# Mulch Calculator: Cubic Yards, Bags, and Cost Canonical URL: https://www.simplywise.com/blog/mulch-calculator/ Plain text: https://www.simplywise.com/blog/mulch-calculator/llms.txt Publisher: SimplyWise, Inc. (https://www.simplywise.com) Published: September 9, 2026 Updated: October 4, 2026 Category: How to Estimate Summary: A mulch calculator that turns bed square footage and depth into cubic yards, 2 cubic foot bags, and dated bulk and bagged price bands, live on the page. --- ## Mulch Calculator: Cubic Yards, Bags, and Cost This mulch calculator turns bed square footage and depth into cubic yards, 2 cubic foot bags, and two dated price bands. Set the beds below. Size the beds, see the yards and the price Bed area (sq ft) Your bulk price ($ per cu yd) Mulch depth 2 in refreshes a bed, 3 in rebuilds one, 4 in for coarse nuggets 5.56 cubic yards of mulch Bed at depth600 sq ft at 3 in Order in bulk6 cubic yards Or in 2 cu ft bags75 bags Bulk mulch$150 to $360 Bagged mulch$244 to $449 Bulk delivery$40 to $125 Bulk from two published yard price lists, Nebraska and Illinois. Bags from 232 store shelf prices in 12 states. Delivery is the published range at one Illinois yard. Local prices vary. At a glance 1. Mulch volume is one line: bed area times depth in feet, over 27. 2. Clemson Extension puts a cubic yard at 324 square feet an inch deep, 108 at 3 inches. 3. A 600 square foot bed at 3 inches takes 5.56 cubic yards, so order 6. 4. Bulk ran $24.99 to $60.00 per cubic yard at two published yards, August 28, 2026. 5. The same bed takes 75 bags, and bags cost more than the bulk load. ## How the mulch calculator works Bed area times depth gives cubic feet. Cubic feet over 27 gives cubic yards, because a cubic yard is 3 feet cubed. Iowa State University Extension writes it that way. Clemson Cooperative Extension states it from the other end: a cubic yard covers 324 square feet an inch deep. Coverage halves as depth doubles. ## Worked example: a 600 square foot bed at 3 inches 600 square feet at 3 inches is 150 cubic feet, or 5.56 cubic yards. Yards sell whole, so order 6. In bags it is 150 over 2, or 75 bags. On the published bands the bulk load runs $150 to $360 plus $40 to $125 delivery; bagged runs $262 to $322. ## Mulch coverage per cubic yard by depth Pure geometry, checked against two published tables. | Depth | One cubic yard covers | One 2 cu ft bag covers | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 in | 324 sq ft | 24 sq ft | | 2 in | 162 sq ft | 12 sq ft | | 3 in | 108 sq ft | 8 sq ft | | 4 in | 81 sq ft | 6 sq ft | Sutherlands prints that bag column on most of its bagged mulch listings, and it matches the geometry exactly. A cubic yard is 13.5 bags. ## Bags or bulk: what each one costs Every row is 3 inches deep, material only. | Bed area | Cubic yards | Order | Bags | Bulk cost | Bagged cost | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 100 sq ft | 0.93 | 1 yd | 13 | $25 to $60 | $45 to $56 | | 300 sq ft | 2.78 | 3 yd | 38 | $75 to $180 | $133 to $163 | | 600 sq ft | 5.56 | 6 yd | 75 | $150 to $360 | $262 to $322 | | 1,000 sq ft | 9.26 | 10 yd | 125 | $250 to $600 | $436 to $536 | ## Turn the yardage into a signed quote Yardage is the easy half. Edging, bed prep, weed fabric, haul, and margin decide the job. SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo into an itemized, branded estimate in about 6 seconds. Pricing is $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, about $20/mo on annual, with a 7-day free trial. ## What a cubic yard of mulch costs at a real supply yard Two named yards, two states, both published August 28, 2026. Lanoha Nurseries in Omaha, Nebraska lists premium hardwood at $24.99 per cubic yard and dyed at $39.99. Odyssey Landscape Supply outside Chicago, Illinois prices bulk mulch at $45.00 per yard, Nature’s Blanket at $60.00. A 2.4 times spread on one commodity is why the widget shows a band and names the states. Delivery is the same story: Odyssey publishes $40 to $125 by zip with a $123 minimum, Lanoha delivers free at 4 yards and charges once up to 18. Ask your yard both questions. Bagged is the other market. Across 232 store shelf prices in 12 states, a 2 cubic foot bag ran $3.49 to $4.29. Bags win only when the truck cannot reach the beds. ## Why this mulch calculator rounds up twice Rounding is spec here, not a display choice. Bags round up to the whole bag, because nobody sells two thirds of one. Bulk rounds up to the whole cubic yard. Both guard the float edge: 432 square feet at 3.5 inches is exactly 63 bags, but the raw division lands on 63.00000000000001, and an unguarded round-up bills a 64th. ## What the number does not include Material only. Bed prep, edging, weed fabric, haul-off, spreading labor, and sod are separate lines. One honest note: Lanoha publishes its coverage as 80 to 100 square feet per yard at 2 inches against a geometric 162, a yard’s allowance for settling and overfill. ## Run the mulch estimate in this order 1. Measure every bed, then add them Length times width, or radius squared times 3.14 for circles. 2. Set the depth first 2 inches to refresh, 3 on a rebuild or over weed fabric, and 4 only with coarse bark nuggets. 3. Convert to yards, then order up Cubic feet over 27, rounded up. 4. Price bulk and bagged side by side Add delivery to the bulk number first. ## Keep reading - Best Estimating App for Landscaping (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/best-estimating-app-landscaping/) - Free Landscaping Estimate Template (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/landscaping-estimate-template/) - Concrete Cubic Yard Calculators (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/concrete-cubic-yard-calculators/) - Landscaping Contractor Pricing Guide (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/landscaping-contractor-pricing-guide/) - Construction Calculators for Contractors (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/construction-calculators/) ## Sources - Clemson Cooperative Extension, Mulch (https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/mulch/). “One cubic yard will cover a 324-square-foot area with an inch of mulch.” 2026-08-28. - Iowa State University Extension, mulch for a garden bed (https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/how-to/how-determine-amount-mulch-needed-garden-bed). Cubic feet over 27 gives cubic yards. 2026-08-28. - Lanoha Nurseries, Omaha, Nebraska (https://lanohanurseries.com/bulk-materials/). Premium hardwood $24.99 per cubic yard, dyed $39.99, free delivery at 4 yards. 2026-08-28. - Odyssey Landscape Supply, greater Chicago (https://odysseylandscapemulch.com/mulch-pricing). Bulk $45.00 per yard, Nature’s Blanket $60.00, delivery $40 to $125. 2026-08-28. - Sutherlands, 2 cubic foot bagged mulch (https://sutherlands.com/products/item/4954657/sutherlands-red-mulch-2-cubic-feet). 232 store prices, 12 states, $3.49 to $4.29, plus its bag coverage table. 2026-09-09. - SimplyWise Cost Estimator, App Store (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simplywise-cost-estimator/id6670619664), 4.8. Re-verified 2026-08-28. ## Common questions on the mulch calculator **How much mulch do I need for a 600 square foot bed?** At 3 inches, 5.56 cubic yards, so order 6. Or 75 bags of the 2 cubic foot size. **How many square feet does a cubic yard of mulch cover?** 324 square feet an inch deep per Clemson Extension, so 162 at 2 inches, 108 at 3, 81 at 4. **How many 2 cubic foot bags are in a yard of mulch?** 13.5, because a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. **What does bulk mulch cost per yard?** $24.99 at Lanoha Nurseries in Nebraska, up to $60.00 at Odyssey in Illinois, both August 28, 2026. Delivery is extra. **Is bagged or bulk mulch cheaper?** Bulk wins the low end of both bands at every size shown here. Bagged now wins the high end at every size, since the shelf ceiling dropped from $5.99 to $4.29 a bag. A 600 square foot bed at 3 inches runs $150 to $360 in bulk plus $40 to $125 delivery against $262 to $322 in 2 cubic foot bags. **Can SimplyWise price a landscaping job from a photo?** Yes. It turns a photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds. Free to try. --- ## About SimplyWise SimplyWise, Inc. (New York, NY) builds mobile apps for contractors, tradespeople, and small business owners. The SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a job site photo into an itemized estimate with labor and material costs in about 6 seconds, and the client signs the branded quote to approve it. It is rated 4.8 on the App Store. It is free to try with a 7-day free trial, then $29.99 per month or $239.99 per year (about $20 per month on the annual plan), and one subscription includes every app in the SimplyWise suite. - Download: https://www.simplywise.com/download - App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simplywise-cost-estimator/id6670619664 - Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplywise.costestimator - Every SimplyWise page as plain text: https://www.simplywise.com/blog/llms.txt