Gravel Calculator
Estimate total volume, cubic yards, gravel weight, tons required, truck loads and material cost for driveways, trenches, landscape beds, pathways and custom areas — with engineering drawings and a printable PDF report.
Material cost estimate (optional)
How to estimate gravel quantity
Three simple steps from job dimensions to a complete tonnage and truck-load estimate.
Driveway, trench, landscape bed, pathway or custom area — choose the type so the right engineering drawing and typical-depth hint are applied to the calculation.
Add length, width and depth, then pick a gravel type — Crushed Stone, Pea Gravel, River Rock, Limestone, Granite or any custom mix. Density auto-fills; you can fine-tune it.
Total gravel in tons, volume in cubic yards and cubic meters, gravel weight, truck loads and optional cost — clearly broken down so you can quote or order with confidence.
Gravel Calculator — Free & Accurate
Our gravel calculator helps landscapers, drainage contractors, civil estimators and DIY homeowners work out exactly how much gravel a job will need and what it will cost. Pick a project type — driveway, trench, landscape bed, pathway or custom area — enter the length, width and gravel depth, choose your gravel type, and get a complete tonnage, cubic-yards and truck-load estimate in seconds.
Gravel quantity is calculated from the simple geometry Length × Width × Depth × Density. The depth defines how thick the gravel layer or trench fill is; density depends on the gravel type. Typical compacted densities are ~100 lb/ft³ for Crushed Stone and River Rock, slightly lighter for Pea Gravel and Decorative Gravel, and denser for Limestone and Granite — the tool ships with sensible defaults and auto-fills the density when you pick a gravel type, but you can override it to match your supplier's spec.
Once the base weight is known, the tool applies your wastage allowance (5% for clean ground, 10% for uneven terrain, 15% for heavy spillage), converts the result to short tons (2,000 lb), metric tons (1,000 kg), cubic yards and cubic meters, and rounds the total up to whole truck loads at your selected truck capacity (10, 15, 20, 25 tons or a custom value). An optional cost section covers gravel material, delivery and labor in your local currency — USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, CAD, INR, BDT or AED. Everything runs in your browser — no signup, no data sent to any server.
Why use this calculator?
Built for the yard, the bed and the trench — simple, fast, and accurate.
No spreadsheets, no density tables to look up. Type your dimensions, pick a gravel type, hit calculate — the tons, cubic yards and truck loads are on screen.
Crushed Stone, Pea Gravel, River Rock, Limestone, Granite, Base Gravel and Decorative Gravel — each with a sensible default density, plus a Custom option for anything else.
Everything runs in your browser. Your dimensions, gravel type and cost data never leave your device.
Mix metres, feet, inches and centimetres on the same job. Density inputs in lb/ft³ or kg/m³ — the math converts cleanly behind the scenes.
Reports short tons, metric tons and whole truck loads at 10, 15, 20, 25 tons or a custom capacity — exactly what your supplier needs to schedule deliveries.
Open it on your phone right on the job site. Fully responsive, no app needed — the same compact layout works on desktop and small screens.
Related construction tools
Free, browser-based, and built the same way as the rest of the DailyToolsAI construction suite.
Frequently asked questions
At a typical gravel density of 100 lb/ft³ (Crushed Stone, River Rock), every square foot of coverage consumes roughly 8.3 lb per inch of depth. So a 2-inch landscape bed is about 17 lb/sq ft, a 4-inch driveway lift is about 33 lb/sq ft, and a 6-inch trench bedding is about 50 lb/sq ft. To convert to tons, divide the total pounds by 2,000 — a 200 sq ft driveway at 4″ comes out to roughly 3.3 tons of gravel. The calculator handles all of this automatically and adjusts when you pick a denser gravel type (Limestone, Granite) or a lighter one (Pea Gravel).
Typical gravel depth depends on the application. Driveways usually run 4–6 inches of compacted gravel over a stable subgrade — go thicker for soft ground or heavy vehicles. Trenches (for pipe bedding, French drains or utility runs) vary widely with pipe diameter and spec, typically 4–12 inches. Landscape beds need only 2–3 inches for decorative coverage or weed suppression. Pathways for foot traffic do well at 2–4 inches over compacted earth. The calculator picks a sensible default depth and updates the hint text when you switch project types.
The big variables are particle shape, size and density. Crushed Stone (≈100 lb/ft³) has angular edges that lock together — great for driveways and bases. Pea Gravel (≈96 lb/ft³) is small, rounded and decorative — popular for paths and play areas, but it doesn't compact well. River Rock (≈100 lb/ft³) is smooth and rounded, ideal for drainage and landscape accents. Limestone (≈105 lb/ft³) compacts firmly and is a workhorse for road bases. Granite (≈108 lb/ft³) is the densest and most durable. Base Gravel is a graded mix designed for sub-bases. The calculator auto-fills the right density when you pick a type — pick Custom to enter your own.
Gravel delivery trucks typically carry 10 to 25 tons per load. Small dump trucks (single-axle) max out around 10 tons; standard tandem-axle dumps haul about 15 tons; tri-axle dumps deliver around 20 tons; and larger commercial trucks can carry 25 tons or more. The calculator rounds your total tonnage up to whole truck loads at the capacity you select (default 20 tons), with a Custom option for any other size. If your job needs less than one full load, ask your supplier about a partial-load fee — sometimes it's cheaper to take the extra material and stockpile it.
Yes. Every dimension has its own unit picker, so you can enter the length in metres, the width in feet and the depth in inches on the same calculation. Density can be in lb/ft³ or kg/m³ — the calculator converts internally. Results are reported in both cubic yards and cubic meters for volume, and both short tons (US) and metric tons for weight, so the numbers match whatever your supplier or contractor quotes in.