Cubic Yard Calculator
Cubic yards = length × width × depth in feet ÷ 27, because one cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. An area 10 × 10 ft filled 6 in deep is 50 ft³, or 1.85 yd³. This is the plain volume with no waste added; for tons of gravel with an allowance, use the Gravel Calculator.
How it's calculated: Cubic yards = length (ft) × width (ft) × depth (ft) ÷ 27; 1 yd³ = 0.7646 m³.
Result appears here
Fill in the fields and press Calculate.
Formula, calculation, assumptions and sources
Volume = Length × Width × Depth
Cubic yards = Cubic feet ÷ 27 (1 yd³ = 27 ft³)
Run the calculation to see each step with your own numbers.
An area 10 ft long, 10 ft wide, filled 6 in deep.
Volume = 10 ft × 10 ft × 0.5 ft = 50 ft³
50 ft³ ÷ 27 = 1.85 yd³
- Rectangular volume of uniform depth.
- No waste, compaction or overage is added — this is the exact geometric volume.
- Why is there no 'recommended' figure?
- This calculator measures a volume. It has no material and no waste concept, so BuildNumerics shows one exact number rather than inventing an allowance. Use a material calculator (concrete, gravel) when you need an ordering figure.
- How many cubic yards in a cubic foot?
- 1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet, so 1 cubic foot ≈ 0.037 cubic yards.
- How many cubic yards is a 10×10 area 6 inches deep?
- 1.85 yd³: 10 × 10 × 0.5 ft = 50 ft³, and 50 ÷ 27 = 1.85. At 4 in deep it would be 1.23 yd³.
- How do you convert cubic feet to cubic yards?
- Divide by 27, since a cubic yard is 3 ft × 3 ft × 3 ft. 50 ft³ is 1.85 yd³, and one cubic yard is 0.7646 m³.
Volume + conversion
Volume = L × W × D (standard solid geometry). 1 yd³ = 27 ft³ = 0.764554857984 m³ (NIST SP 811, Appendix B).
About the Cubic Yard Calculator
The Cubic Yard Calculator converts a length, width and depth into cubic yards, cubic feet or cubic metres, with no waste allowance added — it is the plain volume. Use it for ordering any bulk material sold by the yard: concrete, gravel, topsoil, mulch or fill. For a delivered weight in tons, use a material-specific calculator such as the Gravel or Sand calculator.
What you enter
- Length
- Width
- Depth — The depth of the area you are filling or excavating.
What you get back
- Volume — the exact result of the calculation.
The formula, a worked example, the assumptions behind it and the sources are shown in full below the calculator.
Related calculators
- Concrete Calculator — How much concrete a rectangular slab or footing needs, in cubic yards or cubic metres.
- Gravel Calculator — Gravel by volume and by delivered weight for driveways, paths and fill.
- Sonotube Concrete Calculator — Concrete volume for round column forms (Sonotube-style tubes).
Related articles
- Exact Quantity vs Recommended Order Quantity — Every BuildNumerics calculator shows two figures on purpose — the exact geometric answer, and a separate, waste-adjusted number you can actually order.
Part of the Landscaping & Driveway calculators.