stamped site photos, machine hours, and billing in one place. Built inside a working excavation company.
Multiply length by width by depth in feet, then divide by 27 to get cubic yards. This mulch calculator does it for you: enter length and width in feet and depth in inches, and it returns cubic yards. Add about 10 percent for compaction, spillage, and uneven grade.
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so at 2 cu ft per bag that is about 14 2 cu ft bags per yard. Past roughly a yard, buying in bulk usually beats bags on price and effort.
Yes. It is a free tool from TrackOver, software built inside a working excavation company for contractors who move dirt. No signup required to use it.