Bags or a bulk load: which is cheaper for your beds?
One cubic yard is 18 bags of 1.5 cubic feet. Enter your beds and the quotes you have, and the calculator compares the bag total with the delivered bulk price, minimum load included.
Enter your bag price and bulk quote to see both totals side by side.
22 bags of 1.5 ft³ or 1.2 cubic yards in bulk, for the example bed: 8 × 4 ft inside, 12 in of soil.
Change the bed sizeExample: a bed 8 × 4 ft inside, 12 in of soil
or mix your own: 15 topsoil+8 compost
- About 2,600 lb: 3 trips in a vehicle with 1,250 lb of room after its driver, or one delivered load.
- 1.2 cubic yards in bulk. Suppliers’ minimum loads run 1 to 5 yards, so get one delivered quote before buying 22 bags.
12 in of soil: room for carrots and most crops. On open ground, roots carry on into the soil below the bed. Depth by crop
At other bag sizes: 43 of 0.75 ft³ · 32 of 1 ft³ · 22 of 1.5 ft³ · 16 of 2 ft³ · 11 of 3 ft³
Bed 1: 12 in of soil.
Weight uses Sands and Soils screened topsoil at 2,200 lb a cubic yard. Choose another material in Soil order.
Measure the inside of the bed
Choose a bed to start with
Soil depth is the inside height less the space you leave empty at the top for mulch and watering.
Prepare the spot for this bedLeave space to work around it
The outside size follows the inside plus 1.5-inch walls on each side, the thickness of a 2-inch board. Change it for a bed with thicker or thinner walls.
Sides refer to the drawing. For round containers, select all four sides to check reach from the whole rim. Layout clearances use the enclosing outside rectangle, including for round beds.
Work out your soil order
Split into your own mix
Already have a two-part soil mix in mind? Enter the percentage of each ingredient. Read the soil and surface guidance before choosing a mix.
Bag size for each ingredient
Compare your bag and bulk quotes
Private amounts stay on this page and are excluded from save, share and print. Enter 0 for a genuinely free delivery.
Compare the two totals
Enter the bag total and the delivered bulk quote, including any minimum order, in the cost section above, and compare the two totals. Extension services agree on the direction without giving a size: the University of Minnesota Extension says buying by the cubic yard is generally much cheaper than bags, and UConn says bagged mix may be more practical for smaller beds.
The minimum load often decides it for small beds: Organic Recycling, a topsoil supplier, says minimums range from one to five cubic yards, so ask before you compare. Below the minimum, you pay for the minimum; the cost section works that out. One cubic yard is 27 cubic feet: 18 bags of 1.5 cubic feet, 13.5 bags of 2 or 9 bags of 3. Enter your quotes in the cost section above to see both totals side by side. Your prices stay on this page and are left out of saved and shared plans.
Moving a bulk load
A cubic yard of topsoil weighs 2,200 to 2,600 lb for the two suppliers we list. The cubic yards to tons calculator turns your order into wheelbarrow loads and vehicle trips, and the guide to what a yard of soil weighs gives the figures by material.