How Much Topsoil Do You Need?
Calculate cubic yards and tons of topsoil for garden beds, lawn leveling, and raised beds.
How Deep Should Topsoil Be?
Lawn top-dressing: 1-2 inches over existing grass for leveling or improving thin areas. New garden beds: 6 inches of quality topsoil mixed into the top 6 inches of existing soil. Raised beds: Fill depth minus 2 inches (soil settles 10-15% in the first season). New lawn from seed: 4-6 inches of screened topsoil for good root establishment.
Topsoil vs Garden Mix vs Fill Dirt
Screened topsoil is natural soil passed through a screen to remove rocks, roots, and debris. Good for general grading and lawns. Garden mix blends topsoil with compost (typically 60/40 or 70/30). Better for planting because compost adds nutrients and improves drainage. Raised bed mix is typically 1/3 topsoil, 1/3 compost, 1/3 perlite or aged bark. Fill dirt is subsoil — no nutrients, only for grading and filling holes.
Bulk vs Bagged
A 40-lb bag of topsoil contains about 0.75 cubic feet and costs $3-6 at hardware stores. That is $110-220 per cubic yard in bags vs $25-55 per cubic yard in bulk. For anything over 2 cubic yards (about 50+ bags), bulk delivery saves 60-80%. Most landscape suppliers deliver 3-15 yard loads for $50-150 delivery fee.
New topsoil settles 10-15% in the first season as it compacts under its own weight and rainfall. Over-fill raised beds and garden areas by 2 inches to compensate. After settling, top off with compost in year two.
