How much rock do I need?

Multiply your area's square footage by the depth in inches and divide by 324 to get cubic yards. For most landscape rock, multiply cubic yards by about 1.4 to get tons. A 200 sq ft area at 3 inches deep needs about 1.85 cubic yards, or roughly 2.6 tons of gravel.

How many tons of gravel are in a cubic yard?

About 1.4 tons per cubic yard for gravel, river rock, and pea gravel. Decomposed granite is heavier at roughly 1.5 tons, and lava rock is much lighter at about 0.5 tons per cubic yard.

How deep should landscape rock be?

For decorative ground cover, 2-3 inches over a weed barrier is standard. For a gravel driveway, plan on 4-6 inches total across base and top layers.

How much area does a ton of gravel cover?

About 100 square feet at 2 inches deep, or roughly 70 square feet at 3 inches deep, for typical gravel.

Free Tool

Rock & Gravel Calculator

How much rock or gravel do you need? Enter your area and depth — get cubic yards and tons by weight, for any stone type.

Length (ft)

Width (ft)

Material

Depth

Or total area (sq ft)

You need 0 tons

Enter an area above to calculate.

cubic yards

cubic feet

sq ft covered

Includes ~5% extra. Rock is usually sold by the ton or cubic yard; pea gravel and river rock run about 1.4 tons per yard. Always lay a weed barrier underneath.

How the rock & gravel calculator works

Cubic yards = (square feet × depth in inches) ÷ 324. Then multiply yards by the material's density to get tons — about 1.4 tons per cubic yard for gravel, river rock, and pea gravel; ~1.5 for decomposed granite; and only ~0.5 for lightweight lava rock.

How deep should it go?

2–3 inches for decorative ground cover; 4–6 inches total for a gravel driveway. Going thinner saves money up front but lets weeds and dirt show through within a season.

Tons or yards?

Most stone yards sell by the ton or cubic yard. The calculator gives you both so you can match whatever the supplier quotes.

Want it installed right — weed barrier and all?

We install river rock, gravel, and decorative stone beds across North Port, Venice, Port Charlotte & Englewood, over proper fabric so they stay clean.

Our Rock Installation →

Rock vs. mulch: which is better in Florida? →