Gravel Calculator
Get cubic yards, tons, truckloads and cost of gravel or crushed stone for a driveway, walkway, patio base or drain. Add several areas and set compaction.
Typical gravel depths
| Job | Depth |
|---|---|
| Walkway or garden path | 2 – 3 inches over landscape fabric |
| Paver patio base, foot traffic | about 4 inches compacted |
| Paver base for heavier loads or poor soil | about 6 inches compacted |
| Gravel driveway | usually built in layers: a coarse base plus a finer top layer |
Paver installation guides call for 4–6 inches of compacted gravel base, placed in layers and compacted, with about 1 inch of bedding sand on top (see the sand calculator). Crushed stone compacts noticeably, which is why the calculator adds 10% by default; raise it for thick bases.
Kinds of gravel
Crushed stone with fines (often called road base, crusher run or dense grade) locks together when compacted and is used for bases and driveways. Clean crushed stone such as #57 (roughly ¾–1 inch) drains well and is used for drainage and as a driveway layer. Pea gravel is small and rounded, comfortable for paths but it moves underfoot. River rock is larger and decorative. Weights vary by type and supplier; enter the supplier's figure if you have it.
Worked example
A 60 × 10 ft driveway with 6 inches of gravel: 600 sq ft × 0.5 ft = 300 cu ft = 11.1 cu yd. With 10% for compaction, about 12.2 cubic yards, roughly 16–18 tons, or two loads on a 10-yard truck.
How much does one cubic yard cover?
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so at 1 inch deep it covers 324 sq ft. Divide 324 by the depth in inches:
| Depth | 1 cu yd of gravel covers |
|---|---|
| 1 in | 324 sq ft |
| 2 in | 162 sq ft |
| 3 in | 108 sq ft |
| 4 in | 81 sq ft |
| 6 in | 54 sq ft |
| 12 in | 27 sq ft |
Cubic yards to tons
Gravel typically weighs 1.3–1.5 US tons per cubic yard, depending on the product and how wet it is. If your supplier sells by the ton, ask for their weight per yard and enter it in the calculator.
| Volume | Approx. weight (US tons) |
|---|---|
| 1 cu yd | 1.3 – 1.5 |
| 2 cu yd | 2.6 – 3.0 |
| 5 cu yd | 6.5 – 7.5 |
| 10 cu yd | 13.0 – 15.0 |
Common questions
How many tons of gravel do I need?
Work out cubic yards first, then multiply by the weight per yard, typically 1.3–1.5 US tons. The calculator shows both.
How much area does a ton of gravel cover?
At 1.3–1.5 tons per yard, one ton is about 0.67–0.77 cubic yards, which covers roughly 54–62 sq ft at 4 inches deep.
How many bags of gravel are in a yard?
About 54 bags of 0.5 cu ft (roughly 50 lb each). Bags only make sense for small jobs.
What size gravel for a driveway?
A compacted base of crushed stone with fines, topped with a layer of clean crushed stone such as #57, is a common build; ask a local supplier what they recommend for your soil.
Sources
Other calculators
Last updated 2026-09-19.