Your beds
Mulch you need
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- Bulk order (rounded up to ½ )–
- Or buy bags–
- Other bag sizes–
Estimate only. Fresh mulch settles and bag fill varies, so many people buy about 10% extra for uneven beds.
Bulk or bags: what it costs
Default prices are typical US prices for plain hardwood mulch, checked October 2026. They are not quotes: change them to your supplier's prices. Dyed and specialty mulch costs more.
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How the mulch calculator works
It works out the area of each bed in square feet, multiplies by the depth in inches and divides by 12 to get cubic feet. Divide by 27 to get cubic yards, which is how bulk mulch is sold. Bags are sold by cubic feet, so the bag count is the cubic feet divided by the bag size, rounded up.
For example, a 20 × 5 ft bed is 100 sq ft. At 3 inches deep that's 100 × 3 ÷ 12 = 25 cu ft, or 0.93 cubic yards: about 13 bags of 2 cu ft, or one yard from a landscape yard.
For round beds, measure across the middle (the diameter). For an L-shaped bed, split it into two rectangles. Add as many beds as you like; the total is at the top of the result.
How many bags of mulch are in a yard?
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so it equals 13.5 bags of 2 cu ft, 9 bags of 3 cu ft, or 18 bags of 1.5 cu ft.
How much area does a yard of mulch cover?
About 162 sq ft at 2 inches deep, 108 sq ft at 3 inches and 81 sq ft at 4 inches. The quick rule: 324 divided by the depth in inches.
How deep should mulch be?
Most guides suggest 2 to 3 inches for fine mulch and 3 to 4 inches for coarse bark or wood chips. If there's still old mulch in the bed, measure it and only add the difference. Keep mulch a few inches back from tree trunks and plant stems.
Is it cheaper to buy mulch in bulk or in bags?
Bulk mulch usually costs less per yard, but the delivery fee makes bags cheaper for small jobs. The break-even is often somewhere around 2 to 4 cubic yards. Put your local prices into the cost box above to see which wins for your beds.