Free Mulch Calculator: Bags or Bulk?
Mulch is bought by volume, so the calculator never needs weight to decide your order. It converts your bed area and depth into cubic feet, adds the overage you choose, then rounds up to whole bags and to the yard's sold increment at the same time so you can compare them.
Your estimate
You need about 0.98 cu yd of Shredded hardwood mulch (26.4 cu ft).
Buy 1.0 cu yd bulk — about $38.00 at your $38.00/cu yd.
Or 14 bags of 2 cu ft — about $63.00 at your $4.50/bag.
Bulk is $25.00 cheaper here.
- Includes 10% overage (2.40 cu ft) — our editable default, not a published standard.
- One cu yd ≈ 13.5 bags of 2 cu ft — the bags-per-cu yd reconciliation.
- Weight ≈ 538 lb (0.27 US tons) at 550 lb/cu yd
- Rounded up to the yard's 0.50 cu yd step: 2 steps.
Density REG-03: working figure 550 lb/cu yd, published range 500–600 lb/cu yd — secondary - primary unverified, read 2026-11-05.
Bag size REG-05: 2 cu ft.
Prices are yours, not ours: the figures in the form are examples to start from. The answer says what your order costs at the price you typed.
Buy-list — Shredded hardwood mulch
| Areas | rectangle 12.00 × 8.00 ft |
|---|---|
| Depth | 3.00 in |
| Overage | 10.0 % |
| Bag size | 2 cu ft |
| Bulk step | 0.50 cu yd |
| Prices | $38.00 per cu yd; $4.50 per bag |
| Region | United States (US customary, cu yd increment) |
| Item | Quantity | At your price |
|---|---|---|
| Shredded hardwood mulch — bulk | 1.0 cu yd | $38.00 |
| Shredded hardwood mulch — bags | 14 bags of 2 cu ft | $63.00 |
YardWise — quantity estimates only. Prices are the ones you entered. yw/print
Free to use. No sign-up, no paywall, no hidden charge.
How this calculator works
Mulch is bought by volume, so the calculator never needs weight to decide your order. It converts your bed area and depth into cubic feet, adds the overage you choose, then rounds up to whole bags and to the yard's sold increment at the same time so you can compare them.
Two rounding rules run side by side. Bagged mulch rounds up to a whole bag; bulk mulch rounds up to the yard's printed increment — 0.5 cu yd in the US and Canada, 0.5 m³ in metric regions. Those are independent sold increments, not conversions of one another, and the increment used is printed next to the answer.
Density appears only in the weight line. It never touches the quantity, because nobody sells mulch by the pound. The bags-per-cubic-yard figure is the reconciliation between the two order forms: 27 cu ft in a cubic yard, divided by your bag size.
The 10 % overage is ours, not a published standard. It is editable, it is printed as its own line, and setting it to 0 % changes the answer.
The formula, in symbols
F1 A = length × width rectangle F2 A = π × (diameter ÷ 2)² circle F3 A = ½ × base × height triangle F4 V = A × depth depth in ft or m F5 V′ = V × (1 + waste ÷ 100) F6 q = ⌈(V′ ÷ 27) ÷ step⌉ × step bulk, cubic yards F7 n = ⌈V′ ÷ bag volume⌉ bags F8 W = V′ ÷ 27 × density weight, display only F11 bags per cubic yard = 27 ÷ bag volume
Worked example — the values this page starts with
F1 A = 12.0 ft × 8.0 ft = 96.0 sq ft
F4 d = 3 in ÷ 12 = 0.25 ft ; V = 96.0 × 0.25 = 24.0 cu ft
F5 V′ = 24.0 × (1 + 0.10) = 26.4 cu ft
F6 q = ⌈(26.4 ÷ 27) ÷ 0.5⌉ × 0.5 = ⌈1.956⌉ × 0.5 = 1.0 cu yd
cost = 1.0 × $38.00 = $38.00
F7 n = ⌈26.4 ÷ 2⌉ = 14 bags
cost = 14 × $4.50 = $63.00
F11 27 ÷ 2 = 13.5 bags per cubic yard
bulk is $25.00 cheaper for the same 26.4 cu ft
The prices above are example values, not a claim about what mulch costs. Change them in the form and the answer follows your figures.
Questions people ask
How many bags of mulch are in a cubic yard?
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so it is 27 ÷ your bag size in bags: 13.5 bags of 2 cu ft, or 9 bags of 3 cu ft. Bag volumes vary by product, so the field is editable.
How much area does a cubic yard of mulch cover?
It depends entirely on depth: 27 cu ft spread 1 inch deep covers 324 sq ft, 2 inches covers 162 sq ft, and 3 inches covers 108 sq ft. Set the depth and the calculator does the division.
Should I add extra for settling?
The 10 % overage is our default, not a published standard. It is editable and printed as its own line, so you can set it to whatever you judge for your material and site.
How much does a yard of mulch weigh?
The register carries 500–600 lb per cubic yard, working figure 550 lb, read 2026-11-05 (REG-03, secondary — the primary supplier pages have not been opened). Weight is shown for information only; mulch is bought by volume.
Is bagged mulch or bulk mulch cheaper?
That depends on the two prices you were quoted, which is why you type both. The calculator prices both order forms for the same volume and tells you the difference in money, not in bags or yards.
Formula: F1–F8 and F11 — area × depth, overage, bulk and bag quantities, weight as a display-only branch.
Density: 550 lb/cu yd, published range 500–600, REG-03, secondary - primary unverified, read 2026-11-05.
Bag size: 2 cu ft, REG-05 (secondary - manufacturer body text for 0.75 cu ft and 50 lb; retailer/catalogue for 2 cu ft; aggregate volume derived from SAKRETE yield statement; Home Depot/Lowe's/Ace/Rona/McCoy's/Blain's/Tractor Supply blocked the fetcher).
Overage: 10 % is our default — change it in the form.
Prices: you enter them; the shown price is an example.
Last updated: 2026-11-05 — see Methodology & Sources.
Found a number that looks wrong? Tell us on the contact page — we cite the source for every constant and correct errors in public with the date.