How much gravel do you need — in tons and cubic yards at once. Loose mineral aggregate for driveways, paths and base: pick the material, the area and the depth, and order in whichever unit your supplier uses.
Units
Loaded from the material; edit to match your supplier.
2–3″ top dressing; 4″+ for a driveway base.
10–15% for a compacted base; ~5% for top dressing.
Volume × density only. Densities are representative figures for loose, dry material and vary with moisture, grading and compaction — confirm with your supplier and edit the field. Cost figures are editable examples, not a quote.
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Different material, different tool.
Laying organic ground cover instead of stone? The Mulch Calculator handles bark, rubber and pine straw by the bag, yard and bale. Pouring a slab on top of this base? The Concrete Calculator figures the concrete in yards and bags.
What this gravel calculator does — and its lane
This tool is for loose mineral aggregate: pea gravel, crushed stone, crushed rock, road base, paver base, river rock, decomposed granite and the like. Because that material is sold both by the ton and by the cubic yard, the one job a gravel calculator has to get right is converting between volume and weight — and showing you both. It is not a mulch calculator (organic ground cover, sold by the bag and bale) and not a concrete calculator (poured volume); those are linked above.
Tons and yards, side by side
The number-one frustration with how much gravel do I need is the unit mismatch: you measure your driveway in feet and yards, but the quarry quotes you a price per ton. The fix is the density of the stone.
Most loose aggregate runs 1.2–1.7 tons per cubic yard, so a yard weighs roughly 1.4 tons (about 2,800 lb) on average, and one ton is about 0.7 cubic yards. This calculator shows tons and yards together, adds tonnes and cubic metres for metric ordering, and even gives a 0.5 ft³ bag count for small bagged jobs.
Material density presets
A single fixed density is where many calculators go wrong, because pea gravel and tightly packing crusher run are far apart. Pick your material and a representative density loads; edit it to match a supplier figure.
Material
Typical density (tons/yd³)
Common use
Pea gravel
1.35
Paths, patios, decorative
Crushed stone #57
1.40
Drainage, driveway top
Crushed rock
1.45
General fill, driveways
Road base / crusher run
1.55
Compacted base layer
Paver base
1.50
Under pavers / slabs
River rock
1.35
Decorative, drainage
Decomposed granite
1.40
Paths, xeriscape
Irregular sites, depth and compaction
Real areas are rarely one clean rectangle. Add as many shapes as you need — rectangles, circles and triangles — and the calculator sums them, so an L-shaped drive or a bed with a curved end is just two or three entries. Set the depth to suit the job (2–3″ for decorative cover, 4″ or more for a driveway base over a sub-base) and add 10–15% waste for a layer that will be compacted, since compaction and bedding into the soil below both eat material.
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Frequently asked questions
How much gravel do I need?
areaft² × (depth″ ÷ 12) = ft³; ÷ 27 = yd³; × density = tons. A 20×10 area at 3″ is 50 ft³ ≈ 1.85 yd³, about 2.6 tons at 1.4 tons/yd³. The calculator shows tons and yards together.
How do I convert yards of gravel to tons?
Multiply cubic yards by density in tons/yd³ (mostly 1.2–1.7, ~1.4 typical). So a yard of typical gravel is ~1.4 tons (~2,800 lb), and one ton is ~0.7 yd³. Suppliers sell by the ton but you measure by volume — this tool shows both.
How much does a ton of gravel cover?
About 75–80 ft² at 3″ deep (one yard covers ~108 ft²). Spread thinner it covers more — ~90 ft² at 2.5″. It depends on depth and the stone’s density, so enter your real numbers above.
What density should I use?
Roughly 1.2–1.7 tons/yd³: pea gravel and river rock near 1.3–1.4, crushed stone #57 ~1.4–1.5, road base / crusher run heaviest at ~1.5–1.7. The presets load a representative value you can edit to your supplier’s figure.
How much extra for compaction?
Add 10–15% for a compacted base (compaction and bedding into the soil below consume material); ~5% for decorative cover that won’t be compacted. Enter it in the waste field.
Is this the same as a mulch or concrete calculator?
No. Gravel is mineral aggregate sold by the ton/yard, so we convert volume to weight by density. Mulch is organic, sold by bag/yard/bale — use the mulch calculator. Poured concrete is figured as volume/bags by the concrete calculator.