Bulk landscaping material is priced by the cubic yard, but garden centers sell bags labeled in cubic feet. To compare prices, decide between bulk delivery and bagged product, or check how much a truck or dumpster holds, you need to switch from yards to feet. The math is a single multiplication by 27; this converter also does the bag count for you.
How to use the cubic yards to cubic feet converter
- Enter the volume in Cubic yards (yd³). Quarter and half yards are common: 0.25, 0.5, 0.75.
- Read the cubic feet, then the number of 2 cu ft and 1.5 cu ft bags needed to match it, rounded up to whole bags.
- The chart covers 0.25 yd³ to 40 yd³, with a bag count in the last column.
Cubic yards to cubic feet formula
Worked example: 3 yards of mulch
Step 1. 3 × 27 = 81 ft³.
Step 2. In 2 cu ft bags: 81 ÷ 2 = 40.5, so 41 bags.
Step 3. In 1.5 cu ft bags: 81 ÷ 1.5 = 54 bags.
If bagged mulch costs $4 per 2 cu ft bag, those 41 bags run $164. Compare that with the bulk price for 3 yards plus delivery to see which is cheaper for your job.
Bags per cubic yard
| Bag size | Bags per cubic yard | Common products |
|---|---|---|
| 0.75 cu ft | 36 | Small bags of topsoil or sand |
| 1 cu ft | 27 | Garden soil, compost |
| 1.5 cu ft | 18 | Potting mix |
| 2 cu ft | 13.5 | Bark and wood mulch |
| 3 cu ft | 9 | Compressed peat or large mulch bales |
Watch for compressed products: a “3 cu ft” compressed bale can expand to considerably more loose volume once opened, and the label usually says how much.
Dumpster and container sizes
Roll-off dumpsters are named by their capacity in cubic yards:
| Dumpster | Cubic yards | Cubic feet |
|---|---|---|
| Small cleanout | 10 | 270 |
| Kitchen or roof job | 20 | 540 |
| Major renovation | 30 | 810 |
| Construction site | 40 | 1,080 |
A 20-yard container holds 540 ft³ — about what it would take to cover the floor of a one-car garage (12 × 22 ft) two feet deep. Heavy debris such as concrete, dirt or roofing shingles hits the weight limit long before the container is full, so rental companies often restrict those materials to smaller boxes.
What a cubic yard looks like — and weighs
One cubic yard is a 3 × 3 × 3 ft cube, roughly the space taken up by a washer and dryer standing side by side. The weight depends enormously on the material: dry wood mulch might be a few hundred pounds, while a yard of gravel or wet topsoil can weigh well over a ton. Check the load rating before hauling a yard of stone in a pickup; the gravel calculator converts yards to tons.
To go the other way, from a volume you’ve measured in cubic feet to an order in yards, use cubic feet to cubic yards. For the area-and-depth approach, see the mulch calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How many cubic feet are in a cubic yard?
Exactly 27 cubic feet. Picture a box 3 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall.
How many 2 cubic foot bags make a cubic yard?
13.5 bags, so you would buy 14. With 1.5 cu ft bags it takes 18, and with 3 cu ft bags it takes 9.
How many bags is 3 yards of mulch?
3 yd³ is 81 ft³. That is 40.5 bags of 2 cu ft, so 41 bags, or 54 bags of 1.5 cu ft.
Is it cheaper to buy mulch in bags or in bulk?
Above about 2 to 3 cubic yards, bulk is usually much cheaper per cubic foot, even after delivery fees. Bags make sense for small jobs, for places a truck cannot reach, or when you want the material to store neatly.