Mulch Calculator: Cubic Yards and 2 or 3 cu ft Bags

Enter the size of the bed and the depth you want. The calculator gives cubic feet, cubic yards and the number of 2 and 3 cubic foot bags, rounded up to whole bags. Add your local prices to compare bags with bulk.

Bed shape

Rectangle Circle I know the area

Length, ft Width, ft Depth, inches

Add your local prices (optional)

Price of a 2 cu ft bag, $ Price of a 3 cu ft bag, $ Bulk price per cubic yard, $

Enter the size of the bed and the depth.

How much mulch do I need?

Multiply the area of the bed by the depth, then convert to cubic yards or bags. All four steps are plain arithmetic, so you can check any result by hand:

1. Area of the bed, in square feet: rectangle = length × width; circle = 3.1416 × (diameter ÷ 2)².
2. Volume in cubic feet = area × depth in inches ÷ 12.
3. Cubic yards = cubic feet ÷ 27 (a cubic yard is 3 ft × 3 ft × 3 ft = 27 cubic feet).
4. Bags = cubic feet ÷ bag size (2 or 3 cubic feet), rounded up to the next whole bag.

cu yd = length (ft) × width (ft) × depth (in) ÷ 12 ÷ 27
bags = length × width × depth ÷ 12 ÷ bag size (cu ft)

Example: a bed 20 ft × 4 ft at 3 inches is 80 sq ft × 3 ÷ 12 = 20 cu ft, which is 20 ÷ 27 = 0.74 cubic yards, 10 bags of 2 cu ft or 7 bags of 3 cu ft (6.67 rounded up).

Handy equivalents from the same formulas:

Depth	1 cubic yard covers	One 2 cu ft bag covers	One 3 cu ft bag covers
1 in	324 sq ft	24 sq ft	36 sq ft
2 in	162 sq ft	12 sq ft	18 sq ft
3 in	108 sq ft	8 sq ft	12 sq ft
4 in	81 sq ft	6 sq ft	9 sq ft

These match the published figures: Clemson Extension and UF/IFAS give 324 sq ft per cubic yard at 1 inch and 108 sq ft at 3 inches^[25][27], and Lowe's labels a 2 cu ft bag as covering 12 sq ft at 2 inches^[1]. A cubic yard holds 13.5 bags of 2 cu ft or 9 bags of 3 cu ft. Bagged mulch settles and suppliers measure loosely, so buying a little over the exact figure is normal.

How deep to spread mulch

Recommended depths from university extension services and, for rubber and dyed mulch, the manufacturers:

Mulch	Depth	Source
Shredded bark or wood	1–3 in	University of Maryland[21]
Pine bark, pine needles, wood chips	2–3 in; coarse pine bark nuggets up to 4 in	Clemson[25]
Pine needles, leaves	2–3 in	University of Maryland[21]
Compost	about 1 in, renewed every year	University of Maryland[21]
Gravel, stone, lava rock	1 in	University of Maryland[21]
Rubber nuggets (landscaping)	1.5–2 in	GroundSmart, manufacturer[28]
Dyed wood (Scotts Nature Scapes)	3 in; remove old mulch if it is over 4 in	Scotts, manufacturer[29]

Organic mulch should not build up past about 3 inches in total. Rutgers counts the mulch left from previous years in that limit^[26], and Maryland Extension lists deeper mulch among the causes of plant problems^[22]. Before topping up, measure what is already there and enter only the missing depth into the calculator.

Keep it off trunks and stems

Mulch piled against a trunk ("volcano mulching") is the most common mistake extension services warn about. The Morton Arboretum says not to pile mulch against the trunk^[24]; Penn State's rule is "Mulch out, not up!"^[23]. Recommended gaps: 2–3 inches from stems (Clemson^[25]), about 3 inches from tree trunks (Maryland^[21]), and 8–12 inches from mature tree trunks (Rutgers^[26]).

What mulch costs

Bagged mulch

Shelf prices read online on October 24, 2026. Store prices vary by location; the store is named where the site showed one.

Mulch	Bag	Price	Same mulch per cubic yard*	Where
All-natural hardwood	2 cu ft	$1.97 (out of stock)	$26.60	Lowe's[2]
Plain brown or black wood mulch	2 cu ft	$3.33	$44.96	Menards[7]
Dyed black, brown or red (Sta-Green Premium)	2 cu ft	$3.98	$53.73	Lowe's[1]
Dyed (Wood Ecology Premium)	2 cu ft	$3.97	$53.60	Menards[7]
Dyed (Scotts ColorStay)	2 cu ft	$4.99	$67.37	Tractor Supply[9]
Dyed (Scotts Nature Scapes)	1.5 cu ft	$4.98	$89.64	Lowe's[3]
Cedar (Timberline, on sale from $4.48)	2 cu ft	$3.98	$53.73	Lowe's[3]
Cedar	2 cu ft	$4.99	$67.37	Menards[7]
Pine bark (Timberline)	2 cu ft	$3.98	$53.73	Lowe's[4]
Pine bark nuggets	2 cu ft	$6.79	$91.67	Menards[8]
Hardwood / dyed / cypress / pine bark	2 cu ft	$2 / $3 / $4 / $4	$27 / $40.50 / $54 / $54	Mulch Pros, GA[11]
Rubber nuggets (GroundSmart)	0.8 cu ft	$7.48	$252.45	Lowe's[5]
River rock	0.5 cu ft	$5.98	$322.92	Lowe's[6]

* Our arithmetic: bag price × 27 ÷ bag size. It shows what a yard of the same mulch costs in bags, to compare with bulk prices below. Menards figures are its delivery prices, sold in multiples of 75–102 bags, before the 11% mail-in rebate the site showed. We did not find 3 cu ft bags at Lowe's, Menards or Tractor Supply on October 24, 2026; the calculator still counts them because some local suppliers sell that size.

Pine straw is sold by the bale rather than by volume. Sellers say a bale covers 25–50 sq ft depending on how thick it is laid^[10], or roughly 40–50 sq ft at 2–3 inches^[30]; Mulch Pros listed slash pine straw at $4 a bale^[11], Tractor Supply a longleaf pine straw bale at $34.99^[10].

Bulk mulch by the cubic yard

Published price lists of landscape suppliers, October 24, 2026, before delivery:

Supplier	Hardwood / shredded	Dyed	Other
APLS, Pittsburgh, PA[12]	$36–$42	$44–$47	—
Texas Garden Materials, Houston, TX[13]	$30.99	$39.99	cedar, aged pine bark $49.99
Mulch Pros, Cumming, GA[11]	$29	$33–$36	pine bark nuggets $46, cypress $64
Mulch Center, Deerfield, IL[14]	$38–$45; hardwood bark $58–$85	$51	cedar $57, leaf mulch $49, wood chips $18
St. Louis Composting, MO[15]	—	—	aged leaf mulch $26
ARS Landscape Materials, Denver, CO[16]	priced per half yard: colored from $26.73, natural from $20, cedar from $55

Delivery is extra. Mulch Pros charged $7 a mile with a $60 minimum^[11]; LawnStarter says picking mulch up yourself saves $70–$140 in delivery^[18]. Our arithmetic with a $60 delivery charge and $3.98 bags ($53.73 a yard): bulk at $30 a yard is cheaper from 3 cubic yards, bulk at $45 a yard only from 7. Fixr also notes that for 1 or 2 cubic yards bagged and delivered mulch cost roughly the same^[20].

Paying someone to spread it

• homewyse: $0.71–$1.38 per square foot installed, national average for May 2026^[17].
• LawnStarter: $77–$94 per cubic yard installed (guide updated October 5, 2026)^[18].
• HomeGuide: $50–$150 per cubic yard delivered and installed (updated April 30, 2025)^[19].
• Fixr: $150–$400 per job, most often about $275 for 3 cubic yards of bark mulch delivered and installed; labor $55–$75 an hour for a two-person crew (updated August 29, 2025)^[20].

Questions

How many bags of mulch are in a yard?

A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet: 13.5 bags of 2 cu ft, 9 bags of 3 cu ft or 18 bags of 1.5 cu ft.

How much does a yard of mulch weigh?

One supplier gives 400–800 pounds per cubic yard^[31]; weight depends on the wood and how wet it is, which is why mulch is sold by volume.

How often should mulch be topped up?

Check the depth once a year (Morton Arboretum^[24]). UF/IFAS suggests adding more when the layer falls below 2 inches^[27]; Clemson says pine needles and bark usually last 2–4 years^[25].

Is rubber mulch a good idea in planting beds?

UF/IFAS describes rubber mulch as less effective than organic mulches at suppressing weeds^[27], and it does not break down to feed the soil. It costs several times more per yard than wood (see the bag table).

Mulching hostas?

The same depth rules apply in a shade bed. Our hosta care guide covers mulching hostas specifically.