Mulch Calculator
Enter a bed size and a depth, pick a material, and get the cubic yards and bags of mulch to order, with a 2026 cost. It covers hardwood, bark, wood chips, dyed mulch, compost, topsoil, and rubber, sizes pine straw by the bale, and has a tree-ring shape that leaves the trunk bare. Free to use with no signup.
All-purpose bed mulch: suppresses weeds, holds moisture, moderates soil temperature.
2 to 3″ for a bed, 3 to 4″ around trees. A refresh over old mulch adds only 1 to 2″ so the total stays at or under 3″. Never pile it against a trunk.
5% for a clean, square bed; 10% for settling, spillage, and irregular edges. On a slope, pine straw needs 15 to 20%.
Illustration, not to scale
Illustration, not to scale
Mulch to order (with 10% waste)
2cu yd28 bags
200 sq ft × 3″ deep.
A cubic yard is about 13.5 bags of 2 cu ft, so past a yard or two bulk delivery is much cheaper. Round up to whole bags and check the delivery minimum. Coverage depends on depth: a yard covers about 108 sq ft at 3″.
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How much does mulch cost?
Bulk mulch runs about $30 to $65 a cubic yard in 2026 for most wood mulches, or roughly $3 to $4 for a 2 cubic foot bag, plus delivery. Hardwood and pine bark are the cheapest at $30 to $50 a yard; dyed and premium mulch cost more; and rubber mulch is far pricier at $120 to $180 a yard. Delivery is a flat $50 to $150 a load with a 2 to 4 yard minimum. Installed with labor, figure $3 to $8 a square foot at 3 inches, or about $50 to $150 a yard spread.
What mulch and material costs (2026 US)
| Material | Bulk (per cu yd) | Bagged (2 cu ft) |
|---|---|---|
| Shredded hardwood | $30 to $45 | $3 to $4 |
| Pine bark / nuggets | $30 to $50 | $3 to $4 |
| Dyed / colored mulch | $35 to $65 | $3.50 to $5 |
| Wood chips | $25 to $40 | Free to $4 |
| Compost | $20 to $50 | $3 to $10 (40 lb) |
| Topsoil | $12 to $55 | $2 to $6 (40 lb) |
| Rubber mulch | $120 to $180 | ~$6 (0.8 cu ft) |
2026 US material-only figures from HomeGuide, HomeAdvisor, Angi, and retailer pricing. Add a flat $50 to $150 delivery with a 2 to 4 yard minimum. Bagged runs roughly 50 percent more per yard than bulk once you total the bags, so bulk wins on any job over about 2 yards. Pine straw is sold by the bale (below). Prices are regional and seasonal, so confirm a local quote.
Pine straw cost (2026 US)
| How | Price per bale |
|---|---|
| Material only | $3 to $10 |
| Bulk order (1,000+ bales) | $5 to $7 |
| Installed (spread by labor) | $7 to $12 |
Pine straw is concentrated in the Southeast, where long-leaf and slash pine are abundant, so pricing and availability vary by region. One bale covers about 45 square feet at 2 to 3 inches.
How much does a yard of mulch cover, and how deep should it be?
One cubic yard of mulch covers about 108 square feet at 3 inches deep, 162 at 2 inches, and 81 at 4 inches, because a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet and the coverage is just 324 divided by the depth in inches. For beds, spread 2 to 3 inches; around trees and shrubs, 3 to 4 inches, but never piled against the trunk. A refresh over old mulch adds only 1 to 2 inches so the total, counting what is already there, stays at or under 3 inches.
Mulch coverage by depth
| Depth | Sq ft per cubic yard | Sq ft per 2 cu ft bag |
|---|---|---|
| 1 in | 324 | 24 |
| 2 in | 162 | 12 |
| 3 in | 108 | 8 |
| 4 in | 81 | 6 |
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so it covers 324 square feet at 1 inch and halves as the depth doubles. A 2 cubic foot bag covers about one thirteenth of a yard, so roughly 8 square feet at 3 inches. Deeper is not better: more than 3 to 4 inches suffocates roots.
How deep should mulch be
| Where | Depth | Note |
|---|---|---|
| New bed (bare soil) | 3 in | Suppresses weeds and holds moisture |
| Refresh over old mulch | 1 to 2 in | Keep the total at or under 3 in |
| Around trees and shrubs | 3 to 4 in | A flat donut, root flare exposed |
| Fine or double-shredded | 1 to 2 in | Fine texture restricts oxygen |
| Compost (soil amendment) | 1 to 3 in | Tilled in, not left on top |
| Topsoil (new bed or lawn) | 2 to 4 in | Placed and graded |
Never build a mulch volcano: keep mulch 3 to 5 inches back from young trunks and 8 to 12 inches from mature trees, with the root flare, where the trunk widens at its base, left showing. Piling mulch against bark suffocates roots, rots the trunk, and shelters bark-gnawing pests.
How much pine straw do I need?
Pine straw is sold by the bale, not by the cubic yard, so you size it by area, not volume. One bale covers about 45 square feet at a fluffed 2 to 3 inch spread, so a 500 square foot bed takes about 13 bales and a 1,000 square foot area about 25, waste included. Long-needle straw covers more per bale than short-needle. Spread it fluffed and it settles, add 15 to 20 percent on a slope where it slides, and top it up every 6 to 12 months as it breaks down.
Pine straw bales by area (at about 45 sq ft a bale)
| Area | Bales |
|---|---|
| 100 sq ft | 3 |
| 250 sq ft | 7 |
| 500 sq ft | 13 |
| 1,000 sq ft | 25 |
At about 45 square feet a bale plus 10 percent waste. Long-needle bales cover more, up to 50 square feet, and short-needle less, 35 or under, so confirm with your supplier. On a slope, add 15 to 20 percent. Never run pine straw through the cubic-yard formula.
How do you calculate how much mulch you need?
Multiply the bed area in square feet by the depth in inches and divide by 324 to get cubic yards. A cubic yard is about 13.5 bags of 2 cubic feet, so multiply by 13.5 for a bag count, and add 5 to 10 percent for waste. Pine straw is the exception, sized by the bale (about 45 square feet each), not by volume. Here is the exact math, with a worked example.
- Bed area
- rectangle length × width, circle π × (diameter ÷ 2)², a tree ring π × ((outer ÷ 2)² − (inner ÷ 2)²), or a typed total
- Cubic yards
- area × depth in inches ÷ 324 (that is ÷ 12 for feet, then ÷ 27 for yards)
- Bags
- cubic yards × 27 ÷ the bag size; a cubic yard is about 13.5 bags of 2 cubic feet
- Pine straw
- sold by the bale, so bed area ÷ about 45 square feet a bale, not by volume
- Waste
- add 5 to 10% for settling and irregular edges, then round up to whole bags or bales
Ordering adjustments
Mulch is sold two ways, and this gives you both: bulk by the cubic yard, delivered, and bagged, usually 2 cubic feet a bag so about 13.5 bags to a yard. Bulk is much cheaper once you pass a yard or two, even with the delivery charge. Coverage always depends on depth: one cubic yard covers about 108 square feet at 3 inches but 162 at 2 inches, so a coverage figure without a depth is meaningless. Pine straw is the exception, sold by the bale, about 45 square feet each, rather than by volume, so it never runs through the cubic-yard math. Unlike gravel, mulch is ordered loose with no compaction, so there is nothing extra to add beyond a little waste. Around a tree, use the tree-ring shape so the bare center by the trunk is left out, and never pile mulch against the bark.
Worked example
A 200 sq ft bed, 3 in deep, shredded hardwood mulch, 10% waste
- Volume: 200 × 3 ÷ 324 = 1.85 cubic yards
- Waste: 1.85 × 1.10 = 2.04 cubic yards to order
- Bags: 2.04 × 27 ÷ 2 = 27.5, round up to 28 bags of 2 cubic feet
- Or bulk: about 2 cubic yards delivered, cheaper than 28 bags
Mulch reference tables
Cubic yards of mulch by bed size and depth
| Bed area | 2 in | 3 in | 4 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 sq ft | 0.6 yd | 0.9 yd | 1.2 yd |
| 250 sq ft | 1.5 yd | 2.3 yd | 3.1 yd |
| 500 sq ft | 3.1 yd | 4.6 yd | 6.2 yd |
| 1,000 sq ft | 6.2 yd | 9.3 yd | 12.3 yd |
Design cubic yards (area × depth ÷ 324), before waste. Add 5 to 10 percent for settling and irregular edges. To convert to bags, a cubic yard is about 13.5 bags of 2 cubic feet, so a 500 square foot bed at 3 inches (4.6 yards) is about 69 bags with 10 percent waste.
Mulch, compost, and topsoil: how they differ
| Material | Goes | Typical depth | Bought by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mulch (bark, wood) | On top of the soil | 2 to 4 in | Cubic yard or 2 cu ft bag |
| Pine straw | On top of the soil | Fluffed 3 in | The bale (~45 sq ft) |
| Compost | Tilled into the soil | 1 to 3 in | Cubic yard or bag |
| Topsoil | Under, as the growing bed | 2 to 4 in | Cubic yard or ton |
| Rubber mulch | On top, play or decorative | 3 to 4 in | Cubic yard or bag |
Mulch protects and sits on top; compost feeds and gets worked in; topsoil is the growing medium underneath. They are different layers with different jobs, so a mulch order and a soil order are sized separately. Rubber mulch is made from recycled tires, lasts 10-plus years, and does not gain weight when wet.
Bags versus bulk
| Job size | Better bought | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Under about 1.5 cu yd | Bags | Small job, or no truck access |
| About 2 to 3 cu yd | Either | The break-even with delivery |
| More than 3 cu yd | Bulk delivery | Far cheaper per yard |
A cubic yard is about 13.5 bags of 2 cubic feet, and bagged mulch costs roughly 50 percent more per yard than bulk once you total the bags. Bulk delivery is a flat $50 to $150 with a 2 to 4 yard minimum, so it wins on any job past about two yards even with the haul charge.
Mulch Calculator Questions
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